Pikes Peak Gold (Belgian Strong Ale)

It’s the perfect evening to jump on my e-bike and head up the trail to pick up some gold…Pike Peak Brewing’s Gold, that is. Sure, I risk my life crossing the busy I-25 interchanges, but it’s for beer, after all.

Pikes Peak Brewing was one of my first stops after moving to Colorado Springs in the summer of 2014, so I have a soft spot for them. I was immediately drawn to their Belgian strong ale, which at the time was called Gold Rush, but like Cher, Madonna, and Sting, it’s shortened its stage name to just one word: Gold.

It’s got the sweet taste of a Belgian strong (not sickly sweet), but with a kick of bitterness at the end. It comes in at a respectable 8.7% ABV. So, having a couple of these is like an ejection of truth serum: you’ll tell people what you really think.

But let’s get back to this beer. It’s something special. There was only one other brewery in COS that had a Belgian strong on its flagship menu, and that was Great Storm Brewing which, sadly, is a thing of the past. Their Shine On Belgian strong could go toe to toe with Gold Rush. Only Gold remains, however, so it is the undisputed champion. It has a nice straw color, a slight sweetness with that clovey, slightly banana-esque taste from the yeast. The bittering hops might be turned up one notch too many, but that’s not a show stopper. It smells a bit skunky, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, I just call it as I smell it.

So, what would I do differently if I was brewing this beer? Less bittering hops. Nothing drastic, but dialing down the bitterness would put it over the top and I’d be here on a daily basis. Regardless of these slight flaws (and I mean slight), I always have to restrain myself from buying a sixpack at the store everytime I walk past the display. If I'm at the brewery, however, it's just too hard to resist. A visit to Pikes Peak isn't complete without some Gold coursing through my veins.

Let’s talk about the brewery itself. It’s one of my favorites, maybe because it's close by or maybe it's because the mountains are right across the highway. Either way, it just feels like a Colorado brewery: its got that cozy ski lodge feel, whether that’s what the owners were going for or not, and it's just got a good vibe. There is news that the long-time owners are selling their brewery, which usually does not bode well. My first instinct when hearing this was to raise my fist in the air and yell out "Khaaaan!!" at the top of my lungs (Star Trek fans would understand), but the buyers are from Goat Patch Brewing, which shares the same philosophy as Pikes Peak, and brews some really good beer. So, I think Pikes Peak will be in good hands.