Hitting Rock Bottom

Two mugs of Fire Chief Ale, please!

Since Team Vanstra was established almost 2 years ago, Rock Bottom in WDM has become one of our favorite watering holes on the west side of the metro (actually, it's our only watering hole west of the metro).  It is one of a chain of Rock Bottom brewpubs that are scattered across the country that are all owned by a large corporation that also owns Old Chicago (love their beer tours) and Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurants which we visited in Seattle in 2010. Normally we shy away from the corporate chains and try to support local businesses but Rock Bottom gives their brewmasters a lot of latittude in what beers to brew so you can hit one in Colorado or Illinois and they will all have different beers on tap. We appreciate this diversity. We also love the Rock Bottom Mug Club of which we are both members.

2 a.m. Burger.  Beef, hashbrowns, bacon, egg and cheese.

Other breweries have mug clubs but they charge an annual fee and don't give out free stuff like Rock Bottom. The Rock Bottom Mug Club is free to join and if you know us, you know we LOVE getting FREE stuff like hats and pint glasses. March is also the annual release of one of our favorite seasonals at Rock Bottom, the Fire Chief Ale. The Fire Chief Ale is an auburn-colored ale that is not too malty and not too hoppy.   A perfect beer for this time of year when our tastes start turning from the darker and heavier beers of winter. A portion of the profits from the Fire Chief Ale are given to local fire departments so that makes it even more cool. It will be on tap until April 4. Give it a try with a 2 a.m. Burger. which is half-price on Wednesdays!

Our new beer of the week is not really a beer at all. We recently tried a bottle of Oliver Bean Blossom Hard Cider. It is made by Oliver Cider Works which is located in Indiana and is owned by Oliver Winery which makes some very tasty wines as well. We have tried other hard ciders from places like Sutliff Cider Company out of Lisbon, IA and Vander Mill Cider from Grand Haven, MI and this one ranked right up there with the best we have ever had. And at 8% ABV, it also packed a punch. And because even Team Vanstra occasionally needs to take a break from beer.