Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Welcome to Springs and Things, the podcast where two close friends spill the tea on all things Colorado Springs! From culture and community to hidden gems and neighborhood lore, we’ve got it covered. Join us as we sip our coffee (or maybe something stronger) and dive into the stories and secrets that make this city so unique. Whether you're a local or just passing through, our fun, light-hearted, and always entertaining take on the quirks, hot topics, and insider tips will keep you coming back for more. Discover what’s really happening in the Springs—beyond the mountains and parks!
Lauren, we just had the best night at Bristol Brewery doing a tasting with Mike and Amanda Bristol as well as some other wonderful people from the community. And I just loved it because even though we talked for the first time at a birthday party, we hung out for the first time at Ivy Wild, and
Lauren Ferrara:it was just such a full circle moment. It was our first date. And, gosh, that was such a fun night. And I learned so much about couple organizations in our community, how much support they've gotten from this give back mixed pack. But before we dive into that, welcome to Springs and Things, the podcast where 2 close friends spill the tea on all things Colorado Springs.
Lauren Ferrara:From culture and community to hidden gems and neighborhood lore, we've got you covered. I'm Lauren Ferrara.
Carly Ries:And I'm Carly Rees. We'll sip our coffee and our beer in this case and dive into the stories and secrets that make this city so unique. So whether you're a local or just passing through, we hope our fun, lighthearted, and entertaining take will keep you coming back for more.
Lauren Ferrara:Carly, we're talking about this give back mix pack. It's a 4th edition of this mix pack, 12 pack of benefit beers, but they've been doing this for about 16 years and donating, get this, 100% of the profits from this 12 pack to 3 local organizations.
Carly Ries:Lauren, during that time, they've donated a total of $790,000. And the 3 the 3 organizations that have benefited are Venetucci Farms, which if you're a kid that's grown up here or have kids, that name should sound very familiar.
Lauren Ferrara:Mhmm.
Carly Ries:The Friends of Cheyenne Canyon as well as Smokebrush Foundation for the Arts. We even did a little taste test with them during the interview to see if they can tell the difference between their beer and another person's beer, and the results may surprise you.
Lauren Ferrara:They shocked the hell out of me, Carly. It was so fun.
Carly Ries:We also, debunked some myths about Bristol and Ivy Wild as a whole. Like, do you think it's haunted? I mean, I guess we'll hear Mike's take on it, as well as so many other things. I kinda feel like we should just get into the interview because people wanna hear them, Mike and Amanda, talk more than they wanna hear us talk probably. 100%.
Carly Ries:Let's dive into the It is so fascinating. But before we get into the interview, we gotta talk about our sponsor.
Lauren Ferrara:Ugh, Core Collective, you have my heart. They are a reformer Pilates studio in downtown Colorado Springs, and they offer a variety of classes. They have the coolest instructors. They have the most supportive community. And Carly, now can I call you a regular now?
Lauren Ferrara:Because you have been there quite a bit lately.
Carly Ries:I mean, sure. Why not? Call me that. People can't see us right now, but my hair is currently plastered to my face because we're recording this after class. And it was so fun.
Carly Ries:I brought my husband, and he's an endurance athlete. He's training for the Ascent. He's training for a century bike ride, and he was huffing and puffing. And so why is it it's so good for your core that it'll help these other activities. So so many people think it's 4 women.
Carly Ries:He had such a great workout. We're going back tomorrow. It was awesome.
Lauren Ferrara:Love it. I'll see you there. Well, they have this great deal for springs and things listeners. If you type out springs and things, then you have to put and, a n d, not the little and symbol. Or what do you call that?
Lauren Ferrara:Carly, you know the actual word for the and symbol.
Carly Ries:Ampersstamp? Ampersstamp?
Lauren Ferrara:I had never heard that until recently. Like the and symbol. Anyway, springs and things gets you an amazing deal. It's $30 for 3 classes, and you go to corecollectivecos.com to make it happen. And then you too will be a regular just like Carly and her husband and me.
