The lady’s sister lives in Manitou Springs so it was only natural for us to wonder into Manitou Brewing Company to give it a whirl. As you can see above, I went with a flight to taste all of their beers. I drank in order of low to high IBU so here is the list in that order.

Manitou Brewing Co. – Session Red Ale – I noticed on their menu that they don’t currently have this beer. That is another fun part of craft breweries, change! This one had the low IBU at 12 so it got to kick things off with my flight. Any beer that uses the word red makes me think it is going to be a malt heavy beverage and this one didn’t disappoint. I finished this one so quickly, I questioned whether 4.7% ABV was low enough to consider this beer a Session beer.

Manitou Brewing Co. – Manitou Common – At 25 IBU, this was the second least bitter beer on the menu. This one could be considered a Session beer at 5.2% ABV. It was more malty goodness. It is another beer that is no longer on the menu. They have replaced these two malty beverages with two other concoctions – Tall Rev Red Ale and Dark Belgian Strong. If they are as good as these two, they know how to to make some seriously good malt beers.

Manitou Brewing Co. – Belgian Blonde – At 27 IBU, this beer got the middle child treatment. This one is definitely considered a Session beer at 4.7% ABV. I think that is part of the reason that I felt this beer was a little thin. I expect beer to have more viscosity than water even if water makes up approximately 97% of beer. I expect a hefty dose of spices in Belgian style beers like coriander, nutmeg and orange or lemon juice. I don’t feel like I got any of that. I did get the expected Belgian yeast which was the loudest note on my palate. This one has also been replaced by an American Blonde. I’m not sure the differences between the styles. Sounds like I’ve got a research project.

Manitou Brewing Co. – Smoked Nut Brown – Colorado has not abandoned the Nut Browns like many folks. This beer is the first one to have an assertive hops flavor though much like Upslope’s Brown Ale it is balanced out my the malt that helps to give it that nice color. The ABV is also kicked up from the other choices at 6.5% ABV. Both barreled and smoked beers have the same problem, more times than not they are over aged or smoked. This beer had just enough smoke to make it noticeable without muting the other flavors. They have also pitched this beer for the time being.

Manitou Brewing Co. – IPA – Hey kids, this beer is still on the menu! IPAs will forever be at the end of my lists for tastings. At 65 IBU though, this beer wasn’t particularly bitter. It edged out the Nut Brown by 0.2% in the ABV department to be the most alcoholic beer of their own making. I tend to look at the blend of hops but they don’t have a listing for them. Even though this IPA was more in my zone for IBU, it was my least favorite of the choices. The other upside to beers coming and going at craft breweries is that recipes can be tweaked and batches do tend to vary marginally from batch to batch. I’m not sure if they did change but it is something to keep in mind.

I had a great time downing their beers and would be more than happy to go back out to visit the soon to be in laws and try Manitou Brewing’s new #SippyTimeBeers. – Kevin