The shot heard round the woods

R&R returns to Black Forest as Golden Pine Coffee Roasters; Bristol Brewing talks 30 to us; Beasts and Brews to become Red's Sunset Grill + more food & drink news

Feb 24, 2024

Golden Pines Coffee Roasters owner Ryan Wanner at the Sunday morning Park Union Farmers Market on the Meanwhile Block. Photo by Matthew Schniper.

When R&R Coffee Cafe shuttered this past fall, after 15 years of business in Black Forest, residents weren’t just despondent — they mourned. R&R didn’t close because it lacked business; Owner Ryan Wanner opted to vacate based on a lease negotiation that fell through with the cafe’s property owner. They couldn’t come to terms he liked.

I’ve stayed in touch with him over the last several months as he weighed opening at one of several other locations around the city, but he always expressed a desire to return to Black Forest, where the locals (and many others like me who’ve regularly driven from elsewhere) have supported him enthusiastically. During this recent period he’s continued roasting at a much smaller scale and his most loyal regulars have found him at the weekly Park Union Farmers Market to buy coffee beans for home. That’s where I caught up with him this past weekend.

The good news, which I already spoiled in my headline above, is that Wanner has indeed found a way to return to Black Forest under the new banner of his longtime roastery label, Golden Pine. “I’m sunsetting the R&R name for now and putting Golden Pine out on its own,” he says. So: look out for the opening around mid March (tentatively) of Golden Pine Coffee Roasters.

“It will be roastery and tasting room with no food at the moment,” he explains. “I’ve only got 700 square feet of space. So it will initially be for whole bean purchases, samplings and tastings and I’ll head in the direction of espresso and coffee service once I’m all set up. But I’m super excited to be back in the forest and be able to focus on creating great coffee.” ☕️

Side Dish sponsor Ranch Foods Direct in the news

Ranch Foods Direct founder Mike Callicrate was recently featured as a guest on Trinity Vandenacre’s Life in the West podcast. The episode, titled “What's Wrong with the Beef you Buy!” has already earned 461k views in the past few weeks. In the segment, Callicrate does what he does best as a food activist and explains the problems of boxed beef and pink slime — now disguised for consumers as “Lean Finely Textured Beef.”

How do you avoid consuming it? Easy: Shop at Ranch Foods Direct. Know your rancher; know what you’re buying and putting in your body. Meanwhile, we’re working on next month’s awesome collaboration recipe between RFD, Side Dish and Gather Food Studio & Spice Shop. But we’re still promoting February’s wonderful recipes for blackened pork chops with red eye gravy and red beans and rice. Click the links or scan the QR codes in the images below. Cheers!

Talk 30 To Me — Bristol Brewing celebrates three decades and joins us on Ep. 3 of tap&table

Bristol Brewing Co. is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, on the heels of Phantom Canyon, who celebrated its 30th this past November. That makes Bristol the second oldest continuously operating brewery in the Springs. I make that distinction because way back in the day there were some other upstarts that came and went in the nascent days of craft beer. That’s part of what I was most excited to talk about with Mike and Amanda Bristol when we sat down with them for our most recent tap&table episode. I wanted to hear about what it was like back then, when lots of people were still drinking mass-market domestic beers and Samuel Adam’s beer was the large-scale craft brewery of the era. (At least that’s what I was initially buying with my fake ID when store selections were quite limited where I grew up.)

“It was just a matter of education,” Mike tells us in the episode. “We knew that the only way this was going to work was to literally get the people to taste the beer one person at a time. And I can’t tell you how many hours I spent going up and down Tejon [Street] … buying people beers, talking to them just to get them to try the beer. As an industry that’s what was happening.”

Today, beer drinkers are still obsessed with hazy IPAs and hoppy beers have been in fashion for many, many years. But back then, Amanda says folks were challenged by the basic hop level of even a Red Rocket Pale Ale (only 43 IBUs). Their palates weren’t yet attuned to bitterness in beers. Compare that today to Bristol’s World Peace Death Ray Imperial IPA, which weighs in at 89 IBUs.

While we interviewed the Bristols, we sipped on a trio of Belgian beers (two of which are available still in the taproom) and I learned that the style is Mike’s personal favorite. It’s not something Bristol has ever been really known for (like Trinity Brewing was known for Saisons back in its early days and Local Relic is regarded for today). But they should be, based on what we sipped. Instead, a lot of locals regard Bristol as being a stalwart flagship brewery, consistent and only lightly experimental. Of course many people don’t know about Bristol’s early Skull ‘n Bones sour series and other things they did ahead of trends.

A couple other quotes I appreciate from the interview relate to the retrospective element of this anniversary: “I know how hard of work [operating a brewery] is,” says Mike. “The hours, the stress. So if you don’t love it, it’s not the right business for you. You have to love it. I would do it over again in a heartbeat.”

Speaking to Bristol’s hard-earned place in the community, Amanda says “We’ve always been ourselves. How can you be anything else, right? All the things that felt important to us is what we’ve been doing all along... We’ve received nothing but support for so many years. This is just a great place to live and have a business and to just be, and try to do what we can to make it even better.”

Listen to the full episode for discussion of many more topics. Meanwhile, here’s some timely info that didn’t make the episode but speaks to what’s ahead in the coming months for Bristol (who you probably remember joined us in January for our roasted green chili con carne recipe, made with Bristol’s Winter Warlock):

• There’s a Mexican Lager Release Party (with a complimentary Tajín-pineapple pairing) at Bristol on Friday, Feb. 23 from 6-8 p.m. It’s a collaboration with Metric Brewing and will be on tap at Bristol and Metric for a limited time. New this year: It will also be on draft at several area bars and restaurants.

