The 2012 Bru Bus was a hit, as usual.
Here are the major highlights:
- Congratulations to Cryptid (aka Justin) for winning the Odell competition with his Belgian Quad. Flanders came in second, and Landybrew came in third.
- Our raffle raised over $700 for the Brunetti scholarship fund! That is awesome! Be sure to give some business to our sponsors. They made it possible.
- If you lost anything on the bus (especially a pair of Rx glasses), contact Michele (huricanem5@msn.com)
First of all, a quick thank you to our sponsors.
- Pikes Peak Brewing Co.
- Trinity Brewing Co.
- 56 Ring
- Rockbottom
- Coaltrains
- Old West
- And, of course, Bryan and Lori
There were no hiccups with the Ramblin Express bus this year. Our driver was Mandy and she was a great spirit who was more than willing to put up with our shenanigans.
Although the beers on the bus were a little late getting tapped (somewhere around Castle Rock?), there were six great options, including a cranberry saison, “Beer for Boobies,” donated by Pikes Peak Brewery.
We arrived at New Belgium nearly 30 minutes early. We got to hang out at NB’s brand new (as of October) pilot brewery, a 10 hectoliter system with all of the bells and whistles. They poured fantastic beers including a Biere de Garde, a peach beer, La Folie all from bottles as well as a Brett saison from tap. They also gave away a bunch of bulk spices (ground ginger, pink peppercorns, ground lemon peel, ground orange peel and more) and aged hops on a pallet in the back. Funkwerks also showed up with a bunch of their beers as well. New Belgium gave everybody a really nice snifter glass, and they also donated some sweet schwag for the raffle.
Next we headed off to Coopersmith. They served up food soon after we got there. Lots of great stuff. Most people headed over to Equinox for the remainder of their spare time. Equinox gave us a quick tour of their 10 hectoliter Premier Stainless system. They have been cramming more and more fermenters into their tight space. They also had a sweet bike for delivering kegs. Pateros Creek not to be missed either. Visitors were treated with a short and simple tour.
We did the raffle during lunch at Coopersmith. There were lots of great offerings, mostly gift certificates from various restaurants and breweries.
Lastly, we made it to Odells. Matt greeted us and treated us to awesome beer choices from many pitchers. We did a quick tour, most of which is a bit hazy for most.
The trip home was mostly uneventful. Bullies’ wedgies were mostly avoided.
