West Flanders kind of weekend
Updated: Oct 29, 2019
We continued the Babes' brewery tour by visiting West Flanders Brewing Company! West Flanders is located right on the Historic Pearl Street, so stop on by after shopping around. It's a family-friendly environment, so kids are more than welcome. The brewery also has some board games in the back to keep the kids (or even adults) occupied. West Flanders only has about 10 beers on tap at a time so it's not as intimidating as other breweries around Boulder. Merchandise is also up for sale at the hostess stand. Make sure you also grab a FREE sticker on the way out! Who doesn't want a free sticker to put on their water bottle? Since the holidays are right around the corner, we want to point out that you can host a party at West Flanders! Your party will definitely be the talk of the town.
"Belgian-inspired brewpub creating style-bending food and beer that demonstrate how craft and passion come together." -West Flanders
Meet the King of IPAs
During our West Flanders' visit, we had the pleasure of being served by Clay who declares himself as the ultimate beer nerd. So we were in goods hands to say the least. Clay enjoys drinking the trendy hoppy IPA beers. The more hops the better for him. He let us in on a fun fact about "Double IPAs." Double IPAs are referred to as "Imperial" and "made for the monarchs." They have double everything from alcohol content to aroma and hops. If you want to try a hoppy West Flanders' beer, Clay's favorites are listed below for you to try out!
Clay's favorite West Flanders' Beers:
3rd Kingdom: 6.7% ABV, 67 IBU
None-Ya: 5.5% ABV, 52 IBU
The happiest of hours
Looking for a perfect spot to spend happy hour? West Flanders offers a variety of specials weekdays from 3:00 - 6:00 PM AND everyday from 9:00 PM - Close. So even if you miss the midday happy hour, you can always go back for more later in the evening.
The brewery also takes FULL advantage of Colorado's weather with hosting a Happy Hour whenever the temperature drops below 20 degrees! That's right, you heard us. With that being said, there is a high chance you will see the Babes hanging out at the bar a lot this winter season. See you there!
Happy Hour Specials:
$2 off house beer pints
$3 off specialty cocktails
$6 select wines
$2 off house beer flights
$2 off crowlers
$2 off appetizers
Brew Babes Featured Beers
Pomdotcom: 6.8% ABV
Clay suggested we start with Pomdotcom because sour beers open up your pallets and offer the true taste of the Belgian beers later in our flight. Let us start off by saying- do not fear the word sour in Pomdotcom! This beer does not taste like a Warhead candy, but it does have pucker. If you don’t usually drink sour beers we suggest going for this one. The taste was not bitter, it was smooth and tasted sour, but also fruity. The pomegranate hints made this beer refreshing. We could see ourselves drinking this beer on a spring or summer day! Stephanie who is not a sour person LOVES this beer and is so happy she tried it! Stop in this fall and winter to remind yourself of warmer days with Pomdotcom!
It Was All a Cream: 5.6% ABV
"It Was All A Cream...I used to read Word Up! Magazine...Salt-n-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine….." Sound familiar? West Flanders definitely had Biggie Smalls' infamous lyrics in mind while naming this beer. This beer is a perfect table beer because it is light enough for everyone to enjoy. So if you are just starting to drink beer, we recommend this one. Don’t think of this beer as a creamy malt beer, we would consider it a creamy light beer. It's very easy to drink so just be careful you don't put too many down at once (;
Angry Monk: 6.8% ABV
Next on our flight was Angry Monk! Angry is the perfect word to describe the punch this beer gives. Since West Flanders is a Belgian-inspired brewpub, they have to featured this Belgium style amber beer! A Belgian beer that you may be familiar with is Stella Artois, a lighter pilsner. The Angry Monk is dark with more flavor due to the filtration and yeast from the banana clove. This is the main reason the beer gives off a heavy spice taste. We automatically tasted the spice but have never considered a beer "spicy" before. But Clay said it was the perfect adjective to describe this Belgian beer. We found that by letting the beer roll from the tip of your tongue and then to the back of the throat, we were able to get the full taste and full body of the beer.
None-Ya: 5.5% ABV, 52 IBU
Ready for the IPA? Alisa, who enjoys IPAs, was really excited to try this one and would describe this one as a “chill ass IPA”. None-Ya is less filtered while being brewed so it has a hazy appearance. The initial smell of the beer is very unique in that it reminds you of an outdoor forest scent. We were immediately intrigued to try it! If you are not a huge fan of IPAs, just know it is on the stronger side, but very drinkable overtime. As you continue to sip, you taste more flavor without being too overbearing.
Freeloadin' Funk: 6.3% ABV
After we finished out beer flight, we decided we didn't want to stop there. We wanted to go crazy and try the Freeloadin' Funk. This is a very unique beer because it is "a blend of lagers soured in red wine barrels for 3 years." It's a very complex beer to say the least. With that being said, it was too intriguing not to try. We were both really excited to try this beer because we are BIG fans of red wine! Since Alisa worked at a winery this past summer, we approached this beer like a wine tasting. We took a sniff and could actually smell the wine! As we swished the beer around our mouths, we immediately tasted the wine. West Flanders was able to create a beer that tastes like wine... but also tastes like beer? This beer definitely put us in the mood for the holidays. So if there is a way to bring this beer over to New Jersey and Chicago for the holidays, sign us up! Clay felt the sour (again do not fear this word) taste overtook the wine, but we felt completely different and taste wine right off the bat. We did taste a sour twang, but it mixed well with the wine. This is a complex beer and your palette might need time to adjust, but it is worth trying. See if you taste wine or beer more and let us know!
Want to visit West Flanders?
Location: West Flanders Brewing Co, 1125 Pearl St, Boulder, CO 80302
Website: http://www.wfbrews.com/