Visited on: Friday 15th June 2018
Bob Thompson
The Call to Arms Brewing Co is situated in the Denver suburb of Berkeley. Rather surprisingly it is within five minutes walk to two other brew-pubs, the Grateful Gnome and De Steeg Brewing.
This makes a visit to Berkeley a pleasurable experience and Linda and myself went these other breweries on the same day. Please see separate reports on that.
The brewery was founded by Chris Bell, Jesse Brookstein and Jon Cross and opened on Thursday 16th July 2015. At that time they had acquired over twenty-two years of collective experience in the brewing industry, thirteen of them with Avery Brewing of Boulder, CO. All three left Avery early in 2014 to set up this new venture. It was an amicable parting of the ways with the blessing of owner Adam Avery.
They had found suitable premises at 4526 Tennyson Street at the centre of Berkeley. It was the rear half of an industrial building that had been renovated. In a previous life it had been a City truck garage and then a motorcycle museum. Approaching the pub we noticed that there was some outside seating opposite the small car park. Two garage-type doors provide fresh air in the warmer months. The front of the building is a pizza restaurant named Mas Kaos and there is a reciprocal arrangement for food and drink between the two.
Once through the main door it was then left into the restaurant or right into the pub. This is a large L-shaped room with the bar counter on the left. Although made of reclaimed and other second hand materials, it looks superb with dark varnished wood. The brewery is to be found around the corner of the bar counter and there is a shuffleboard table set against the far wall. The room looks very good and you appreciate that professional designers and architects have been used.
The available beer range is displayed on a flat screen behind the bar. There were fourteen to choose from and these were: CTA IPA (6.5%), a Denver-style IPA; The Ballroom Beer (5.0%), a domestic lager, Berkeley Tart Blonde (5.0%).
Oats and Hose (5.7%), an oatmeal porter; McLovin (7.4%), a single hop (Cascade) IPA with all Colorado-grown grain and hop; Yikes! (6.0%), an experimental IPA and Shirtless Putin Catchin’ Rays (5.3%), a Czech dark lager.
The list continued with Brofessional Juicer (6.5%), a collaboration with Cannonball Creek Brewing of Golden, CO, another experimental IPA; Clintonian Pale Ale (4.5%), a dry-hopped pale ale; Old Wooden Ship (6.1%), a port barrel-aged sour saison; If You Can Dodge a Wrench (5.7%), a session IPA; Eureka (6.5%), a hop oil infused IPA, Hazers Gonna Haze IPA (7.0%), a Lapulin Powder IPA and Great Great Great Gum Gum (11.0%), a triple IPA.
We tried some and these are our thoughts on them: Oats and Hose Oatmeal Porter had a hint of oatmeal and we thought it was a well balanced beer. If You Dodge a Wrench Session IPA had a nice bitterness and was dry-hopped with Grungeist, Rakau and Amarillo.
CTA IPA had a good dry bitterness with a medium bitter finish, no citrus tastes. McLovin Single Hop IPA had medium bitterness and a soft taste. It was made with all Colorado ingredients from Troubadour Maltings of Fort Collins and Cascades from High Wire Hops of Paonia.
Well worth a visit if you are going anywhere near the small beery epicentre that is Berkeley.
Important Information:
Call to Arms Brewing, 4526 Tennyson Street, Denver 80212. Tel: 720 432 7439
Web: calltoarmsbrewing.com
Hours: Monday-Thursday 15.00-22.00; Friday 15.00-23.00; Saturday 12:00-23.00; Sunday 12:00-21.00
The 44 bus route is very useful as it travels through the RINO district with its many breweries and brew-pubs. It goes through the city centre on 15th and 17th Streets then goes north till it reaches 44th Avenue.
It continues along 44th in a westerly direction to the terminus in Wheat Ridge passing Berkeley on the way. The 44 runs half hourly on weekdays, hourly from 19.00, and hourly at weekends.
From the city centre alight at the West 44th Avenue and Tennyson Street bus stop. Go back from stop and turn left into Tennyson Street. Walk one block, cross 45th Street; the pub is on the right.
