Monday Night Potluck Returns!

The first Monday Night Potluck of the 2015-2016 season brought fireworks, sublime sweetness and a strong coconut presence to the refined palates of Breckenridge.

On the heels of the Broken Compass Coconut Porter's bronze medal at Great American Beer Fest (woohoo!) it was only fitting that a coconut-themed potluck be held in celebration. And so, taking up spatulas and ladles and forks and knives, the MNP chefs once again returned to the kitchen to wage food wars against each other (wars that everyone, ultimately, would win). 

But on this momentous Monday night, it was also fitting that potluck veterans Maria and Rick Galgas would steal the spotlight with their Heirloom BLT Salad With Coconut Bacon (wait, hold on, am I reading that right? A salad stole the spotlight? Yes, yes I am). 

Facing off against a strong 12-dish field, Heirloom BLT Salad With Coconut Bacon (which we'll just shorten to HBLTSWCB from here on out) raced out to an early lead on the back of balanced performance from both lettuce and bacon. 

HBLTSWCB continued to build on an early lead, but the other dishes would not go down without a fight. Kendal Oakleaf's Thai Coconut Peanut Noodles put in a strong performance for Southeast Asia, ultimately settling for second place, while Mike Spiel's Venison Stroganoff used a combination of heartiness and deliciousness to finish third. Chantal Wener's delectable Chococonut Cookies (which I challenge you to pronounce correctly) and Alex Beach's Coconut Sweet Potato Balls With Honey Coconut Sauce scrapped their way to tie for a podium finish against an exceptionally deep and competitive field.

The Galgas's, despite owning a closetful of potluck hardware, were thrilled to pick up the first gold medal of the potluck season, and will look to build on that success at next week's edition.

Thanks so much to all of you who helped make the return of MNP a success! As always, here are the talented chefs and their delectable dishes:

Mike Spiel - Venison Stroganoff (2nd)
Seth Cohen - Coconut Porter Ice Cream
Maria and Rick Galgas - Heirloom BLT Salad With Coconut Bacon (1st and Most Creative and Awesome use of Coconut)
Jerry and Ronda Westoff - Chicken Mushroom Coconut Hot Pot
Chantal Wener - Chococonut Cookies (T-3rd)
Kendal Oakleaf - Thai Coconut Peanut Noodles (1st)
Alex Beach - Coconut Sweet Potato Balls With Honey Coconut Sauce (T-3rd)
Mia Tarduno - Coconut Lime Rice
Megan Drew - Potato Bulgar Wheat Porridge
Kerry and Nick - Spicy Coconut Sweet Potato Cor...(?something illegible)
Trenton - Coconut Cookies
Kristen - Love You S'mores

Potluck will continue next Monday night (Oct. 12) with eating commencing at or around 7 p.m., but we recommend showing up early to get a table. We can't wait to see what you bring next!

(Editor's note: Broken Compass Brewing's Monday Night Potlucks are popping off every Monday night, with eating starting around 7. We encourage everyone to contribute a dish every now and then, but everyone in the brewery is welcome to sample the food and vote for their favorite dishes. First place wins a 64 oz growler and fill, second place a 32 oz. growler and fill and third place a free pint. See you there!)

The winners!  

Great American Beer Fest 2015

WE WON A MEDAL!!!!!!!!

But seriously, GABF 2015 was another huge success for Broken Compass and not just because our Coconut Porter won a bronze medal in the Field Beers category. 

It truly is special to pour at the fest each year and see and hear the love we receive from all of our fans throughout Colorado. Many of the volunteers at the fest are from the Denver area and it's a joy to have them flock to our booth (one of about 400!) on their breaks, as well as non-volunteer beer lovers who have enjoyed a pint in our little taproom. Without the support of all of you guys and gals we would not be able to continue to do what we love. 

Keep spreading the good word, and we'll keep making good beer for you to enjoy with good friends in our taproom up in Breckenridge. It's been a wonderful (almost) year and a half and it's only going to get better from here. 

Cheers,

The Broken Compass Team

Brew day No. 100!

