Imperial Breakfast at Denver’s Copper Kettle
Walking into a microbrewery at 10:00 am where patrons are already getting their drink on with some pilsners and dortmunders to the accompaniment of polka music, you could be forgiven for thinking that a few dozen people decided to have a late (or very early) Oktoberfest celebration. Turns out that instead you’d just be right on time for the first in a 3-course breakfast paired with Copper Kettle Brewing Company‘s beers.
With the help of Denver food truck Chef Driven, Copper Kettle owners Jeremy Gobien and Kristen Kozic decided to throw down a beer breakfast yestarday (1/29) to celebrate and highlight their newest beer release, High Country Imperial Breakfast Bourbon Stout. It’s a bit of a long name, but how else do you describe an imperial stout that is made with bourbon-soaked-oak chips, oatmeal, and coffee? But more on that later.
And why the heck would a brewery be open at 10am on a Sunday? Well, it’s fun. Part of the fun of Denver is doing things a little differently than everyone else. And instead of having a 3-course breakfast / food pairing at a more reasonable hour…why not just have breakfast at breakfast?…Or for lunch at their noon session (hey, gotta meet demand).
Appetizer: Fluffy cheddar drop biscuits with a creamy white country sausage gravy (Paired with: Czech Pilsner or Dortmunder)
Down south, comfort food knows no distinction between mealtimes. This tamer sample of mammy and pappy’s morning kick-starter is a no brainer pair with a dry and biscuity pilsner, or even the more robust yet equally bready dortmunder. The peppery sausage in the lush white gravy also serves to cut across the somewhat herbal hops, while also complimenting the earthiness of the lagers.
Entree: Ham glazed with bourbon maple syrup, with a side of stone ground crispy grits (Paired with: High Country Imperial Breakfast Bourbon Stout)
When the bar switches on the bluegrass, the star of the party comes out for the main course to accompany a healthy bit of pork, glazed in a sweet boozy concoction. Big bucket of win. The fat in the ham soothes out the high gravity edge on the stout, while retaining that breakfasty sweetness that holds sway in the brew. And the smokey malt/coffee tone also does its job of sweeping away the grits off the palate when you’re done enjoying them. Kinda overpowered the grits, but as I’m not a big fan of the stuff, it was all okay once that velvety roasty sweet stout hit.
Dessert: Mexican-style churro French Toast with a Palisade peach and vanilla compote (Paired with: Mexican Chocolate Stout)
To round out the morning’s pairings, the bar switches the stereo to some mariachi tunes. When the French toast comes through the door fresh from Chef Driven, the entire brewery is filled with a perfume of cinnamon and sweetness. The vanilla peach compote blends with the cinnamon to bring such a sweetness and tart fruitiness to the Texas-sized pieces of toast served to each patron. It matches well with the sweetness from the chocolate in the beer, but is all balanced by a gentle but firm peppery heat. It’s simply mixing sweet fruity bread with sweet spicy chocolate beer. And cinnamon tones throughout. Oohh yes.
And now, a gratuitous photo of beer:
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[...] gets released tomorrow, but that didn’t stop Copper Kettle from releasing it during a beer pairing breakfast last week. Clocking in at over 10%, this imperial stout has oatmeal, chocolate, coffee, and was [...]