Magazines » January/February 2010 » Aspen's Apres-Ski Scene
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Two things Colorado most prides itself on are perfect powder skiing and tasty, local microbrews. It’s a rightful claim: Most of the state’s mountain towns are blessed with plenty of both. But for one of Colorado’s most recognizable ski havens, that hasn’t always been the case.
“Dumb & Dumber” fans know it as a place “where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano.” Yes, a little place called Aspen. Yet during most of the past two decades, the beer didn’t flow in Aspen -- at least not the local beer.
Award-reaping Flying Dog Brewery opened in Aspen in 1990, but it only stayed three years before moving to Denver. For the next 15 years, no brewery took its place.
“[Flying Dog] left a huge void here,” says Duncan Clauss, who co-founded Aspen Brewing Co. in 2008 with college buddy Brad Veltman. “It was a shock to us that Aspen didn’t have [a brewery].”
Barely two years after churning out its first pint, Aspen Brewing has made a mountain-sized mark on the town’s après ski scene, with brews like Palisade-hopped Independence Pass Ale IPA and well-balanced Ajax Pilsner, popular among both locals and tourists weary after a day of skiing.
About 15 bars and restaurants carry the hometown brews, but depending where you imbibe, you may get opposing views of this ski town with a dual personality.
“Aspen has two completely different cultures,” Clauss says.
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Yes, in Aspen you’ll encounter the 40-something cougar in designer jeans and full makeup riding the gondola up the mountain for a lunch date. But you’ll also find the baggy-bottomed ski bum with a vocabulary that isn’t quite English (gnar pow pow = great snow; epic faceshots = great snow; sick freshies = great snow). When your ski legs are ready for a bar stool and a beverage, you’ll find establishments that cater to each brand of Aspenite.
Aspen Brewing’s tasting room is a bright, friendly little bar with a laid-back vibe and about 75 percent local clientele. Here you’ll find no food, but the full lineup of Aspen beer, including this winter’s seasonal Oatmeal Stout. Hungrier beer lovers can enjoy a slice of pie and the second-best selection of Aspen beers on draft at Highlands Pizza Co. in nearby Aspen Highlands village.
Another easygoing après spot is Double Dog Pub, a downtown basement hangout that attracts a half local, half tourist crowd during ski season. In addition to Aspen’s IPA and malty Brown Bearale, Double Dog offers pub fare and about two dozen other beers, including Colorado-crafted Easy Street Wheat from Odell Brewing.
“It’s the anti see-and-be-seen place,” Double Dog co-owner Bob Glowacki says.
In most ski towns, the closer you get to the base of the mountain, the more likely the person down the bar from you is a tourist -- and in Aspen, it’s even more likely that person flew here on their private jet.
This more chic après crowd gathers at places like Ajax Tavern in the luxe, ski-in/ski-out Little Nell hotel, where you can expect prices to match the location (a burger-pint combo runs $15... at happy hour).
But to witness Aspen in all its swanky, $16-cocktail glory, ski no further than the 39 Degrees Lounge in the slopeside Sky Hotel. From the bar’s crackling fireplaces to the lobby’s absurdly oversized chairs that channel Alice in Wonderland, here you’re guaranteed to rub elbows with Aspen’s après elite.
From highbrow to down-home, though, Aspen’s après hotspots do share one common thread: Here, the local beer flows once more.
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This article originally appeared in the January/February 2010 of DRAFT Magazine
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