by Mark Smiley | Nov 23, 2015 | Travel
by Casey Bloyer
The holidays are a wonderful time to be a beer nerd. I revel in the opportunity to pair beer with a variety of celebratory meals and gatherings. Those congregations with family and friends can also provide a chance to become a beer evangelist to those less experienced with the variety of flavors local brews offer. Is the impending arrival of in-laws causing anxiety? A nice dose of Colorado craft beer can help ease the tension there, too. Of course the best part is the gifts. Whether giving or receiving, it’s all part of the communal nature of Colorado’s craft scene. Here are a few fun gift ideas for the drinker who has it all.
Personal Growler: ($35-$130) Yes, this is about as cliché as it gets. Yet, you also can’t really go wrong here, either. Brands such as FIFTY/FIFTY, Miir and Hydro Flask offer stainless steel, vacuum insulated carriers for your loved ones’ loved one: beer. They double as durable, insulated carriers for other liquids when the beer’s gone. Just about every local brewery sells and fills its own version as well. Traditionally a growler is 64 ounces but some companies now offer co2 pressurized versions with taps as large as 128 oz. Think of a mini keg in your fridge. Drink Tanks and ManCan are among the offerings in the pressurized growler market. But for looks alone, I prefer the uKeg from Portland’s Growler Werks. The uKeg looks great with copper, steel and brass options, but it is less versatile and more difficult to clean.
Local Brewery Gear: T-Shirts, hats, stickers, glassware. No, we can’t have too much. Some of brewski-reviewski’s favorite local brewery logos include Broken Compass (Breckenridge), Cerebral (Denver), Elevation (Poncha Springs), Liquid Mechanics (Lafayette), Mockery (RiNo), Ska (Durango), 3 Freaks (Highlands Ranch) and 38 State (Littleton), just to name a few.
Laws Whiskey: ($65-$70) Laws Whiskey House has been very good to the local craft brewing community, bucking my own notion that distillers didn’t often embrace the cooperative aspect of the craft brewing culture. Brewers both acknowledged and reciprocated that spirit for the distillery’s recent anniversary celebration, donating a number of free brews, which were available to fans throughout the celebration at no cost. The neighborhood distillery was started by Al Laws and includes some former staffers who left Stranahans, after Proximo Spirits (owner of Jose Cuervo) purchased the Stranahans distillery. Laws employs local family farms, where it sources its wheat, barley and rye. I sampled Laws latest rye batch whiskey at the distillery’s first anniversary party earlier this year. My take away? Smooth. Very, very smooth. Single barrel offerings are available for purchase at the Denver distillery (1420 S. Acoma Street) and at about 20 local liquor stores. A rye was also released by the distillery in mid-November. Find your closest carrier at the Laws website. www.lawswhiskey house.com/whiskey-locator/.
Whiskey Advent Calendar: ($190 -$320) Looking for a new twist on the annual advent calendar tradition? Master of Malt has the answer, offering advent calendars with various spirits including cognac, rum, whiskey and tequila. Behind each of the 24 windows lies a different 3cl “Drinks By The Dram” sample of whisky. Highlights among this year’s 24 drams include a rare 50-year-old Scotch, an award-winning Japanese whisky and the winner of the 2014 World Whiskies Awards. Each handmade, wax-sealed dram allows whisky fans to sample a new whisky, tasting everything from single grain whisky to rare Scotch. In my rudimentary and uncertain conversion, each bottle includes one ounce of whiskey. Purchase online at www.masterofmalt.com
Hops: ($6-$40) You are almost certain to get “unique” points for gifting hops to the beer fan in your circle. Michigan’s Black Creek Hops has you covered, offering everything from hops related ornaments to herbal hops tea and even pillows filled with hops designed to help ease of sleep. Black Creek Hops is a small scale hop farm run by a husband and wife team in Scottville, Michigan. They are also happy to send whole cone, noble hops if you’re shopping for a homebrewer. www.etsy.com/shop/ blackcreekhops.
Hopefully this gets you started on your gift search for the beer lover in your life. We both send you wishes for a healthy, happy and hoppy holiday season. Until next year, raise your glass!
Casey Bloyer is the Executive Producer of The Peter Boyles Show and The Dan Caplis Show. He is the co-host of Brewski-Reviewski with Connor Shreve who is the Sports Director at 710KNUS. Brewski-Reviewski is a bi-monthly podcast talking about all things craft beer in Colorado. Twitter @Breviewski; Facebook www. facebook.com/craftbeerradio; email brcraftbeer @gmail.com.
by Mark Smiley | Nov 23, 2015 | Feature Story Middle Left
by Brian Zabroski
The holidays can be a stressful time, especially when it comes to the financial burden it places on families. I know I didn’t realize the cost of toys, clothes and gifts when I was a kid. I’m sure my kids don’t realize the cost either. The average family will spend $860 on the holidays. One of the tools available this year is GiftFund. It is a crowdfund app, which friends and family can use to contribute money toward gifts in a collaborative fashion. Have a holiday party, but don’t want to get stiffed by your co-workers? Want to know who has and has not contributed? Interested in launching a fund request for the high-altitude 100,000’ balloon ride on the edge of space from Neiman Marcus. It’s only $90,000, in case you’re wondering. This app may reduce the awkwardness of asking for money during the holidays.