Carly Ries:Oh, yes. And Lauren, of course. And you guys, without further ado, please enjoy our interview with Mike and Amanda Bristol. Okay, you 2. So before we begin, I just have to say I got a little emotional last night, and it it's just because you guys have created so much more than just a brewery.
Carly Ries:It's almost like you're a community builder that happens to sell beer. What's up? You've just created this space and the way that people talk about you when you're not around, because we do talk about the bristles when you're not around, it's just nothing but positive comments. Just you give so much to the area you live in, to this city of Colorado Springs. And so I not only wanna say thank you for coming on the show, but just thank you for being you and for everything that you've created.
Carly Ries:It's just wonderful.
Amanda Bristol:Well, thank you so much. That's just what a great way to start,
Carly Ries:this podcast. We really, really appreciate that. Well, of course. And it just goes I'm sorry. Go ahead.
Lauren Ferrara:No. We do appreciate it. But we also feel like we're part of a greater community that, you know, we're it's not just us. We're we've got we're doing we're working with a lot of great people to do what we have to do. So
Carly Ries:And you're humble too. You guys, that just that just adds to what I was just saying. And it just ties in so nicely to everything we wanna talk about today. Your, give back mix pack, which you also have in front of you and we'll talk about that in a second, a 100% of the profits go to these local organizations which is just incredible. So I want to dive into each of these but for listeners who are not sitting with us right now, Mike and Amanda have 6 beers in front of them right now cups of beer.
Carly Ries:And as we talk through each of these, they are going to sip their beer as well as an unidentified one. They don't know which is which, and they're going to see if they can tell which beer is theirs and which is a kind of competitor, which nothing really compares to your beer. We'll call them competitors for, like, for, ease of this conversation. So the first round you have is the pumpkin ale for Benedictine Farm. So feel free to just sip casually between those 2, get a good flavor.
Carly Ries:I'm gonna ask you some questions, but just sip away and we'll enjoy it. But how did you 2 get associated with Benettucci, and what like, why does it mean so much to you?
Lauren Ferrara:Well, I think, we being in the community, we certainly knew about the the legacy of Nick and Bambi, Benettucci and the pumpkin giveaway. But really what got us drawn in was during the time when, they were in the process of turning the farm over. They didn't have any heirs and they wanted to donate the farm. And so Michael Hannigan at the time was the, executive director of the Pikes Peak Community Foundation. And so he worked with Nick and Bambi, to get that done.
Lauren Ferrara:And then he, at the same time, he was looking at what could this be for the community. You know, we have this asset, but what what is this going to be? And he just invited some people from the community that he thought would have some creative ideas. And and, for whatever reason, I was on that list, so I got to go out there and and kind of see the farm in a different way. And the whole community was just kind of trying to reimagine that.
Lauren Ferrara:And and so we realized that well, maybe this is there's something here that we could we could really help get this process going. And that's really where the idea for the beer came from too.
Carly Ries:Yeah. Well, I mean, just everything that they do. And, I mean, they've been through so much over the past decade or so.
Lauren Ferrara:But, they they stuck with it.
Amanda Bristol:Yeah. Just all in.
Lauren Ferrara:We were supportive of it. So
Amanda Bristol:all in on on the concept of, oh my gosh, you know, the Vinatucci's leaving this legacy and all that that has meant to Colorado Springs, all of its, all of its time as, you know, as a farm and all that it meant for the pumpkin giveaway and and I I was just so impressed by their generosity. We're gonna give the city this, you know, this land and we want to make sure that it it stays in perpetuity, it doesn't get developed, that it stays a farm. And, I was just to me, I was thrilled that that Mike was invited to come to that, you know, community event that Michael Hanigan put on to say, let's brainstorm some ideas of we've been given this, you know. And so I think that doesn't just go away because the farm starts having trouble, you know. And they even ask you to be a part of, you know, sort of the the conversations around what it could be, what what changes might might come about to be able to still use it as a farm.
