Beer Me! — Left Hand Brewing — Longmont, Colorado, United States

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Left Hand Brewing

1265 Boston Avenue
Longmont CO 80501
Telephone: +1 303-772-0258
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 3:00pm-8:00pm, Friday noon-9:00pm, Saturday noon-8:00pm.
Brewer: Ro Guenzel
[Contact] [Update]

Notes

Opened: 1994

Annual Production: 49,549 bbl

Contributors: Eric Wallace, Mario Kornmesser, Roger Kirkpatrick

Left Hand shared premises with Tabernash Brewing until the latter went out of business, leaving the recipes to Left Hand.

Updated: December 14, 2023

News

2014-03-21: LEFT HAND BREWING COMPANY’S “NITRO” TRADEMARK APPLICATION MEETS OPPOSITION (The Brewery Law Blog)
2013-09-12: Left Hand Brewing Company Celebrates 20 Years (Brewbound)
2012-04-17: Left Hand Brewing's Nitro is different kind of stout: Crack One Open (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
2011-03-30: Left Hand brews growth (Boulder Daily Camera)
2010-06-05: Congress on tap: Markey makes campaign stop at Left Hand (Longmont Times-Call)

Beer List

400 Pound Monkey

American-Style India Pale Ale
- Date: April 1, 2010 (#8194)
  
  Package: draught
  
  Place: Brass Monkey Sports Bar, Omaha NE
  
  Score: 15 points
  
  Appearance (3)
  Bright golden. Dense head.
  
  Aroma (3)
  Fairly fruity.
  
  Mouthfeel (7)
  Medium body, fizzy. Sweet and malty. Fruity, grassy hop flavor, medium bitterness.
  
  Overall Impression (2)
  Weird balance.

Bard's Ale

English-Style Pale Mild Ale

2.50% abv.

Date: December 16, 1997 (#2362)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Brown, moderate carbonation, OK head. Spicy aroma, smoky, caramelly. Lots of brown maltiness, pretty good hop balance, not a lot of body. Thin sweet finish. A good beer, not a great beer. "Contains not more than 2% alcohol by weight. Brewed in honor of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival." Thanks to Mike Bodzioch for sending this beer to me!

Black Jack Porter

Robust Porter

Awards:

Bronze Medal, 2007 Australian International Beer Awards
Gold Medal, 2006 North American Beer Awards
Honorable Mention, 2002 North American Beer Awards
Third Place, 2001 North American Beer Awards

Date: June 14, 2007 (#6548)

Package: bottled

Place: Hy-Vee Columbus, Columbus NE

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Deep garnet. Thick foamy head.

Aroma (3)
Grassy, fruity, chocolatey, and just a bit alcoholic.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body, low carbonation. Richly malty and very chocolatey, with a fruity hop flavor. Low bitterness. Warming, chocolatey finish.

Overall Impression (2½)
Date: October 22, 1994 (#569)

Package: draught

Place: Great American Beer Festival, Denver CO

Score: 17 points

Overall Impression (3)
Light color. Coffee aroma. Poured by a girl named Bob.

Chainsaw Ale

Imperial or Double India Pale Ale

Date: March 31, 2008 (#6960)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Deep red-brown. Slight haze. Dense head.

Aroma (4)
Enormous spicy hops! Intense dark caramel malt.

Mouthfeel (8)
Big beer. Loads of spicy hops, really bitter, on an earthy, sweet, dark caramel base.

Overall Impression (1½)
Needs some age to smooth it out.

Date: May 18, 2019 (#10061)

Place: Spirit World, Omaha NE

Score: 18½ points

Appearance (3)
Black. Dense head.

Aroma (4)
Roasty. Malty.

Mouthfeel (9)
Medium body, smooth. Richly malty and nicely roasty. Mild grassy hop flavor, low-medium bitterness. Malty, roasty finish.

Overall Impression (2½)
Real good beer.

Date: December 22, 2010 (#8399)

Package: bottled

Place: Hy-Vee Stony Brook, Omaha NE

Score: 17½ points

Appearance (3)
Black. Dense brown head.

Aroma (3½)
Smoky. Sweet. Roasty. Grassy.

Mouthfeel (9)
Big and chewy. Nice mix of malt and smoke, fairly roasty. Smoke and malt give way to bitter roast in the finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: January 7, 2008 (#6800)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Bright golden. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Sweet, fresh ginger, like gari.

Mouthfeel (8)
Light body, fizzy. Sweetly malty, with more than a hint of ginger flavor. Mildly spicy and nicely clean.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: December 6, 2007 (#6723)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 20 points

Appearance (3)
Deep red. Some haze. Massive head.

Aroma (4)
Wonderful clean wood-smoke.

Mouthfeel (10)
Big body, moderate carbonation. Intense smoked malt flavor, a bit sweet. Warming, with some alcohol on the tongue.

Overall Impression (3)
One of the best smoked beers ever. Bottle-conditioned.

Date: May 7, 2008 (#6990)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Yellow. Hazy. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Spicy, yeasty, wheat malt.

Mouthfeel (8)
Light body. Creamy. Big wheat malt flavor. Fruity. Clean sweet finish.

Overall Impression (2)
Bottled 6-13-07, eleven months ago.

Date: September 1, 2008 (#7276)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Very very dark. Moderate dense head.