I had mixed feelings the other day while watching Toddler App use the Target Kids Wish List app. At first I thought, “This is amazing!” He totally grasps the concept of scrolling through an app, selecting toys, adding them to a list and getting excited about what Santa may deliver. Then I thought, “This is terrible!” When I was his age, I used a Sharpie to circle items in the 3” thick Service Merchandise catalog. This kiddo, if he had access, could jump on my Amazon app and cause some serious damage to our bank account. Yikes. Don’t get any ideas! The “iGeneration” is getting scary good with technology.
Back to the app, Target Kids Wish List, it creates a gift registry. Yes, the idea of a gift registry for Christmas is bizarre to me, however it has been a huge help. Now, when he sees a toy commercial, he jumps on our phone to add the item to the list. Nearly our entire family is outside Colorado, so we’re able to share the registry, they can decide what to send without stepping over each other, and we reduce random calls during the day from family at the store asking what Toddler App wants for Christmas. In the past, the answer was easy, “Um … Everything!”
There is something so pure and enjoyable during the holidays, especially with children. People seem nicer. Well, maybe not in the Cherry Creek Mall parking lot, but everywhere else. There seems to be an extra smile or two throughout the day. During our very hectic business day, it is difficult to see the forest through the trees. Then you get home with the kids and they have such a different perspective on life. It’s refreshing.
During a recent visit to the mall, we noticed a long line for Santa, which was amazing considering it was NOVEMBER! The kids’ excitement was off the charts to see Santa. How cool! I thought, there must be a better use of our time than standing in a long Santa line. Shazam, Where Is Santa app, which allows you to book a scheduled appointment with Santa (First World Problem Solved!), as well as check on the line and viewing times. The only mall in Colorado subscribing to this service appears to be Colorado Mills, but the drive west may be shorter than waiting in that line elsewhere.
Well, here’s an idea for the non-millennial children in your family: Amazon Fire Tablet. Why? It’s only $50. They even offer a six-pack of Amazon Fires for the price of five (5), which is still less than one iPad! I do need to call something out on the Amazon Fire, it is not great by any means. For a Toddler App through Youth App age, it’s perfect. It is durable, clunky, lacks access to many of the “worrisome” apps (i.e. no YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat), but it is an alternative to a much more expensive tablet. At this price, it isn’t even worth buying the case ($25) since it is half the cost of the tablet. There, now you have a few extra dollars to put toward GiftFund for that balloon ride.
Recently, I saw an ad for a Blackberry mobile phone. Are they still in business? Is anyone not from Canada using this mobile device anymore? If you’re in the market to accessorize your new iPad with the Apple Pencil or Smart Keyboard, get it ordered as soon as you’re done reading this column. There is a four week wait thus far. On the flip side, you can always use your fingers like we’ve been doing all along. In case you didn’t see the announcement, Apple launched the iPad Pro. It has a nearly 13” screen, which is 3” larger than the previous version. Is it me or does it seem that Apple launches a new product every few months. When thinking of the new iPad, think of the Amazon Fire, but 500 times better.
The trend over the past year has been wearables, such as FitBit and Apple Watches. I believe that market is becoming mature at a rapid rate. There is a large quantity of alternative, affordable, quality wearables to the Apple Watch.
I believe the next trend will be the “Smart” home. There are plenty of devices on the market to monitor appliances, lighting, security and temperature in the home, but there is a trend toward home systems. The cost of entry is decreasing. Samsung launched SmartThings, which is a home monitoring system to control, monitor and secure your home. Their system (and, they’re not the only ones with this technology by the way) monitor your home for water leaks, control the lighting and appliances with motion sensors and outlet adapters, as well as connect to cameras. This allows us to reduce our energy consumption by turning off lights, lowering the temperature, in addition to reducing the risk of break-ins by turning on lights remotely, and gaining visibility on the property through remote cameras. It does create a smart home. If anyone has a smart home story, please share it for a follow column.
Don’t forget to track Santa on Christmas Eve through www.noradsanta.org or NORAD Tracks Santa app. Your tax dollars at work! Have a blessed holiday from the App Family.
Contact Brian at brian@brianzabroski .com, on Twitter @BrianZab or LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/brianzab.