Amanda Bristol:We were we even were part of the CSA that where they grew the vegetables and, you know, before they had to stop. We just we just love the whole what it what it is, what it means to the to the community now and what it has always meant with little kids growing up and becoming adults and wanting to bring their kids there.
Carly Ries:That's one of the things we're talking about is I went when I was a kid, then there was a generation, let's say 15, 20 years ago that went, and then the generation now, it's just such a fixture in the community, and they've just evolved it. And it's still just so incredible. I can't believe was it 1500 pumpkins that they gave to kindergarteners last year?
Amanda Bristol:I think that's what they said. Maybe that this year and not this year. Yeah. I think that's
Lauren Ferrara:I don't remember the number, but it's a lot. Yeah. That
Carly Ries:is huge. And for kindergarteners, just having that image of them carrying the biggest pumpkin they can possibly find back to the bus. Right. Right.
Amanda Bristol:It's just such a good visual,
Carly Ries:and it's something that so many kids in this city have experienced. And I I agree. It's just it's such a fixture in this town. Mhmm. And I'm I'm so glad you've supported it, and I kinda wanna talk about the beer.
Carly Ries:Can I be candid with you for a second?
Lauren Ferrara:Sure.
Carly Ries:I'm I'm not usually a pumpkin ale kinda gal, a pumpkin beer kinda gal. I love yours. Oh, good. I mean, the other ones kinda get too syrupy. I don't know if you have had that experience as well.
Carly Ries:Yours isn't it's subtle. It's delicious. I can't wait to put it in my fridge. It's actually the the ones that I poured for you today are from my fridge because we couldn't wait to grab them. I I don't think I'm alone in saying this.
Carly Ries:You guys have had quite the popularity with this. Right?
Amanda Bristol:Yeah. It it it was, it it was definitely a big thing, and and I like the way you tell the story, Mike, about, you know, pumpkin nails not really being a thing back then.
Lauren Ferrara:Yeah. Back when we did it, there weren't a lot of them and and, you know, full disclosure for me, I'm not a pumpkin ale person either. I rarely drink them outside of ours for the same reason. I just there other breweries interpretations of them just aren't kind of what I was looking for. But, I do like ours, and and a lot of people like it, and so we're we're proud of it.
Lauren Ferrara:But I think also the the big distinctor is that distinction is that we're using real pumpkins in it, and I I I do think that matters. I mean, I think there's there there are probably other reasons as well, but I think that is a big part of what sets
Carly Ries:it apart. Puree or a syrup or anything.
Lauren Ferrara:Yeah. It is. A lot more work, which is why nobody else does it. And we do it on a limited basis. If we were if we were cranking out thousands and thousands of cases every year, it would be a lot more difficult.
Lauren Ferrara:But
Amanda Bristol:Yeah. But it's a fun thing for our staff to do when we when the we get the pumpkins. You know, we used to
Carly Ries:get them from the Natucci Farm, but after the issues with water, we, started getting them from Smith Farms, and they're just over
Amanda Bristol:in Rocky Ford. And, still love that there are local pumpkins and, they're delivered here and our staff, you know, we all get together and we're gutting them, we're cutting them, we're roasting them, and it's just kind of a a day we can all come together, and and do that. And everyone knows that it's going for a good cause, and you just love to to have your staff kind of want to participate in something like that. And it's that's been great for us, and and it really is. I mean, I feel like the popularity just you know, what a what a great way to welcome in the fall and to do something good, for a local fixture.
Amanda Bristol:And as I have mentioned before, you know, I've been in the grocery store and had the checkers say, oh, you're you're a Bristol. I just love that pumpkin nail. And I went there as a kid and I just appreciate what you're doing for the farm. And, you know, there's nothing like that to make to remind you that you're a part of something bigger and that other people care about this too.
Carly Ries:Amanda, you said that people have cared so much that not only you have been approached to get the pumpkin, but your your son when he was a child. Yes. Who is he approached by?
Amanda Bristol:Well, there is a story that he was approached in the halls of his elementary school by one of his teachers.
