Fort Collins Bars, Day 1 The Vault, Washingtons Sports Bar and Old Chicago

Sorry for taking so long on this entry. Between family and other obligations, it just got away from me. But I am back! So, let's pick up where I left off in Fort Collins, CO. Now, the first day I got there, I wanted to get started immediately because I had a lot of bars I wanted to visit and I knew that I couldn't wait or I would run out of time. So I started off by going right to Old Town to get started. There are a lot of great bars and taverns as well as micro breweries there and I was able to capture three interesting bars that first day.

First off was The Vault which is located at 146 N College Avenue and housed in an old historic building. It began as the Commercial Bank and Trust Co. in March 1907 and opened as a bar in 1999.

One of the many things you notice right away when you walk through the doors are the high 18 foot ceilings. To the right as you make your way to the bar is the original fireplace which adds a nice touch when the weather gets cold and a Jukebox with a great collection of music.

Interestingly enough, when you look around you will notice a lot of artwork on the walls. The owner since 2002, Rick Thomas, likes to support the local artists and it is here where you will find their work

With an extensive drink menu and at least 10 beers on tap, all of which are micros by the way, The Vault is one of the many bars that fills up fast later in the day and stays full all night.

This is the large vault door which gives the bar it's name. Like most places that have a large door like this next to the bar, the other side is usually a cooler. I was surprised to see what was on the other side.

A small game room! The vault also has a small menu so if you want a quick bite, cold drinks and great conversations with local and visiting patrons, The Vault is the perfect place.

Washington's Sport's Bar & Grille

Next, I walked down the street to Washington's Sports Bar located on 132 LaPorte Ave. (In Old Town). They claim to serve the world's best burger. Since I was back in Fort Collins for the first time in a couple years, I was more about the fresh local micros so I wasn't ready to eat just yet so I can't tell you if that claim is true or not. I will go back and try it next time though!

With a ton of televisions to watch all your favorite sports on to the array of old paraphernalia hanging from the ceiling and walls. Washington's offers everything from air hockey, pool, shuffle board and arcade games to weekly poker tournaments and live trivia. There is something for everyone at any age here at Washington's.

One cool thing to note, Washington's was featured in "Treasures of Colorado". There is also a DJ 2 nights a week and a live band every Friday. One other thing, and I only mention this because I haven't seen one of these since the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium days, in the men's bathroom there is a urinal trough! Oh the memories!

Old Chicago

The last place of the day for me was an old sentimental favorite, Old Chicago. Located on 147 S. College and with locations in 23 states, this is one of the few chain type bars I found to be more like a local only bar. The staff and bartenders tend to stick around a long time which really makes me feel as if this is a really great place to work.

Boasting 110 beers, I had to do the World Tour because the beers on tap were fantastic, mostly Colorado micro beers. You have one year to complete the tour. When I completed the tour, they put my name and completion date on the plaque, right there under the word Hall.

It has a great college base and the pub fare is awesome ranging from pizza to steak sandwiches. Old C's was a place that I liked to stop in almost every night after work, talk to the bartenders, some who are my friends today, and meet my brother-in-law Brian for a few frosty ones and some pool. We had a lot of great times there.

Here is a sample of the long line of tap handles and the different types of beers featured constantly at Old Chicago's.

With my first day coming to an end, it was time for me to pack it up, get some sleep and get ready for the next round of bars and taverns. I covered 18 in about 5 days and needless to say, I have to go back to finish because I could only scratch the surface of what Fort Collins and the Colorado brewing community has to offer!

Fort Collins, Colorado

If you have never heard of Fort Collins, you are missing something special. After growing up in Ohio and spending most of my adult life living in Arizona, even thinking about living somewhere where the snow flies even occasionally never crossed my mind. My wife’s younger brother Brian Fuller moved there about 15 years ago and was always after us to come up and see him. Not long after visiting him, my wife decided we should move up there. At first I was reluctant. Ok, not so much reluctant as “No way, you’ll have to drag me up there, don’t want to leave the warm desert, etc. (minus all the swearing.)” Let me tell you something, it was great! This is a vibrant city with great people. And not just great people, but HAPPY people! I have honestly never lived anywhere in the country where the people are as genuine as the people in Fort Collins. They have a love and pride for their city that I haven’t seen anywhere else. Oh, and one other quick thing to note. In my personal observation, it is a beer lovers’ paradise.

The city itself is nestled up against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. There are great views at every turn. Being only 45 miles south of Cheyenne Wyoming and 65 miles north of Denver, Fort Collins has a lot to offer. If you are a sports fan, you aren’t far from Coors Field for a Rockies game, Invesco Field for a Broncos game and the Pepsi Center for a Nuggets or Avalanche game. The population in Fort Collins is over 125,000 which includes over 24,000 students who attend Colorado State University, one of Fort Collins largest employers. They also boast major employers such as Anheuser Busch, Woodward Governor, Waterpik and Hewlett Packard just to name a few. You have the best of both worlds here, small city with a major city feel. The climate is temperate with low humidity and over 300 days of sunshine. There is major shopping, a lot of great outdoor activities and loads of history. But for me, it was all about the food, the drink and the people.

