Black Shirt Brewing – Chasing Perfection

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Click for Black Shirt Brewing Website. Source: BSB Facebook

Here at Denverspeax, we have always been drawn to people who are passionate. We recently had the opportunity to interview one of the most passionate breweries in town: Black Shirt Brewing (BSB). Our first visit to Black Shirt Brewing was on the Slow Roll Pub Crawl a few weeks back. We really enjoyed the beer and vibe in the short time we spent there, and wanted to experience more. We were given the opportunity to sit down and explore the mind of Chad Miller CEO and co-founder of Black Shirt Brewing.  Continue reading

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Chalk it Up – Denver Chalk Art Festival Faves from 2014

Another reason why Denver is the coolest – the annual Chalk Art Festival on Larimer Square a few weekends ago (May 31 – June 1st). Free for all ages, artists gathered and created replicas of photos that were often displayed next to their work in the Square.

Here are some shots of our favorite moments and works from the festival:

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Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, June 2014.

 

Not only were there 200+ artists creating these beautiful works of art, live music, food, and beverage tents were also a part of the festival, much of which supported by Colorado businesses.

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Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, June 2014.

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Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, June 2014.

Many of the artists are local students competing for cash, backed by local businesses. Check back on the Denver Chalk Art website to find out who the winners are.

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Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, June 2014.

 

Chalk art, or street painting, dates back to the 16th century in Italy – it’s amazing this tradition is still prevalent all over the world today.

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Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, June 2014.

 

Yet another spectacular event in downtown Denver. We love having so many things to do and see downtown – it’s what makes the city great! What Festivals are you looking forward to this summer? Let us know!

 

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Be Inspired: Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs

Yesterday, Steve and I (Kirsten) journeyed to Colorado Springs for the first time since moving to Colorado a year ago. Equipped with snacks, water, cameras, and a little dog, we hiked for a few hours throughout Garden of the Gods.

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Steve & Moguls, checking out the view. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

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Garden of the Gods. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

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Garden of the Gods. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

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Garden of the Gods. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

 

Garden of the Gods is a registered National Natural Landmark located about an hour south of Denver on i25. There are about 15 miles’ worth of trails throughout the park, all of which outlined on a FREE map provided by the Visitor & Nature Center Information Desk. For our first trip, we stuck to the paved walkways and took note of interesting looking trails for next time. We couldn’t have asked for better weather!

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Garden of the Gods. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

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Garden of the Gods. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

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Garden of the Gods. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

 

Climbers are allowed in designated areas of the park with proper permits and equipment. Honestly, one of the coolest experiences at the park was watching climbers clench to the side of these massive, jagged rocks.

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Garden of the Gods. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

 

 

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Garden of the Gods. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

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A Boy and his Nikon. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

 

 

Garden of the Gods is a great place for all ages! The views are spectacular, and the hiking is amazing. There are all levels of trails throughout the park with maps posted throughout. Also, it’s a great workout for you and your furry friend, just remember to keep them on a leash at all times.

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Garden of the Gods. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

 

 

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Steve and Kirsten exploring Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, CO. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

 

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Garden of the Gods. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

 

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Steve looking for the best shot in Garden of the Gods. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

 

 

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Garden of the Gods. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

 

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Garden of the Gods. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, May 2014

If you’re ever in the mood for being inspired by more of Colorado’s natural beauty, check out Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. Visit their Visitor and Nature Center, climb the massively jagged rocks, or hike one of the several trails.  They have tons of events relating to geology, tours, and more. Also, check out the other sights in the park, like Balanced Rock.

Morning photo: Sunday set

Check out these beautiful photos from Summit County. It’s easy to draw motivation and power from such incredible photographs. Sometimes, we forget how fortunate we are to be able to see these things in person with great ease. Get outside and enjoy the beautiful day.

Please visit Summit County Citizens Voice where I reflagged these great images from.

Summit County Citizens Voice

Got color?

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FRISCO — After a snowy start to April, winter finally relaxed its grip late in the month, with warmer days and at least a handful of clear mornings and evenings. Nothing against plentiful snow — I love it — but after months of shooting gleaming white snowscapes, it’s nice to get some color back in the scene, and it feels good to hike around on bare ground. Plus, the first wildflowers are starting to show (pasque flowers along the Ptarmigan Trail), and even though the early displays are modest, all the winter moisture should translate into a brilliant display of blooms the next few months. Click on the photos to see them full size, and check our online gallery at Fine Art America for more Summit County nature and landscape photos.

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OneSpark 2014 – CitySpeax Project Promo Video

Thanks to all of our friends and family that have made this trip to OneSpark in Jacksonville tomorrow possible. Watch our brand expansion project’s video – CitySpeax – your city, your love.

