After getting dumped on for the last two weeks, we’ve headed up to Winter Park for a day of shredding on the mountain slopes covered in all that glorious powder. Now the time is late afternoon and we’re dreading the gridlocked drive back to the city. What to do? We stop for some sustenance at The Library in the town of Winter Park.

The Library in Winter Park is actually the second location for this sports bar and brewery. The original is in Laramie, WY, and the college town atmosphere the University of Wyoming’s home is immediately noticeable in the large display of collegiate flags on the walls. This location used to be Wild Creek Brewing Company, but that closed in 2009. The Library in Wyoming took over in October 2011. The place is dripping in flatscreen TVs showing every sports TV channel known to satellite, but that’s not why we’re here. We’re tired, hungry and dehydrated. Let’s start with a beer.

The brewery makes only eight beers, all unfiltered. Beers include Rattlesnake Rye Pale Ale, Snowy Peaks IPA, Hummer Honey Wheat, Big Nose ESB, Winter Park Ale, Oats & Cream Stout, Trout Bum Brown and the Pomegranate Series. Four ounce samples are only $1.

Hummer Honey Wheat: This beer is 5% ABV and its golden color is completely impervious to light. That’s a good thing because we LOVE cloudy beer. The beer is very wheaty with a sweet cereal taste, yet not dry, and has just a touch of honey at the finish. It goes down easy.

Trout Bum Brown: This beautiful brown beer has an ABV of 5.4%. While it smells chocolaty, the taste is more nutty with no hint of chocolate. Do we detect a bit of saltiness? Maybe.

Pomegranate Series: This rotating series is an American-style wheat featuring Pom Wonderful Juices, which are blueberry, cherry, mango, and pineapple. Our server says the brewers use two gallons of juice per barrel. The current beer features blueberry. This beer has a golden, almost pink color. Although it smells like pomegranate, it tastes like a beer. The blueberry itself is barely noticeable. The fruit comes through as a sweet taste, but doesn’t take over the beer.

We use these beers to wash down a delicious spinach and grilled salmon salad with orange vinaigrette and hearty Ruben sandwich. You can find the Library at 78491 US Highway 41, otherwise known as main street Winter Park. 

At this point we’ve had 12 ounces of beer. We did not try Winter Park Ale or the IPA because the bar was out and we avoided the stout and the rye due to the higher ABV content. We still have a snowy drive over Berthoud Pass to navigate. However, we did get a growler of Hummer Honey Wheat to-go. Oh, and that loud knocking noise coming from upstairs? That’s the skeeball shoot. Cheers!

Photos: Carrie Dow