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The beer comes in on a little Cat's taps

Contributed by: Russell Weisfield on 12/10/2006

Local brewpubs offer a great place to sample beers that are otherwise unobtainable. Of course, the beers can range from the wretched to the divine. Brewery historian Richard J. La Susa has worked on a book documenting the pluses and minuses of breweries and brewpubs throughout the United States, including the first one that opened in Hoboken, N.J., in 1642. A more recently established brewpub, and one that is much closer, is Arvada's own Cheshire Cat.

The Cat advertises beers that are not "mass-produced fizzy beers." Certainly, there is nothing inherently wrong with beers that are "fizzy," but one can certainly appreciate why the Cat likes to remove the excess carbonation. If nothing else, less air means that your stomach can hold that much more beer.
The beers offered in the brewpub are crafted by brewmaster Charlie Sturdevant, who also has worked at another fine local brewery, Golden City Brewery. Sturdevant's drinks are representative of his own palate. As such, the India Pale Ale is unfortunately not dry-hopped and has a paltry (for an IPA) 55 IBUs. This is mostly due to the fact that he likes to emphasize the malts.

With that in mind, tasting the Black Cat Stout has a lot of merit. Actually, the Arrogant Brit sounded tempting but the Cat had recently run out, perhaps because of its popularity.

After asking for a pint, one can expect a proper mud-like liquid that will block out almost all light. Remember, fizzy beers are discouraged, so don't expect a "Guinness head" that will give you a "Guinness mustache." Similarly, if you use a mug like the regulars, do not expect the stereotypical frothing mug.

What you will get though, is a flavorful beer that on the outset assaults your tastes. There is a prominent chocolate taste that remains throughout. The chocolate tends to overpower the caramel and coffee thatalso areincorporated. The finish is refreshing and light. Little or no aftertaste remains, encouraging you to have another sip to make sure you got the tastes from the beer.

As previously stated, it is much more refreshing than its thicker counterpart at Golden City -- the Oatmeal Stout. For this reason it gets knocked a point in the rating system to six canoes. It could go down to five canoes if one believes that a foaming drink is needed when tossing back a brew. Its worth, however, giving an encouraging purr to Cheshire Cat's belief of no "fizzy" beers.


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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Russell Weisfield

Arvada , CO

Russell Weisfield has posted 45 stories and 6 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. Russell Weisfield 's average story rating is 4.72.
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