Also, please please PLEASE vote for our project to get NOTICED and FUNDED here. “Bookmark” it, and help us rise through the ranks of popularity. Thanks again for your support!

Denver Dishcrawl Stop 1: LoHi Steak Bar, A Gathering Place

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Check out the gathering space provided in the private room of LoHi Steak Bar! Click on the pic to be re-directed to the LoHi Steak Bar’s website to check out their menu, specials, and events going on. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

 

A gathering place, LoHi Steak Bar is centrally located on 32nd Ave & Tejon St. – right in the middle of all the LoHi (Lower Highlands Denver, for you newbies) action.

With an easy locale, a welcoming atmosphere, and a killer restaurant and bar menu, it’s easy to see why LoHi Steak Bar is an easy choice in LoHi.

The first stop on our Denver Dishcrawl, LoHi Steak Bar, accommodated our vast group in a private dining area. With name tags on our shirts signaling vegetarian or otherwise, dishes composed of their specialties were placed before us.

On other organized  “crawls”, it’s not uncommon to receive a dish or two crammed onto one, crowded plate; it’s also not uncommon to receive a well-versed speech regarding said crowded dish from some trainee who barely knows the joint.

LoHi sent out their best dishes and friendly, intelligent staff to go over the SEVERAL dishes they created and disbursed. Details of local ingredients and other facts of each dish were provided in advance of each plate devouring.

 

Check out the deliciousness LoHi Steak Bar prepared for the Crawl: 

First, we were provided button mushrooms stuffed with Polidori Sausage (a local Colorado company!). Lemon was provided to be squeezed over the mushrooms, adding an incredibly tangy flavor to the hearty plate. Well done, LoHi… well done. Also pictured is a fantastic Moscow Mule in the proper, copper mug. Just a friendly, DenverSpeax reminder – if it doesn’t come in a copper mug, it’s not real. Write that down.

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We have a weakness for Moscow Mules – it’s true… And, stuffed mushrooms? Let’s just call this photo “Heaven”. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

 

Next, we’re presented with “not your average” Hummus PlateLoHi uses fresh ingredients to concoct a thick, creamy Hummus with olives and red pepper. DenverSpeax feels there’s a fine art in creating your own house Hummus, especially when it tastes as great as their’s (and when you’ve tried countless times at home, each ending in failure…)! Great starter for your table of friends.

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LoHi Steak Bar’s Homemade Hummus. Click on the photo to check out this, and other, menu items. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

Here we go – the pride and joy of Stop #1 at LoHi Steak Bar – the vegetarian Portobello Sandwich (made especially for the Dishcrawl) and the House Ground Chuck Hamburger. Both were exceptionally prepared: juicy, fully dressed, and flavorful. There wasn’t the slightest hint of stuffy or dull – just two classics that delivered nothing short of satisfaction. Oh! Their seasoned, crispy House Frites were fantastic as well, and served as a welcomed and complimenting, over-indulgent side.

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Mmmm…..portobello sandwich. How we love thee! Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

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For all of the carnivores out there, this one’s for you. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

As if all of this weren’t enough, LoHi went ahead and dished out creamy, delicious Cheesecake as well! Sorry, this went too fast for the camera to keep up – our sincere apologies.

Please keep in mind that this was only Stop #1 of 4 on the Denver Dishcrawl, folks. We understand that at this time you must REALLY be kicking yourself for not attending. We get it, and luckily there are more Dishcrawls coming up in Denver. Make sure you stop by the Dishcrawl site to check out the next events, and secure you & your friends’ spots. Even though we’re only one stop in to this magical, dish crawl blogging journey, I’m sure you’re understanding the great value and experience Dishcrawl.com is prepared to provide us all.

Not only does Dishcrawl bring us together within our beloved Denver community, it introduces us to great gathering spots, like LoHi Steak Bar. I think Maggie said it best when describing our first stop as a “non-stuffy” place; we agree that LoHi Steak Bar is perfect for relaxing and hanging out with those who mean the most. Check out their events, specials, and menus on their site. Also, make sure you invite us to your food fest – it hasn’t even been a week, but we’re ready for more mushrooms, burgers, and frites!

 

Quick Colfax Pub Crawl: Three Lions, Sancho’s Broken Arrow, and Cheeky Monk

With the nice weather coming, we feel it’s important to create fun and safe Bicycle Pub Crawls. Yesterday, Jeff and I (Kirsten) set out to visit a few pubs on Colfax, and ended up riding 7 miles round trip while visiting. Check out the highlights of our three stops!