Aroma (3)
Hugely chocolatey, with resiny undertones.

Mouthfeel (9)
Big body, smooth and malty. Lots of chocolate with a nice alcohol bite. Some resiny hop flavor and bitterness.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: August 6, 2003 (#4997)

Package: draught

Place: Oblio's, Oshkosh WI

Score: 18 points

Overall Impression (3)
Black. Big thick head. Chocolatey-sweet aroma. Medium creamy/silky body. Huge chocolate flavor, reasonably sweet. Nice hint of roastiness in the finish.

Date: July 5, 2003 (#4944)

Package: bottled

Place: Peabody's Ale House, Oshkosh WI

Score: 17 points

Overall Impression (3)
Dark garnet. Thick tight head. Chocolatey, grainy aroma. Light-medium creamy body. Hugely chocolatey! Mildly sweet, very smooth, and really chocolatey. Melts-in-your-mouth milk chocolate.

Date: June 12, 2009 (#7812)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 18 points

Appearance (3)
Black. Moderate dense head.

Aroma (3)
Richly malty and quite alcoholic.

Mouthfeel (9)
Big and chewy. Nicely roasty and alcoholic and smooth.

Overall Impression (3)
I should put some of this in the cellar.

Date: August 30, 2008 (#7272)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Bright amber-brown. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Big sweet biscuity malt. A little fruity.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body, smooth. Sweetly malty, biscuity, with a fruity hop character and a low bitterness. Sweet finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: June 21, 2007 (#6556)

Package: bottled

Place: Crescent Moon Ale House, Omaha NE

Score: 17½ points

Appearance (3)
Bright golden. Massive dense head.

Aroma (2½)
Spicy. Sulfury. Grainy.

Mouthfeel (9)
Medium body. Moderately fizzy. Lots of grainy malt. Lots of SO₂. Big noble hop flavor and bitterness.

Overall Impression (3)
Real nice German-style Pils.

Date: June 21, 2007 (#6557)

Package: draught

Place: Crescent Moon Ale House, Omaha NE

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Orange-amber. Some haze. Dense head.

Aroma (3)
INTENSELY toasty and fairly sweet. Mild earthy hops.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body. Moderate-low carbonation. Hugely toasty, hugely grainy. Fairly sweet. Earthy.

Overall Impression (2)
I thought it had more hop character when I tasted it a few weeks ago.

Date: April 12, 1998 (#2726)

Package: draught

Place: Map Room, Chicago IL

Score: 17½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Red-brown, moderate carbonation, good head. Very citrusy aroma. Medium body, real malty, fairly bitter. Pretty chewy beer.

Date: December 6, 2007 (#6722)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Bright deep red. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Mildly nutty.

Mouthfeel (9)
Big body, fairly fizzy. Lots of rich darkish malt. Warming. Nice nutty spiciness, surprisingly very much in balance with the malt. Finishes with a nice caramel apple flavor.

Overall Impression (2)
Brewed with honey and spices. As spiced beers go, it's pretty tasty.

Date: July 2, 2009 (#7844)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Yellow. Very hazy. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Sweetly malty. Bready. Fruity.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium-big body. Smooth. Sweet. Malty. Really fruity. Mildly alcoholic.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: May 23, 2011 (#8565)

Package: draught

Place: Crescent Moon Ale House, Omaha NE

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Amber. Slight haze. Low dense head.

Aroma (2½)
Very mild bready malt. Very mild fruity hops. Very mild.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body, fairly fizzy. Biscuity, sweet malt. Fruity-floral hop flavor, reasonably bitter. Clean, mildly hoppy finish.

Overall Impression (2½)

Date: August 20, 2008 (#7262)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Golden. Slight haze. Moderate dense head.

Aroma (3)
Intense spicy hops. Big alcohol.

Mouthfeel (9)
Medium-big body, moderate carbonation. Big oaky coconut flavor, along with loads of resiny, fruity hop flavor and bitterness.

Overall Impression (2)
"11,420 IBU", according to the label.

Date: August 19, 2012 (#8902)

Package: bottled

Place: Ridgeview Liquor, Ashwaubenon WI

Score: 18 points

Appearance (3)
Black. Thick dense head.

Aroma (3)
Malty. Very mildly roasty.

Mouthfeel (9)
Big, but not Real Big. Chocolatey, roasty, with a hint of grassy flavor. Medium bitterness. Drying alcohol sensation, warming.

Overall Impression (3)
Rich, flavorful beer.

Date: December 6, 2007 (#6721)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 20 points

Appearance (3)
Bright amber. Huge head.

Aroma (4)
Immense fresh spicy hops.

Mouthfeel (10)
Big body, fairly fizzy. Lots of malt, but lots of spicy, earthy hops. Fairly bitter, but not overpowering; it's all about the hop flavor.

Overall Impression (3)
Brewed with "fresh hops picked in Longmont, Colorado and Warrior hops from Yakima, Washington straight off the vine".

Date: January 12, 2008 (#6816)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Red-amber. Hazy. Big thick head.

Aroma (3½)
HUGE spicy, piney, resiny hops.

Mouthfeel (8)
Massively smooth beer. Enormous maltiness supports an immense earthy, grassy, resiny bitterness.

Overall Impression (2½)
Very good beer, as young Barleywines go. Get more.