• Firkin Fest is sold out on March 2, but Bristol is planning to have a (not firkin-related) pop-up in the Barrel Room the same day with beer and BBQ specials “and some other fun stuff,” weather permitting.

• Bristol’s adding a new beer to its World Peace Death Ray hoppy series, scheduled for release in early May: a “crisp, clean Cold IPA” that will be in six packs and on draft.

• Via Amanda: “We're excited about the new labeled can we're using for the Cold IPA because it's going to have brand new artwork under the label. To recycle a labeled can, the label needs to be peeled off first, and when this label is peeled, people will see a whole different design under it.”

• The annual Prohibition Party is set for April 6. The costumes and 33¢ pilsners will return with a new feature added this year: pilsner cocktails.

• Bristol will host two “Beers and Gear” outdoor equipment expos in 2024: a summer one on May 18 and winter one on Nov. 2.

Soirée with me

Join Pikes Peak State College Saturday, March 9 in The Broadmoor's Cheyenne Lodge for the 2024 Chef Henry Trujillo Memorial Scholarship Soirée. This experience takes you across the decades of Chef Trujillo's life to delight your palate. Tickets are $75 and help fund the Chef Henry Trujillo Memorial Scholarship. Support future culinary artists and experience gourmet flavors from regional food producers paired with local beers and Colorado wines. Attend, cherish and uplift. We're honoring Chef Trujillo's spirit — be part of it.

Bites and bits

• Bring back Icons! There’s a GoFundMe campaign underway to help Icons reopen in a new location. They’ve been down since the Dec. 4 fire at Taste of Jerusalem on their business block and won’t be able to return to it. “We cannot do this on our own… this is bigger than us. This will take an army of support,” co-owner Joshua Franklin says on the fundraiser page. “Icons has been there and provided a safe space for our peers and allies, strengthening our city's identity and relationship with the queer community. We've seen a lot in our short 3 years but we never dreamed the Icons family would be displaced, leaving an uncertain fate for our uniquely queer space downtown.” Watch their impactful, short video below and please consider a donation.

• Beasts and Brews will shut down on March 1 and plans to reopen on May 1 under the new name Red’s Sunset Grill. “If you’d like to keep up with some of your favorite staff and delicious food make sure to check out Back East Bar & Grill, Abby’s Irish Pub, and Atmosphere Gastropub,” says a post on their Facebook page. Why the recommendation? Because the new owners behind the venture (as of this past September) are Mike and Megan Davis, owners of said venues as well as Red’s American Grill in Falcon. Red’s Sunset Grill will ditch the self-pour beer taps featured at Beasts and Brews and move to a full service bar and grill.

• Sapo Guapo Tacos food truck announced earlier this week that they’re “taking things to the next level with a pop-up restaurant AND (michelada) bar downtown.” Expect it to open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, starting March 4, at 124 N. Nevada Ave. inside Susanna’s Comfort Cuisine.

• Fuel & Iron Food Hall in Pueblo announced this week the arrival of a new vendor named The Cutting Board. They bill themselves as the Steel City’s “only plant-based restaurant.”

• The Gazette reported that The Peppertree Restaurant has closed for renovations on its entryway, bar and dining area. The legacy eatery aims to reopen sometime in April.

Upcoming events

Feb. 24: The Broadmoor Winter Polo Classic at Norris Penrose Event Center. 2:30 p.m.; various priced seats. After Party at Distillery 291 5-9 p.m.; free with cash bar, mobile cigar lounge and food trucks. 🥃

Feb. 24: Sober Saturday five-course mocktail dinner at Eleven18. 6 p.m.; $85. (Side note: Eleven18 just opened for lunch this week and I’ve already made my dinner visits for a proper review, so expect that here soon. 🍽️😉)

Feb. 25: Third Annual Chili Cook-Off at Red Leg Brewing Company. 5-7:30 p.m.; various tasting-ticket quantities for sale.

Feb. 27: Meet the Maker Monte Bernardi five-course wine dinner at The Broadmoor’s Ristorante Del Lago. $250 (Next up: Meet the Maker Heaven Hill Distillery dinner at The Broadmoor’s Grille on March 12.)

Feb. 28-March 2: Wine Festival of Colorado Springs at various venues. Individual event prices range. (Less than 140 tickets left for the Grand Tasting on March 1. 🍷) All proceeds go to the Colorado Springs Conservatory.

Image courtesy Wine Festival of Colorado Springs.

Early heads up:

March 24: The ACF Pikes Peak Chapter 2024 Culinary Passport dinner. 4-7 p.m. at the Broadmoor Cheyenne Lodge. Enjoy international food tastings from 14 Colorado chefs plus wines and local beers. $75 tickets benefit the American Culinary Federation Pikes Peak Chapter Endowment Fund, Homeward Pikes Peak, & Care and Share of Southern Colorado.

Parting shot(s)

Thanks to the Pikes Peak Chapter Public Relations Society of America for inviting me and my good pal Jeff Zearfoss to present prior to our February Sip with Schnip at The Carter Payne. Jeff, Carter Payne’s co-owner with a deep industry background prior, talked about his team’s mission with their brewery and eatery at the historic church building they occupy. Their strong community focus atop their commitment to craft excellence are just a couple reasons I’m proud to align with them as a venue partner and Side Dish supporter. For my part, I fielded questions from my dear friend Krista Heinicke (Director of Public Relations at The Broadmoor) who was moderating. Topics included media’s handling of AI and several aspects of how I’ve launched and operated Side Dish in an ever-changing media landscape. (I rambled a lot, said a few cuss words, earned a few laughs and enjoyed every minute of it. You should have been there… and at Sip with Schnip afterwards!)

Side Dish with Schniper

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