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Jeff representing Detroit underneath the Detroit street sign; first stop was Three Lions on Colfax. Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

Stop #1: The Three Lions: A World Football Pub

We’ve been hooked on this Football (or, soccer) pub since last summer when we experienced a bus trip from the place to see The Colorado Rapids.

Three Lions is all things Football, have a variety of great beers, and some killer appetizers. Bonus, their patio out front sports a few fantastic picnic tables so you can enjoy the sun and your brew simultaneously!

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Stop #2: Sancho’s Broken Arrow on Colfax. Pictured: Jeff & Kirsten (above). Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

Stop #2: Sancho’s Broken Arrow – A Thinking Place

Sancho’s is another place we really enjoy – who can’t with all of the Grateful Dead parafanalia, pool tables, and ridiculous specials. 2 for $3 Coors Light drafts yesterday? Don’t mind if we do! We also made a friend from Wisconsin who had stopped in before going to finish up some errands. There are always friendly people at Sancho’s with interesting stories to tell. Stop in and say hi.

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Jeff introduced me to Kwak at The Cheeky Monk! Pictured: Jeff, Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

Stop #3: The Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Cafe

Yesterday was my first time at the Cheeky Monk. Jeff introduced me to a Belgian Strong Pale Ale, Pauwel Kwak. A heavily fruity beer, there was a brief banana after-taste – something new! Try it out – it gets great ratings, and is served all fancy-like. In addition to the Kwak, we also had some tasty frites (fries) served with a garlic aioli as well as delicious pretzel bites served with a spicy mustard. Specific appetizers were half off while we visited – check out the Cheeky Monk online to see when they host happy hour and other specials.

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Delicious garlic frites with a garlic aioli on the side. Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

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Pretzel bites – delicious! Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

There you have it – a mini pub crawl on Colfax Ave with 3 great locations. We look forward to planning more of these epic excursions to explore more brews and good eats around the city.

Where should we go next? Let us know in the comments below, or on our Facebook page!

Instameet for Colorado Instagram – Saturday, Mar 15th, 2014

Did you know that Colorado has its own Instagram Community? Yep, totally does! Colorado Instagram is strengthening our community by organizing cool and fun meet ups for anyone and everyone to participate in – totally free.

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Click on the photo to check out Colorado Instagram on Facebook. Credit: Colorado Instagram, Mar 2014.

For those of you who can’t get enough of Colorado, photography, art, or meeting people that have those plus many additional interests, you should really check out the next Instameet: an event where everyone gets together, takes photos around a given area, and shares them. Usually there is a theme, or style of photography to inspire those creative minds.

The next Instameet for Colorado Instagram will be held Saturday, March 15th, 2014 – everyone is to meet up at New Belgium in Fort Collins at 11:30 am. The theme will be portraits. I, Kirsten, see some fun makeup in my future for this Instameet… Also, as Denverspeax has never been to Fort Collins before, we’ll be killing two birds with one stone! Any suggestions of places to stop by? Give us a holler in the comments section.

You can check them out on Instagram or Facebook to get up to speed on all of the details, and their first Instameet. Make sure you tag your pics on Instagram with #focoinstameet – follow them on various social media, and pass along the good word about this cool new community!

24 hrs in San Diego

I’ve been in San Diego since 11 pm pacific time yesterday, 2/26/2014.  For the first time, I experienced the rain there which was a pleasant mist. Check out the shots I took below before moseying on back to the airport to fly home to Denver – a storm is a’brewin’!

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Boats hangin’ and rockin’, waiting for better weather. Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Feb 2014

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No room at the inn. Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Feb 2014

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Storm’s coming! Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Feb 2014

Until next time, San Diego…

12 inches and counting.

Check out the Summit County Snowpocalypse via this awesome blog.
We’re definitely digging’ all of the fantastic pictures of snow! Cool shots!

The City Girl's Guide to the Wild West

We all knew it was coming.

It was all over the news. OpenSnow was shouting the impending storm from the mountain tops. Amy (aka the Keystone Lodge and Spa “Mama Bear”) had a migraine earlier this week. The question was, would it actually hit Keystone?

You see, Keystone Resort is fondly known by Summit County locals as “The Donut”. Though we are included in all of the winter weather alerts, Keystone seems to be located in a weather bubble that causes the town and hill to get about half as much of the predicted snow. It can be frustrating.

Bu today, today was different.

With 8″ reported at 5:00am and another 4″ falling between 5:00 and 8:00am, Keystone finally raked it in; and we “locals” reaped the benefits of having our home hill take the cake in the powder wars.

Waist deep snow everywhere. Face-shots with every turn. Trees branches…

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