Lauren Ferrara:Oh, go unnamed.
Amanda Bristol:Yes. Yes. Yes. But we did love this teacher, so it was all good. But, and she probably knew that we would get a kick out of it, but, he was pulled aside in the hallway and and she said, hey, can you think you can, ask your parents to get me some of that pumpkin ale?
Amanda Bristol:Because I can't get my hands on it, you know. And, he was like, well, I'll ask. Sure. You know? And he came
Carly Ries:home and he mentioned it
Amanda Bristol:to us, and we just laughed so hard. Yeah. And we got
Lauren Ferrara:And we knew the teacher. I mean, it was that's what made it funny.
Amanda Bristol:Yes. Absolutely. And and we definitely were happy to pull some aside for her.
Carly Ries:Well, then you know what to get the teacher for teachers gift. Yeah. Exactly. On the holidays. It makes it easy.
Carly Ries:Exactly. Well, okay, you 2. I need to ask, have you tasted the 2 pumpkins, and have you decided which one is yours Yes. And which one is not? I think I know.
Carly Ries:Alright.
Lauren Ferrara:I hope I know because I like one of them a lot better than the other one.
Carly Ries:Alright. Mike, which one is Bristol?
Lauren Ferrara:I would like to think that the right one is Bristol.
Carly Ries:Alright. Let's see if you're right.
Amanda Bristol:You are correct. That was my guess too. Yeah.
Carly Ries:Oh, you see it today now.
Amanda Bristol:My right one is a
Carly Ries:Theirs is correct. And I did mix them up, so you guys may not always Oh, I like the math. You might not match.
Amanda Bristol:That's fair enough. Yeah. Okay. I just, what I noticed the difference I noticed was just the spicing seems to be different. There was a there was a spice in the other one that just wasn't familiar to me.
Amanda Bristol:It wasn't the same one. And I don't know I don't know what it is. I haven't identified it. Yeah. It might be,
Carly Ries:cinnamon? Can you that might make sense.
Lauren Ferrara:That's top secret.
Carly Ries:Yeah. We can't know. No. Bad deal. Well, so let's move on to Pinion Nut Brown that supports Friends of Cheyenne Canyon.
Carly Ries:Why did you get involved with this organization? Mike, I know you were very closely involved for a long time outside of the
Lauren Ferrara:brewery. Yeah. Since we live in in that part of town, I mean, one of the things that we love about Colorado Springs and, is is access to trails and certainly, Shine Canyon is the kind of the the greatest of of all of them in my mind around here. And, the fact that you can live kind of close to that is really a wonderful thing. So as I think just we as users, you know, we we're out there all the time.
Lauren Ferrara:I think, well, we we really should participate in this in some way. And so I think it might have started doing just a couple of trail cleanup days or something, or I know that we we would go out and do the canyon cleanup with the with the group and then they sort of drafted me to be on the board. And we did some back then, we we did some really, really cool stuff, you know, I mean, working with the city, doing trail, a lot of trail work, but, that was the era when, there was a part of the board put together the proposal for the, listing for the National Register of Historic Places and did all the research on, those those stone bridges and a lot of the the pieces in the park. So that was really interesting to me. And we had we had one person on the board at that point that that's what she did was, like, write grant proposals and that sort of thing.
Lauren Ferrara:So, so it's not just about trails. There's a lot of great programs for kids too. A lot of educational programs.
Amanda Bristol:And a couple of festivals. Honeywell Festival. Yeah. Canyon Canyon.
Lauren Ferrara:So, you know, I I think it's it's just been a great group, and it's such a again, I mean, it's it's different, but similar to Venetucci. It's such a community asset to have this city park that is when you think of a city park and you think of swing sets and grass, and and this is more like a national park. I mean, it's it's just gorgeous. So to have that and and sort of to to be able to steward that, is is an important piece. And and the city doesn't always have the resources to do everything that needs to be done.
Lauren Ferrara:And so, I think we as a community have a responsibility to get involved in that sort of thing.
