Durango brews.....

Durango.........a couple of days of R & R. Rest & recoup. Clean out the cooler and refridge. Camp with hookups. Recharge Chalet's batteries. Get Sarah's pants dry cleaned....grease from trailer hitch.....a 3 day job......not done. Get bike hitch improved on trailer......RV store doesn't have appropriate component but will try to make do with 4in. steel plate. Check with Mac Store (yep, Durango has one) 'cause laptop battery is dying. Store personnel is just as rude as every other Mac Store but decision made to buy new battery rather than new computer and having to learn and translate applications while on road. 

Durango a cool town. LOTs of shops...high end clothes and home furnishings as well as outfitters. Twentyfive restaurants in town of 16,000. And 4 breweries. At 7,000 feet Sarah having a little trouble breathing so no hikes or river floats. So, we are doing the brewpub tour. Late lunch at Steamworks downtown. As much restaurant as brewery and obviously geared to the visitors, I had Cajun Pasta Penne with chicken and andoulie sausage......quite good with a spicy "cajun sauce". Sarah had fish taco. The Third Eye PA was good....not too hoppy and on today's special for $2. Now at SKA brewery south of town. Sarah is doing quite well sitting in these establishments watching me drink! SKA has the same marketing strategy as Ninkasi. Funky, dancing skeleton with 50's rock theme logo. All kinds of merch to buy and display. Just finished their Euphoria amber ale.....a nice brew with a gentle bite of hops and clean finish. Outside sitting cradled in the hills as the sun sets across Hwy 160, they are getting started with a weekly summer end of day gathering with music, dogs (a "pet waste" bag dispenser provided for your convenience), beer and gathering of friends. Seems more local than Steamworks. May hang for a little while. But, there are 2 more breweries in town................

The music's good, young old guys playing Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd, the sun is setting over the mountains to the west, the vibe is relaxed cool, Herman is grooving.......Sarah say's I can have another beer......Modus Hoperandi IPA in a can. "walk, kite, recycle, hide, seek, plant, recycle, grow, shower, HHH, tube, recycle" circling the top. Kids with parents showing up. Old greyhound type dog who carries his own leash, finishing his human's french fries. Harley rider sharing our table. Friends waving to newly arriving friends. Boy, this is way different than Utah!

On to Carver Brewing downtown. Don't worry, Sarah drives and drops me off. I'll take the trolly home. A tavern feel with a bike theme. Cask conditioned Cascade Canyon IPA  served in a bulb glass. Goo cream head but light on hops for an IPA. Certainly guiafable. A little sweet for my taste. Full liquor selection on back bar heavy with single malt scotch. Would not be my hang out of choice. SKA gets that honor so far. Talking up the bartender--bar defiantly bike oriented. First establishment in town to replace parking space for bike racks. Lots of pro biker in town--good training. Durango is southern terminus for the Colorado Trail to Denver. Two guys at the end of the bar complete with backpacks just got off after 27 days. They get a free Colorado Trail Nut Brown Ale. There is also on tape the Iron Horse Oatmeal Stout to commemorate the annual bike race to Silverton against the steam locomotive. Started by 2 brothers, one worked at a bike shop, the other for the railroad. The bikers usually win peddling the 45 miles in about 2 hours. 

The Durango Brewery.....trolley drover drops me off a block away and points north. I had stopped at the Tibetan art store in town for a small prayer flag for the Chalet and a little incense and was give a handful of free incense cones. I reek of Himalayan Gompa! Theme here is railroad with red boxcar wall and lanterns. Hop-Hugger IPA on nitro has a good bite of bitterness with a strong malty back. Crowd more eclectic with apparent locals and a scattering of tourists. Bartender brings me a "fresh" nitro to replace the "end of the keg" he originally gave me. Less hopped and more balanced. Nice gesture on his part. Bathroom plastered with Telluride Blues and Brews posters. May be worth a future trip. 

Disclaimer: Consumption of copious amounts of alcoholic beverages is for research purposes only and does not imply or infer a lifestyle or habitual behavior. Any inferance to the contrry would nat bv accuate or reflet th tru expesion expessssed!