Today marks yet another landmark moment in our short history, our 100th brew day!

To celebrate, Ford's whipping up a wet hopped pale ale, made with fresh local Colorado Cascade hops (wet hopping, for the non beer geeks out there, means using hops straight off the vine rather than hops that have been dried out and pelletized). 

The brew will be ready to drink in a couple weeks and will most flavorful right when it goes on tap, come try a pint and help us celebrate! 

Gorgeous Colorado Cascade hops

Hops in the boil

Big Sexy

The Raspberry Habanero and Pomegranate Pale Ale have arrived!

If you've been waiting on the edge of your seat since that delightful picture of fresh raspberries was posted to our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter last week, today is your lucky day! 

We are now pouring a very limited supply of both the Raspberry Habanero Pale Ale and Pomegranate Pale Ale exclusively in our taproom. Both beers will likely only last a few days, so come by and try them while they last! (and for all you home drinkers out there, we're sorry to say we aren't able to fill any growlers with either new beer)

Celebrate the last bit of summer with us with these two refreshing beers. 

(PS: keep an eye out for another exclusive release of Cucumber Mint Pale Ale in the coming week or two, as well as the delicious Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Stout this fall)

Monday Night Potlucks cancelled for summer

Due to Colorado's beautiful summer weather and the heavier traffic in the taproom on Monday nights, we are postponing all Monday Night Potlucks until the fall. 

A huge thank you to everyone who has participated in the potlucks to this point, we'll hope to see again when MNP kicks off again in a few months! 

MNP Week 30: Chicken Chili Ekes Out Narrow Victory Over Dad, Pig Balls

With a recipe straight from a golf pro, Rinker's Bogey Free Chicken Chili rose to the top of the potluck crop Monday night.

Matt Kelly, in his Monday Night Potluck debut, took first place with Rinker's Bogey Free Chicken Chili (which a quick Google search reveals to be that of Larry Rinker, not his brother Lee or sister Laurie, all of whom apparently were professional golfers at one point or the other).

A quick inspection of the delicious Chicken Chili (read: shoveling it into the mouth by the spoonful) revealed it to be truly bogey free, as it shot an under par 25 to outpace the other competitors. 

Miranda Sprague's Dad's Famous Crab Stuffed Mushrooms narrowly claimed second place with 21 points, and will now be truly famous after its inclusion in this well regarded, widely read potluck blog (all seven of my readers will remember you and your crab stuffed mushrooms, Dad). 

The A-Team's Porky Pig Balls claimed the final spot on the podium, recording 19 points with its juicy combination of ground ham, ground bacon, and ground beef covered in some type of tangy barbecue sauce (which should really be the three key ingredients to any dish, don't you think?)

As always, thanks to everyone who brought food to another amazing potluck. Here are all the potluckers and their dishes:

Miranda Sprague - Dad's Famous Crab Stuffed Mushrooms (2nd Place)
Kim Hawks - Chocolate Khalua Cake
Matt Kelly - Rinker's Bogey Free Chicken Chili (1st Place, verifiably bogey free)
Noah Coleman - Baked Mac
The A-Team - Porky Pig Balls (3rd Place)
Nancy - Red Lobster Shrimp Alfredo and Biscuits
Luke - Bacon, Sweet Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts

Potluck will continue next Monday night (May 25) with eating commencing at or around 7 p.m., but we recommend showing up early to get a table. We can't wait to see what you bring next!

(Editor's note: Broken Compass Brewing's Monday Night Potlucks are popping off every Monday night, with eating starting around 7. We encourage everyone to contribute a dish every now and then, but everyone in the brewery is welcome to sample the food and vote for their favorite dishes. First place wins a 64 oz growler and fill, second place a 32 oz. growler and fill and third place a free pint. See you there!)

The winners(from left to right) the A-Team, Miranda and Matt

MNP Week 29: A Dessertalicious Affair

On a night when desserts dominated the potluck tables, they were unceremoniously shut out of the winner's column. 