Carly Ries:That's what I was gonna say. I think people assume that just so much money gets poured into
Lauren Ferrara:the price. Yeah.
Carly Ries:And that's why it's so important that you raise this money because that simply isn't true. We need an extra boost. And, I mean, I think we were they were saying that people compare us to Sedona for like the amount of space that we have and that's just not true. We have more space. We have 6 100 acres.
Carly Ries:And they just do so much for the community. So I wanna dive into the beer itself. I don't know if you guys have taste tested. No. It's the pinion nut brown.
Carly Ries:Alright. True or false? You roast your own nuts on for this beer?
Amanda Bristol:Yes. Yeah. We do. I mean, I posted a picture a couple of years ago on our, Instagram with Mike with a big cookie sheet in our kitchen, you know, with covered in peanuts. Our brewer also, roasts some of them.
Amanda Bristol:We split it up because there's so many, and we've got other people on staff that's will will will do that as well. And, yeah, it's just part of you know, all the all the beers in this mix pack are, have a kind of a uniqueness to them, each one of them. And so the pinion nuts just I mean, how perfectly does that relate back to Cheyenne Canyon, with pinion pines? And, so it it it it's all of this is a labor of love, you know, and so it's cool.
Carly Ries:Well, Mike, you said something fascinating. You said that you may not taste the nut, but you would notice if it wasn't there.
Lauren Ferrara:Yeah. That's that's that's my opinion of of the way that recipe is sort of formulated is the the nuts do give it sort of a a roundness and a and a character that they wouldn't have, but but it's not something that I would expect anyone to sort of pick out.
Carly Ries:Okay. Well, since I I have you 1 on 1 right now, so I'm gonna take this opportunity to ask the the pro. With wine, you're supposed to swirl it around and, like, oh, it's such an oaky flavor or whatever you say. Is there a way to get the most flavor out of a beer? Is there a trick?
Lauren Ferrara:Well, there's not really a trick, but I think the one thing that is very important that a lot of people miss, is the the the smell of the beer is a huge part of the experience. And so I always encourage people to pour it in a glass, you know, even if if you're drinking it if it's from a bottle or a can, and, you know, granted, I don't do it all the time. If I'm on a hike and I have a can of beer, I'm just gonna crack it open and enjoy it, but you do miss a lot of the flavor if you don't, if you don't have it in a glass, because that that smell is is part of that flavor. And so a lot some of the things with tasting wine are similar. I mean, certainly putting your nose in there and really, really getting it.
Lauren Ferrara:And and by swirling it a little bit, you break some of that c o two out so that you get a little bit more of that aroma. We try not to be as snooty as the white wine people, but, you know I
Carly Ries:had to ask, though. He loves he loves to say that at a beer dinner. He's like, we're not spitting any of this out. Yeah. Yeah.
Lauren Ferrara:We do we do drink the beer. We don't just taste it.
Carly Ries:Well, speaking of spitting any of it out, which one is yours and which one is not?
Amanda Bristol:This is a harder one for me.
Lauren Ferrara:It is a little bit harder. Yeah. Do you wanna
Carly Ries:I I sent an expert to figure out the competition. So
Lauren Ferrara:I mean, I have a guess, but do you wanna go first?
Amanda Bristol:I'm gonna taste this one more time.
Carly Ries:I don't know. Let me stop you.
Lauren Ferrara:If I'm wrong, it's not terrible.
Amanda Bristol:Gonna guess the one on the left here is ours. You are correct.
Carly Ries:Whoo. Whoo. Amanda got it. Oh my gosh. I have no pressure.
Lauren Ferrara:So would that be left on mine too?
Carly Ries:Not necessarily. I switched them up.
Lauren Ferrara:I feel like it is. I would guess this one. So I don't know if that's the same as the one
Carly Ries:she had on. On the bottom?
Lauren Ferrara:Oh, no. I can't see. Oh, no.
Carly Ries:Did I miss it? You missed it. Damn.