This is a town that flourished with the advent of the micro-pub generation. The larger microbreweries here are doing amazing things and I am not just talking about beer styles. They are also heavily involved in the community and environment. The only thing that is going to be tough for some of the smaller micro-pubs as well as the larger ones is the hop crisis. I heard about this from just about every brewer. The weather and a major warehouse fire which housed a very large supply of hops are making it hard to obtain this high in demand commodity. They are worried about the hop crops being in bad shape world-wide but recently, I heard that the hop outlook is coming around. Unfortunately, highly hopped beer prices will have to increase to a premium. As of this writing, hop prices have tripled. But as I have seen, there is optimism here in Fort Collins. I believe this town and these breweries can overcome this shortage and invent ways to continue brewing beer in the same quality as always.

Old Town Fort Collins with the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop.

The food here is also amazing. You can find any type of cuisine from bar food to international to very fine dining and wash it down with one of the many microbrews available at every bar and restaurant. The ones mentioned in this section are some of my all time favorites and the rest became new favorites. I do have one suggestion though. If you come to Fort Collins to check out the cuisine and sample the beer, plan to stay a couple weeks in order to truly take it all in. This is just too nice of a town to try to rush through. Walk around Old Town and window shop. Take the time to slow down and drink the beer! You won’t regret it, trust me.

Colorado has been called the Napa Valley of craft beer by Time magazine and with over 100 craft beer brewers in the state, I believe it. For more information about what Colorado has to offer in craft beer, check out http://www.coloradobeer.org

Michigan

After spending almost 2 months in Arizona getting a my fill for what I was missing, it was time to come back home to Ohio. I wasn't ready to leave but if I didn't leave when I did, I would have never left! So a couple weeks after getting back to Ohio, I made an impromptu trip to Michigan. I had no real plan or specific Bar or Brewery I was going to visit so I played it by ear. I had heard that Michigan had a very decent brewing community so I decided to check it out. Once up there, I opened the phone book and the first place that caught my eye was Copper Canyon Brewery. Opened in May 1998 and located at 27522 Northwestern Hwy. Southfield, MI 48034, this brewpub is very impressive having a large number of their hand-crafted brews as well as a menu that will appeal to everyone.

True to it's name, Copper Canyon makes a point to decorate in a more contemporary way using copper straps around columns. The fireplace in the dining room adds a nice touch.

The bar wraps around a large number of television and hand painted murals and did I mention a large selection of their beer on draft? If you aren't a beer drinker, Copper Canyon also boasts a full bar and a well ventilated smoking section and a humidor with awesome selections of cigars which they rotate to keep the selection interesting. For a "pick from the hat selection" I found that this brewpub has a lot to offer and I couldn't have picked a nicer more friendly place to have lunch and sample their beers than this.

I had the waiter seat me and I ordered their seasonal wheat beer called Bel Wit while looking over the menu. One sip of this well carbonated and nicely spiced wheat beer made me anxious to try others. It had perfect balance and a nice finish. I ordered the Black Angus burger and the Oktoberfest which complimented the burger so well, I really admired the crisp happiness on my tongue. Definitely a flavorful Oktoberfest!

As I sat and finished my lunch, I paused to look around more and the copper brew kettles lined up around the place gave the brewpub a nice feel.

I finished with the Devil's Peak IPA. Now, anyone who knows me and has been reading this blog will know that IPA's are my favorite ale, so I was anticipating this to be an incredible ale considering how great the last 2 beers I had were. I have to tell you, this one did not disappoint! What an explosion of flavors and a very strong hoppiness yet with a light orange coloring and citrus finish. Nice balance of Cascade and Columbus hops. I loved it! I have now found yet another IPA that is brewed differently than all the others I have had to make me take interest and put Devil's Peak IPA on my list of favorite IPA's which is constantly growing.

Overall, I found Copper Canyon Brewery to be a fine brewhouse and restaurant. One that I will be going back to on my next trip to Michigan.

As much as I enjoyed Copper Canyon, it was time to check out another brew pub that I took interest in just by the name alone. Remember, I was pulling these out of a phone book! Dragonmead Brewery and Pub was another perfect spot. Opened in 1997, Dragonmead is located on 14600 E. 11 Mile Rd. Warren, MI. Owned by Earl Scherbarth, Larry Channell and Bill Wrobel, these "three are considered the "big three" of the brewing industry! Interestingly enough, all three have or still work for one of the big three automobile builders in Michigan.

The brew pub is a very interestingly designed and decorated place with a medieval feel. Swords and awards decorated the bar and each tap handle is designed with a dragon wrapped around a castle.

Now it was time to start sampling, and again trying not to sound too redundant, some excellent beers. The first was the Crowned Jewels IPA (no surprise there, huh?). This ale had a great hoppiness and crisp fin sh, amber in color and very flavorful. I wanted another but I had to go on to the Redwing Raspberry Wheat Beer. Golden in color, this wheat uses a raspberry puree as well as Pale Wheat malt. Very aromatic and a decent 5.2 alcohol content, this American Style Ale was satisfying to the palate and very drinkable!

