AC Golden: Craft? Macro? Who cares, it’s delicious.
A few months ago, we were invited to tour AC Golden Brewing inside the Coors Brewery in Golden. Not the type to turn down a brewery tour, five of us filed into the car and headed west. We’d all met Troy Casey of AC Golden before, and we’d all tried the beer.
And we all had mixed expectations. Is it craft if it’s small batch but inside of Coors? Does it matter, if the beer is good? Do snozberries really taste like snozberries?
We arrived at the brewery and did the whole sign in, get a pass and safety equipment, and were on our way. Coors itself is a massive factory-looking brewery, and AC Golden is deep inside. In fact, at one point, it felt like we were in a scene from Goldeneye (the game, not the movie) when we walked outside one door onto the roof of Coors.
The resources AC Golden has access to would make most brewers envious. They are a part of Coors, and that is apparent at almost every turn. Except the one turn that brought us into what appeared to be a broom closet, and ended up being the hidden barrel room. A few dozen barrels greeted us, and we were allowed to sample some incredible sour beers. Fifty feet away, a few thousand barrels of Coors Light were being frost brewed, and we were drinking cherry Brett bombs in a broom closet.
The "Broom Closet"
You know that feeling when you see a movie in the afternoon, and are super confused to walk outside into daylight? That.
These sours were the focus of our visit. Slowly, AC Golden is releasing their barrel program beers into the open market via Mile High Wine and Spirits in Belmar. They will be available at Mile High near the end of March, so keep an eye out for more on that.
We ended our trip with a visit to the employee bars. One, a smaller bar, had a handful of AC Golden brews on tap. Sours, Bocks, stouts, and a few other options were available, intermingled with Coors Banquet and Light.
Overall, it was an amazing look into what the big guys can do in the craft world. We often read of mishaps in the form of macro craft beers – lime wheat IPA anyone? – but AC Golden is not a marketing gimmick. It’s real beer, and it’s really good.
That’s my short summary of our trip. Here are some thoughts from my companions on this adventure:
Chris Washenberger
AC Golden’s beers relay interesting aspects of the craft beer industry. Get all of your griping out of the way now. Cut loose! Point out why big breweries suck. I have heard it all, be pedantic. I won’t take it after I get started. Done?
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