May 4: Denver, CO

I may have mentioned this before, but I've been getting progressively lazier as this trip has gone on. Ajay planned on cutting out of lab early so we could check out some local breweries in the afternoon. I could've spent my morning exploring Denver on my own, but instead I sat on the couch, caught up on this thing, booked some hotels, and lazed around.

So in the afternoon, we headed out. First, we got lunch at a nearby taqueria.



My carne asada burrito was kind of heavy on the lettuce, but otherwise ok. I got a tripe taco, because I'd never tried it before. It's a little weird, probably not something I'd order again.

Then we got gas at the oddest looking gas station I've ever seen. You pull in, and there are gas pumps randomly strewn about the lot. If it's crowded, easy to get trapped in there.



Next we were off to Ft. Collins for some beer. Our first stop was New Belgium. You might be familiar with their Fat Tire, but they do a lot of other stuff that I guess doesn't make it out to California. They have an extensive 90 minute tour, which is quite informative, and has 5 different tastings. You also get another one out at their tasting room.

Tasty beers all around, and they are also a very environmentally and socially responsible company. Makes me want to drink more of their beer.

After that, we went to O'Dell's. We were too late for any of the tours, but we did get a couple of tasting trays, which allow you to sample 6 of their beers at a time. By the end of this, Ajay and I were a bit intoxicated. Luckily we had his girlfriend to DD for us.



Headed over to Coopersmith's for another in a long line of great burgers I've had on this trip. And of course, another beer. For some unknown reason, instead of India Pale Ale, they have Punjabi Pale Ale. Which left us wondering, why isn't it Keralite Pale Ale?

regular vs. cask conditioned

artichoke dip on the burger

Something I learned about Colorado. They love their beer here. At O'Dells, we saw parents who brought their kids in. The kids colored while mom and dad had a beer. Also, Sruthi was discussing how one of the other girls in her lab doesn't really like hoppy beer. This, I feel, is just a conversation that wouldn't happen in California. It's hard enough to find girls who like beer at all, let alone have preferences about specific styles/tastes. It's a different culture out here. Also, Ft. Collins has a bike library, where you can borrow a bike for up to a week for free. Dirty hippies...