B: Beer

According to The Fort Collins Convention and Visitor's Bureau, “Fort Collins is the second largest producer of beer in Colorado, and the state is ranked first in the country in volume produced by breweries.” But the brewpub culture is about more than beer. It’s about craftsmanship and good food (many restaurants now offer beer pairing dinners) and places to hang out with old friends and get to know new ones. It’s (hopefully) about quality instead of quantity. And I’m willing to bet that even if you don’t drink beer, you have enjoyed a pleasant summer evening on a patio in Old Town with folks who do.

Whether you like your beer dark, light, hoppy, spicy, fruity, wheaty, malty, citrusy, or just cold on a hot day, there’s a local brew for you. Variety is the spice of life, so try something new. But please do so responsibly.

Before the microbreweries, there was the Town Pump serving 3.2 back in the day. And Anheuser-Busch, which is worth the drive to see the beautiful horses. But for many years, there was no beer sold legally in Fort Collins. From The Fort Collins History Connection:

“Alice Edwards, daughter-in-law of Charlotte Calista Edwards, was elected to the council in 1895 along with other anti-(liquor) license male members. Though Ms. Edwards moved to another ward in the city and thus lost her office the following year, the platform on which she had run was adopted. The council passed an ordinance prohibiting the sale of liquor. When Frank Miller's license for his saloon on Linden expired on June 11, 1896, it ended the sale of liquor within the town. The women had used the ballot effectively.

"The Courier noted:

The melancholy days have come,
The saddest yet, we fear,
For every man in town
Must now give up his beer."

Prohibition lasted until 1969. Perhaps that explains the following recipe from The Avery House Collection cookbook:

"Beer:
2 cups brown sugar
3 cups white sugar
1 package gelatin
1 yeast cake
1 cup malt, powdered
5 gallons water

Leave 72 hours.

--Mrs. Carl Hammitt

"Carl Hammitt was Deputy Sheriff and travelled with Buffalo Bill for many years and finally settled in Cody with Buffalo Bill."

Cheers!