No less than six desserts made their way to the table Monday evening, all delicious in their own right. And yet their combined sweetness appeared to cancel each other out, paving the way for a relatively easy victory for Aaron Lenz's Italian Sausage Croissants. 

Croissants cruised to the win with 35 points, outpacing Regular Old Bacon and Coq a la Bierre, who finished second and third, respectively. 

Using the unlikely yet delicious combination of two underrated and outstanding representations of their food groups, Italian sausage and croissants, Italian Sausage Croissants raced out to an early lead and never looked back. Regular Old Bacon managed to put up a fight for a short time, but it was to no avail (a word, for a moment, on Bacon, which, in all honesty, was some of the most delicious bacon this humble writer has ever had the honor to taste. Some of you may decry Mr. Coleman for lack of creativity in his dish, but the sheer deliciousness of it, and the large quantities of it (it was a legit mound of bacon) render those naysayers silent).

It was Lenz's first appearance at a Monday Night Potluck, and a strong start for what promises to be a prolific potluck career. 

As always, here are the potluckers and their delicious dishes:

Frodo Baggins - Raspberry Blackberry Chocolate Chip Scones
Aaron Lenz - Italian Sausage Croissants (1st Place)
Noah Coleman - Bacon (2nd Place) (Seriously, it was just plain old bacon)
Maria Mattera - Fudge Strip Cookie "Salad"
Mia and Alex - Avocado Black Onyx Mousse
Ike and G - Pizza Bites
Jack and Chelsea - Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Seth Cohen - Coq a la Bierre (3rd Place)
Mike Spies - Bourbon Candied Bacon
Ginger Hatton - Handmade Salsa and Chips
Meghan Lovely - Caramel Pecan Bars
Vanessa Zachman - Cheerio Bars

Potluck will continue next Monday night (May 18) with eating commencing at or around 7 p.m., but we recommend showing up early to get a table. We can't wait to see what you bring next!

(Editor's note: Broken Compass Brewing's Monday Night Potlucks are popping off every Monday night, with eating starting around 7. We encourage everyone to contribute a dish every now and then, but everyone in the brewery is welcome to sample the food and vote for their favorite dishes. First place wins a 64 oz growler and fill, second place a 32 oz. growler and fill and third place a free pint. See you there!)

The winners from left, Aaron, Noah and Seth

MNP Week 28: Cake Takes The Cake

On a mellow Monday evening, Lea Chandonnet's Better Than Basketball Cake won a decisive victory at Monday Night Potluck.

Better Than Basketball Cake (which some reports have pegged as a modification of the more well known variety, Better Than Sex Cake) recorded 32 points on the night, using a combination of delicious frosting and delightful chocolate chips to power past the competition.

Jeff Graham's Tater Tot Hot Dish posted 19 points to finish second, while Tiernan "TBaby"'s Caprese Salad finished third in a rare appearance on the podium for salads (and, come to think of it, healthyish foods in general).

With the fewest dishes entered since the first month of Monday Night Potluck's existence, Better Than Basketball Cake seized its window of opportunity Monday night. But the win comes with no asterisk, as any potluck victory is an impressive one in a town full of food pioneers. 

As always, the phenomenal potluckers and their dishes:

Maria Mattera - Veggie Pasta Salad
Jeff Graham - Tater Tot Hot Dish
TBird Spence - Just Logs
Tiernan - Caprese Salad
Lea Chandonnet - Better Than Basketball Cake
Rich and Alli - Buffalo Turkey or Teryaki Mushroom Onigiri (Rice Balls)
 

Potluck will continue next Monday night (May 11) with eating commencing at or around 7 p.m., but we recommend showing up early to get a table. We can't wait to see what you bring next!

(Editor's note: Broken Compass Brewing's Monday Night Potlucks are popping off every Monday night, with eating starting around 7. We encourage everyone to contribute a dish every now and then, but everyone in the brewery is welcome to sample the food and vote for their favorite dishes. First place wins a 64 oz growler and fill, second place a 32 oz. growler and fill and third place a free pint. See you there!)

The championship dish  

True potluck creativity