By Thom Langley
Homebrewer, photographer, writer and food lover who retired after a 33-year run in the beer industry (23 years on a descriptive sensory panel and eight years in global new product development). I will attempt to visit every brewery in Jefferson County to introduce you to what I am certain are a proud and capable lot of beer makers of every stripe and background and their liquid creations. Because everyone’s palate is different, and my perception of tastes and aromas will vary from yours, my aim is to describe the beers in such a way that it will entice you to embark on your own journey of exploration within this wonderfully rich and varied craft beer culture located in our own backyard.
I will always pay my own way so that my reviews will be trustworthy and unbiased.
Yak & Yeti becomes Spice Trade Brewing
1 - A Taster
Means the beer is interesting and
deserves to at least be sampled.
2 - A Full Pint
Means the beer is worthy of a full glass.
3 - Two Pints
Means the beer is worthy of an encore.
4 - A Growler
Means the beer is so very interesting that it should be bought in larger quantity for
sharing with friends.
Read on and enjoy. Cheers!
On February 1, 2017 Yak & Yeti, the popular Indian/Nepalese restaurant and brewery in Arvada, renamed the brewery side of its business Spice Trade Brewing. Yak & Yeti has been making exceptional, award-winning beers for its four metro-area restaurant locations since 2008 but decided to expand their brewing operations based on countless requests for their beers from delighted diners.
Spice Trade Brewing head brewer Jeff Tyler, who hails from New York by way of Boston is a classically-trained mechanical engineer who came to brewing the way so many of todays brewers do, via a passion for home-brewing.
Having spent time plying his engineering skills in manufacturing, biofuels and robotics fields (he helped create the Roomba), Tyler moved to Colorado and seized the reins at Yak & Yeti in June, 2016 upon the departure of their previous brewer, Adam Draeger.
Tyler, along with assistant brewer Carl McIntyre, began crafting beers with the goal of complementing the Yak & Yeti’s rich and spicy Nepalese culinary style with uniquely imagined and flavorful beers.
I believe they have done just that, applying diverse ingredients like green tea and yuzu juice from Japan, house-made pumpkin pie spice, Madagascar vanilla, cocoa and locally-roasted Novo coffee. These flavors express themselves in various base beers ranging from Vienna Lager to Imperial Stout. In September, the brewers recently harvested wild yeast samples from a hibiscus plant at the Denver Botanic Gardens as part of the Beers Made By Walking Festival.
I’ll review the four beers that I tasted but there are many more coming once their new brewing facility is operational in early 2018. Their current space inside the historic Eli Allen House at 7803 Ralston Rd. in Arvada, which was built in 1864 is no longer suitable for the aspirations of its brewers. I suggest you visit soon and try the beers I did, or any and all that interest you. Drop us a line and let us know your take on Spice Trade!
