Crazy Mountain Brewing Company - Cara de Luna

Crazy Mountain describes this beer as a unique "mutt" featuring German hops, Belgian malt, and American yeast, with the end result being a "Black German Pale Ale." Sounds nuts, huh? Well it is Crazy Mountain after all. Pouring a very dark brown with a nice cap of dense foam, Cara de Luna offers up a nose of deep caramel and chocolate, with a bit of a fig-like fruity character, a touch of rum, and a wisp of licorice. In the flavor department, bold roasty notes come to the forefront as some wheaty notes and a bright, clean, moderate bitterness builds into the finish. Look for some classic German noble hop tones of earth and herbal spice. Crazy Mountain set out to create a light-bodied, very drinkable beer with roasty, chocolaty flavors, and we think they've succeeded well. It comes off a bit like a German schwarzbier met an American black ale and had a baby. Is that why there's a trippy owl-lizard-bat chimera thing named Sohalia on the label? Who knows, but we dig it – both the beer and the brewery's whimsical label art! The brewery recommends pairing with grilled beer bratwurst with caramelized sauerkraut, chocolate lava cake, or roasted chicken mole enchiladas. Cheers!

Crazy Mountain Brewing Company was founded in January 2010 by Kevin Selvy and his wife Marisa, and it is the Vail Valley’s first production brewery. A Colorado native, Kevin had worked in finance after graduating from Colorado State, living in Europe and California while pursuing that career, and developing a taste for great beer. It was while he was in California that he got his big break in the brewing industry when some of his homebrew crossed paths with an Anchor Brewing Company employee – leading him on a new path that would take him to positions at several California breweries.

One day in 2007, Kevin got off his shift at Anchor and went to have a beer in the tasting room. It was here that he met Marisa, who had just finished a tour of the brewery. Three short years later the pair would find themselves married, relocated to Colorado, and the owners of their very own brewery. Named after the Selvy family’s Crazy Mountain Ranch, the brewery demanded a ton of hard work to turn it into the success it is today. In the early days, the husband and wife team did everything, including brewing, packaging, remodeling, running their tasting room, and delivering beer to their local accounts via an old pickup truck. While Kevin leads the brewing operations, Marisa leverages her extensive experience working with marketing and advertising agencies in her position as VP of Marketing. The last seven years have delivered tremendous success, with the brewery being expanded twice to meet increased demand, and the tasting room becoming a popular destination for Vail tourists. The brewery currently produces ten year-round offerings and four seasonals, as well as their limited-run "Local's Stash" beers in corked and caged 750-ml bottles. For more info, contact them at 970-926-3009 or visit www.crazymountainbrewery.com.