Lauren Ferrara:Well, I'm glad they're both good.
Amanda Bristol:They're both good. They are both delicious. They really are and they're really close.
Carly Ries:They are. Yeah. I, I think I just lucked out. Out. 50% chance?
Carly Ries:There we go.
Lauren Ferrara:Well, as long
Carly Ries:as they're both good, we're we'll we'll stick with it.
Amanda Bristol:Yeah.
Carly Ries:Well, then let's move on to the final beer. This beer benefits Smokebrush Foundation of the Arts. It's called the Smoke Porter. Smokebrush, you guys, they do so much. It is so hard to keep track of this foundation because Yeah.
Carly Ries:What's interesting about them is they do so much behind the scenes that nobody would ever know. They did the Unglover fountain, which you were saying that it's there's just this itty bitty plaque. Yeah. But Kat Tutor, who is kind of the mastermind behind all of this, they just are so involved in the arts. They wanna bring the arts to the city in really creative and unique ways, whether it's through move movement, through puppet shows, through the fountain,
Amanda Bristol:art and creativity. Random acts of creativity, they call it, which I just love.
Carly Ries:It is amazing. And now they're doing farm to table. They have Airbnbs at the farm that you can rent out. I mean, what do they not do? How did you get involved with this group?
Amanda Bristol:That's such a good question. I mean, it I I would just say that, the part that I can mention is that, Bob Tudor who was not yet married to Kat, but is now her husband and is an artist as well, he has a studio up, it's kind of behind the Margarita at Pine Creek, you know where that is.
Carly Ries:Yep.
Amanda Bristol:And, when we first opened our very first brewery was off of Forge Road off of Garner of the Gods. And so we were up there in his neck of the woods and he was a customer early on. And then later, I think, you sort of got involved with with Don Godi because, well, I first met Don because he his wife taught kindergarten at Canyon Elementary where, my kids were, our kids were. And, but then it all sort of came together with you and Don. So why don't you tell that story?
Lauren Ferrara:Yeah. Don was the was the one that had the idea to do the smoked quarter, and Don just has an incredible amount of energy, which is, probably why they're they have done so much stuff. And of course, Kat does as well. But, yeah, we just important in a community. And it was it was more it was more art based back then.
Lauren Ferrara:It's expanded, I think, into some different areas. But we just felt like, again, these these people are doing really great things, and a lot of people don't know about it. And and that was really one of the one of the things that we wanted to do with this project was not just to raise money, but to also raise exposure for these groups so so that people in our community could see that really there's good things happening. And and this is only 3 of many great, groups doing great work, so I don't wanna single them out as the only ones. But, I think that with the smoke breast, that was that was really important.
Lauren Ferrara:A lot of people, they they knew the uncle Wilbur fountain, but they didn't have any idea where it came from. And, again, I mean, similar to what we just talked about with with Cheyenne Canyon. I mean, most people probably believe that the city just poured a bunch of money in to build this really cool fountain at Acacia Park, and that's just just not the way it works. So, even in the even in the early days, they didn't have the budget to maintain the, the fountain. And so, in the first few years, much of the money that we were raising was going to just maintaining that fountain so they could operate on a schedule through the summer.
Lauren Ferrara:So I I think that, art is just such a big part of community and and makes a place pretty special. And so, I think that's what was kinda resonated with us.
Amanda Bristol:Yeah. And and we had, we'd gone to early on, we'd gone to a a play that that then had been put on by Smokebrush, you know, just another one of their things that they do in the community or used to do. That's kind of their evolution has just been all over the place as you've said. But we, that was the first kind of like we noticed, what they were doing in the community at that point and that was back in the nineties. And they have done so much more since then.
Amanda Bristol:And, you know, a lot of people don't realize that the Uncle Wilbur Fountain is named after Bob Tudor's uncle. He there literally is an Uncle Wilbur. We got to meet him one time.
Carly Ries:Yeah.
Amanda Bristol:And Bob wrote the music that the Uncle Wilbur plays when he rises up from the when that fountain opens up. And it's just I think it was I
Lauren Ferrara:think he recorded it too.
