Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 i 5280 Magazine

Continental Divide Winery Vino-loving locals, rejoice: All state residents are eligible to join this family-owned Fairplay winery’s Colorado Club. Every month, members receive two bottles ($20 to $40 each) of Continental Divide’s rose, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Albarino, or other varieties, all produced from Colorado and California grapes. Other member perks include access to limited-edition wines, 20 percent off all sales, and free, unlimited on-site tastings for two. Fenceline Cider Co-owners (and college roommates) Neal Wight and Sam Perry make hard ciders from Montezuma County fruit that drink more like sparkling apple wines—and, if you’re part of Fenceline’s cider club, they arrive at your home looking as such, in 750-milliliter bottles adorned with labels featuring hand-painted artwork. For $59 per quarter, members receive three small-batch ciders, tasting notes, and discounts. If…

First, Black is Beautiful—a national social justice brewing campaign established this past summer in response to the Black Lives Matter movement—inspired Dos Luces Brewery to make the world’s first black chicha (a tart, cornbased brew originally from what is now Peru, generally pale yellow to deep red). Next came the Túpac Amaru III, out in March. It’s an ebony beer made with the same local roasted blue corn malts used in the chicha; it’s aged in whiskey barrels with palo santo staves; and flavors of coffee, dark chocolate, anise, and clove abound. A portion of proceeds will be donated to Colorado organizations fighting against social injustice. If I could be drinking anywhere other than home, I would be… “At the Haleakal? volcano on Maui, sipping a Don Q Cristal rum…

“We don’t talk enough about sustainability in drinks,” says chef Dana Rodriguez of Super Mega Bien and Work & Class. “I created my own line of mezcals and tequilas to educate people about how to drink the right way, with respect.” Honoring the Mexican families and traditions behind her new line of organic, small-batch spirits, called Doña Loca, is paramount to Rodriguez and her co-founding partners, Karen Ashworth-Macfarlane and Scott Kiere. But so is flavor. The trio united around the delicate, smoky nuances of artisanal mezcal on a trip to the palenques, or mezcal distilleries, of Oaxaca three years ago. They traveled to take part in harvesting, roasting, and fermenting agave in order to truly understand the process—and get to know the mezcaleros (distillers) behind it all. “We wanted to…

DON’T DRINK AND ZOOM 12.9% ABV Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Scoville Stout, Crooked Stave Chad Yakobson is a chile junkie. Case in point: The Crooked Stave owner-brewer grew Scotch bonnet peppers on-site at his Sunnyside taproom for the brewery’s barrel-aged Scoville Stout, an imperial stout brimming with chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon flavors—and just the right hit of chile heat. 9.5% ABV Winter Stout, Old 121 Brewhouse Most breweries in Colorado aren’t known for their root beers, but at Old 121 in Lakewood, house-made sodas are always on the menu. That’s why head brewer Brett Zahrte decided to create a root beer variation, pouring now, on his Winter Stout—as well as dark chocolate and Ugandan vanilla varieties. Hurry for tastes of the three spinoffs (there are limited quantities), but be reassured that Old 121’s…

LESSON 1 Our Health Systems Were Woefully Unprepared To Handle A Pandemic Three waves, more than 20 million cases, and 350,000-plus deaths as of early January: By any metric, COVID-19 got the best of America. And Colorado had 341,250 cases and nearly 4,934 deaths. How did it all go so wrong? Dr. John Hammer (pictured), an infectious disease specialist and chair of medicine at Rose Medical Center, breaks down some of the most damaging missteps. 5280: We had the influenza pandemic in 1918 and other recent scares, including H1N1 in 2009. Were there not systems in place based on those experiences? Dr. John Hammer: We were fairly well prepared for an influenza outbreak after our experience in 2009 with H1N1. Our health departments developed some idea of how to test…

PRICE KEY (Average Entrée) $ UNDER $10 ▪ $$ $11 TO $15 ▪ $$$ $16 TO $25 (Average Entrée) ▪ $$$$ $ 26 AND HIGHER. SYMBOL KEY NEW Indicates a restaurant featured in 5280 for the first time (though not necessarily a restaurant that has just opened). 25 BEST Indicates inclusion in 5280’s 2019 list of Denver’s best restaurants; we did not release a 2020 list due to COVID-19 disruptions and closures. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and are subject to change. A Acova $$$ Highland / American A diverse gluten-free menu of American classics and dishes spotlighting international flavors are the draw here. Try the honey-drizzled fried chicken. Reservations accepted. 3651 Navajo St., 303-736-2718. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch African Grill & Bar $$$ Lakewood / African…

When Denver indie rocker Jeff Cormack (pictured), who records under the name South of France, released his first album, Another Boring Sunrise, in 2012, Pitchfork critics loved it. Cormack didn’t. “Half the songs on there don’t feel like me,” Cormack says. “They were just thrown in there to fill space.” So Cormack, 33, hit pause on South of France and focused on becoming a more accomplished producer and songwriter by learning from some of his favorite musicians. Nine years later, South of France is dropping a second album, Remember That Cool Thing We Did, this month. Here, Cormack shares the post-2012 projects that influenced the album’s sound. ROUGH TRADE Writing and pitching songs for artists on the Rough Trade Publishing label from 2013 to 2017 allowed Cormack to collaborate with…

Even though she was raised in Denver, Pamela Richard grew up eating Southern tea cakes. Her Louisiana-born grandmother would make the soft, chewy, cookielike treats for all the grandkids. “It’s amazing how food is a connection to the past,” Richard says. After earning an MBA and working in the nonprofit sector, she was let go from her job in 2017; it was then that those memories inspired Richard to change her life’s course and begin baking tea cakes under her own brand, Miss Peabody’s Southern Tea Cakes. She is Miss Peabody, after all: the smiling girl in pigtails and glasses on her labels with a nickname her grandmother gave her, thanks to Richard’s eyewear (a reference to the spectacled 1950s cartoon dog, Mr. Peabody). These days, Richard is baking far…

1. NITRO COCKTAILS The team at Breckenridge Brewery tinkered over the recipes and tech behind its Velvet line of egg-white-inspired nitro malt cocktails for three years before launching it in December. Inspired by the thick, creamy head on a gin fizz or whiskey sour, the three iterations—berry-forward Pink, sweet elderflower Purple, and bittersweet lime Golden—are even vegan-approved, for the nitro renders actual egg whites unnecessary. 2. AMBER LAGER Ryan Wibby, brewmaster and president of Longmont’s Wibby Brewing, leaned into his love of German lagers—and that country’s malts—when creating the Volksbier Vienna, an amber lager made using German malt and American hops. The 2020 Great American Beer Festival gold medal winner being available in cans, as of December, makes it taste that much sweeter. 3. APERITIVO You’ll smile for two reasons…

If You Want To Save… Music Venues Z2 Entertainment’s David Weingarden advises visiting saveourstages.com, where you can donate to the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund. You can also send money straight to your favorite venue (many have funds set up) or buy concert tickets for 2021, which helps provide a much-needed influx of cash right now. If You Want To Save… Restaurants Along with takeout and delivery (reminder: order directly from the restaurant), Laura Shunk, communication director at the Colorado Restaurant Association, suggests supporting the virtual classes and events many restaurants have started, buying pantry items from local eateries, and asking your elected officials to provide support for restaurants. If You Want To Save… Artists and Galleries “The best way to support local artists and galleries is to involve yourself in…