(This is more than a bit late, but at least I am doing SOMETHING with my free time, right?) I returned to my hometown, Longmont, CO last fall for Thanksgiving. There is way more to it than that, as anyone who has ever left home and gone back knows, but right now I want to talk about one thing: Beer.
Longmont is a pretty run of the mill western town. Surrounded by farmland, about 15 miles from Boulder and about 35 from Denver, most of Longmont's 85,000 (as of 2008) residents commute to work and then come home to live in their more or less identical pre-fab homes in one of the multi-acre subdivisions that popped up during the housing boom we all know so much about. Without going into details, let's just say that Longmont was a dull town to grow up in, and an even duller town to visit in your 20s.
All of this changed for me when Oskar Blues opened a taproom in Longmont. Originally established in nearby Lyons, CO, OB is famous, not only for delicious beer for being the first microbrewery to offer is beers in cans.
Between good beer and memorable packaging, OB carved out a nice slice of the microbrew pie, first in Colorado and then across the country. The most tangible manifestation of this success, at least for us Longmonsters, is the new OB brewing facility. This new south Longmont location is larger than the original Lyons operation, albeit less that a mile from my elementary school. Nearby, in a converted barn, OB opened it's taproom and restaurant, promising live music on weekends and "home made liquids and solids." The old silo that sits adjacent to the restaurant (namesake of the building's previous occupant, a shitty sports bar called The Silo) has been repainted to look like the signature Oskar Blues can.
Without a return visit, I can't say I feel too qualified to comment on the restaurant, but I will say that their vegetarian/vegan options are few, and the Hippie Sandwich I tried left a bit to be desired. Oh, and all of their employees look like they should hang up their aprons and go back to homeroom. Good for them I guess, though I don't know how you can work in a bar and serve booze if you can't legally drive by yourself.
Really though, we didn't go there for the food. In addition to offering all of their regular brews on tap, the Longmont location offers a few special edition beers that are not being bottled or distributed. I opted for the Oaked Chub, a batch of standard OB Old Chub (a delicious Scottish Ale) that had been aged in used oak casks purchased from Stranahan's distillery, Colorado's first whiskey distillery. It was fucking delicious. The whiskey and oak were undeniable but not overpowering, and the full malt flavor of the Old Chub mixed perfectly with the liquory sweetness of the aging. I had two, which is about all anyone should need, since Old Chub starts out pretty high octane, even before the barrel.
I wouldn't run out and start bidding on houses in Longtucky just yet, but at least now there is somewhere for an honest drink.
-OSB
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