Carly Ries:Yeah. Right. And it was
Amanda Bristol:just a project that was really near and dear to their hearts, and then they just they got it created and then just gave it to the city. And that to me is just that's I guess it's sort of a values, that we respected, you know, that they just wanted to do something for this for this town. And and they and also the other 2 organizations, you know, they just make Colorado Springs unique and they make it what it is and they set it apart from other cities. And and and us locals, we we get that, you know. And not everybody that's outside of Colorado Springs understands what all we have here and how great it is.
Carly Ries:Yeah. I know. It is just so wonderful. And this foundation is no exception. I love everything that they do.
Carly Ries:And I I do wanna focus back on the beer a little bit. So it it's a smoked porter. It's when I think of smoked alcoholic beverages, I often think of, like, whiskey.
Lauren Ferrara:Oh, yeah.
Carly Ries:Do you know how many you can get that? The the
Amanda Bristol:smoked whiskey. For sure.
Carly Ries:I think I've even had that downstairs before.
Lauren Ferrara:Yeah.
Carly Ries:But you have pulled this off and not many people can pull off this kind of flavor. So, I mean, you talked about the inspiration behind it, but did it make you nervous?
Lauren Ferrara:That's a
Amanda Bristol:good question.
Lauren Ferrara:It it does a little bit because, the smoked malt that we use in it, if it gets overpowering, it can be a bit much. And so, we we do try to be pretty cautious of that. And since it's based on since it's a smoked porter, my own opinion is that we want it to taste, first and foremost like a porter with some smoked character to it rather than, I mean, I make the joke, but if you put too much smoked malt in a beer, I mean, it tastes like drinking out of an ashtray. I mean, it's it's intense, and that is not what we were shooting for. So that balance is is important because if you don't you have to have enough in there to to to be able to taste and to smell and and add to the character, but if you go over, then it takes away from the character.
Lauren Ferrara:So it is a little bit of a tricky beer to brew.
Carly Ries:Is that oh, go ahead.
Amanda Bristol:Oh, I was just gonna say it's kind of interesting that that nowadays, there's lots of beers that have very unusual elements added to them. Whether it's
Lauren Ferrara:You mean like breakfast cereal?
Amanda Bristol:Whether breakfast cereal or maybe it's they want it to taste like strawberry shortcake or, an ice cream sundae or, you know, those things. And and there really is an art to making a beer still taste like a beer, but have an interesting, flavor to it that, that you can appreciate. So
Lauren Ferrara:And that enhances the beer flavor
Amanda Bristol:It enhances the beer.
Lauren Ferrara:Opposed to trying to take it away.
Carly Ries:Yeah. Absolutely. Right.
Amanda Bristol:Right. And I've always respected Mike so much for his ability to come up with recipes, that that do that.
Carly Ries:So is this the most unusual ingredient that you've excuse me. Unusual ingredient that you have tried?
Lauren Ferrara:No. I'm well, I mean, at the time, the pumpkins were probably the most usual, unusual. Yeah.
Amanda Bristol:Back then. It was Mhmm. You know? 16 years ago.
Lauren Ferrara:Yeah. But, yeah, we we we're not the kind of brewery that I mean, I joke about breakfast cereal, and there are people that want to try beers that have breakfast cereal in them, and that's okay. But I just it's just not our thing.
Amanda Bristol:Yeah.
Carly Ries:Yeah. Yeah.
Lauren Ferrara:You know?
Carly Ries:What's the wildest suggestion one of your customers has given you for a beer that you're like, hard pass?
Lauren Ferrara:Oh, that's a great question.
Amanda Bristol:Because you do get a lot of suggestions. I'm sure. Yeah.
Carly Ries:Because everybody knows how to improve a beer. Yeah. Obviously. Well,
Lauren Ferrara:it might have been the the ghost pepper. Oh. There was somebody that said that they had tried a ghost pepper beer somewhere else.