I didn't want to stop there, but I was really starting to feel good and thought I would top off the tasting with their Final Absolution Belgian Style Trippel! This is their signature beer. I cannot describe this beer better than they do on their website: "This is the ultimate Belgian style. The very high gravity of this beer is balanced by the smoothness of its finish. Banana and Clove aromas come from the Belgian yeast strain combining with the generous dose of Belgian Candi Sugar. The Saaz hops help to give this beer a balanced bitterness with no noticeable hop aroma. O.G. 1.085, ABV 8.5%" To learn more about their huge line of beers, go to http://www.dragonmead.com/images/index.htm

This was a very friendly pub and the staff there that evening were friendly and helpful. I would definitely recommend Dragonmead for someone who is looking to really expand their knowledge of old world ales. This by far was a great find on my short little journey.

Unfortunately, it was time to head back home. But I will definitely be back to sample more of what Dragonmead has to offer and other breweries in Michigan soon.

On the way back home, I had to stop at a place that was an old stomping ground for me. A place just outside of Toledo in a town called Perrysburg, Ohio. The place is called Fricker's and they have 19 locations here in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. I don't like covering large chains but if they are regional and good, I don't have a problem with giving them their due and Fricker's is one of those chains. I found Fricker's shortly after we were transferred from Phoenix to Toledo with my wife's job. Now after many years in Arizona, Toledo was a big adjustment for me and Fricker's eased the pain nicely.

Fricker's was developed in 1985 in Dayton Ohio by two brothers, only known as the brothers Frick. Well, since then and 19 locations later, this is one of my favorite stops off of the Ohio Turnpike on my way out west or to Michigan. The 2 years I lived there, I spent most of my time (and gained most of my weight!) at Fricker's. This was one of the friendliest bars in the area and I am more grateful for that than anything, OK, except maybe there chicken wings which are absolutely my favorite!

So, now, with that soft spot in my heart (and stomach) filled, it was time to head back to Cleveland and continue my visits to bars and taverns that are both my favorites and historical.

Just Off Whiskey Row...Lyzzards Lounge and Coyote Joe's Bar and Grill

While we were in Hooligan's Pub, The Hippie suggested we go off Whiskey Row to one of his favorite bars that is just a block over. Lyzzard's Lounge is located on 120 N. Cortez St. in Prescott. Located in a building built in 1905, Lyzzard's is a really cool place.

Lyzzard's boasts to have one of the oldest back bars in the Southwest. I believe it because the workmanship is absolutely fantastic. Not only does it date back to the 1880's, but it is one of Brunswick's finest bars. This bar was built in Chicago and painstakingly shipped down the Mississippi River, around the horn and then up to San Francisco where it was then put on a wagon and pulled through the desert to Prescott, AZ. The backbar was then delivered to it's current location in 1905. After taking a long look, the bar really takes on a life of it's own. It holds more liquor than any other bar I have ever seen in a bar. Now, if you are a beer drinker or a tequila drinker, Lyzzard's has you covered. They serve a wide variety of tequila and imported beer that once you are there, you really don't need to venture far. As you can see to the right, the liquor cabinet is jammed with libations of every kind!

There is a small spot to play darts if you like but in a place like this, it is more about the entertainment. Below is an original picture of the bar that dates back to the early 1900's.

Lyzzard's fully supports local acts as well as some national acts. The Supersuckers, a band that opened for Social Distortion here in Cleveland Ohio at the House of Blues, played at Lyzzard's recently.

If you just want to come in early in the afternoon, have a drink and play some pool, this is a nice relaxing place to take that all in. The Hippie was right, his favorite place could become my favorite place in no time. Wish I still lived in Arizona because Lizzard's would be one of my favorite watering holes!

The last stop on our tour of Whiskey Row and Prescott AZ was Coyote Joe's Bar and Grill. This was a great historical ending to our crawl. Let me tell you, I was crawling! Housed in what used to be the Arizona Hotel in the late 1880's, this is the first location of the brothels established in Arizona. Once you walk through the door, you realize there are two options. Drink at the bar and or enjoy a game of pool in the game room or go straight out back to the patio where you are greeted by another bar and an outdoor stage to enjoy the sounds of many local bands. One of the interesting things about Coyote Joe's is that many believe it is haunted, mostly by the many prostitutes from back in the late 1800's. Everyone from the patrons and employees to the owners have heard or seen things that would make most peoples skin crawl, but the ghostly activity seems to be friendly. Underneath the building and throughout Whiskey Row are underground tunnels beneath the bars which used to house the many opium dens and laundry routs run by the Asian immigrants.

For me and the Hippie, we enjoyed the patio where the evening was just about to descend and cooler temps were coming. We had spent a long but very fine day in Prescott and Whiskey Row and a beer on the patio let us reflect on the day.

If there is a place anywhere in the country to just enjoy a drink and relax, Coyote Joe's was that place.