Carly Ries:Were you tempted?
Lauren Ferrara:And, no. We have done green chile in in beer, but I just feel like the ghost pepper would just take over. I mean, it would you wouldn't be able to taste anything else. So, again, to me, it kinda comes back to that balance. I mean, I think you can do a good a good beer with green chilies if you do it right because you you you can have that balance.
Lauren Ferrara:But I feel like I feel like with ghost pepper, it it was just all about the burn. Yeah.
Carly Ries:Oh, for sure. It'd be hard.
Lauren Ferrara:And I've joked a lot that, you know, people are like, oh, why don't you what about cucumbers and beer? What about this? And by now, there's a brewery that's probably done it, whatever it is. But my my joke is even with chili beer, really, my joke is I love green chilies and I love beer, but I don't knead them together. I don't knead them in the same glass.
Carly Ries:Yeah. Exactly.
Lauren Ferrara:I can I can have my green chile stew and drink my beer and be really happy? So, but, you know, I there's a lot of a lot of breweries pushing the limits out there with, you know, interesting things like that, and and I don't I don't wanna speak poorly of them, but it obviously works. And then there's a people enjoy that experiment Yeah.
Carly Ries:That's true. And then they
Lauren Ferrara:they do it. Yeah. It's just not really what we're kind of about. And and I, you know, I I try to be open too. I mean, I don't wanna be this old curmudgeon that's
Carly Ries:this is all little new. You know? Back in the day, we didn't have Yeah. We had flavors.
Lauren Ferrara:But I still do prefer beer flavored beer. So
Carly Ries:Yeah. No. I understand that. Well, I bet that's something that people have questions about is, like, what, like, what your threshold is for trying these things. And people have said a lot of things about Bristol over the years, usually very positive.
Carly Ries:But I I I wanna go into an area of the interview where we are going to debunk some myths you may or may not have heard. And you can laugh, you can agree, whatever you wanna do.
Amanda Bristol:You can cry.
Carly Ries:Yeah. You can cry. So we have 5 fact or fiction. The first is you use Ivy Wild School Lockers to age your beer.
Amanda Bristol:No way. Really? That's
Lauren Ferrara:Good idea. No.
Amanda Bristol:That isn't kind of fun, but
Carly Ries:I'm gathering that's a no.
Lauren Ferrara:Yeah. That that'd be a no. Yeah. They'd be too small anyway. We we make a lot more beer than that.
Amanda Bristol:Yeah. And wouldn't wouldn't it pour out the side? I mean, I guess they're thinking in a container in a locker.
Carly Ries:I don't know how that would even work,
Amanda Bristol:but it is a cute idea.
Carly Ries:Yeah. There you go, you guys. So I think this would apply to Ivy Wild as a whole, but you can hear children's laughter in the brewery at night after hours.
Amanda Bristol:Oh my gosh. Now that one,
Lauren Ferrara:I have not personally heard it, but I have heard enough people say it that it it that I would have to say I I I wouldn't discount that one.
Carly Ries:Verdict is that interesting.
Lauren Ferrara:Just from my own perspective. I I have not experienced it, but, other people have. I don't know what your opinion is.
Carly Ries:I've never
Amanda Bristol:I've never heard that.
Lauren Ferrara:Oh, really?
Amanda Bristol:No. That's so funny.
Lauren Ferrara:Yeah.
Amanda Bristol:I I heard something about the storeroom, of the gym, but I don't even remember now what what the story was. But so, I mean, that's something that's something
Lauren Ferrara:contractors have some people contractors have mentioned that. And I'm a little surprised that I haven't, but I just, you know, I think some people are more open to that than others. And Sure. I I'm I must not be because I I don't notice that sort of thing, but so I might might not be tied into that spiritual realm or something. But, I've heard it enough that I certainly don't discount it.
Lauren Ferrara:Interesting. Well, let's talk about
Carly Ries:that later. I have not heard that. Dinner talk tonight. Yeah. Right.
Carly Ries:Right. Right. A lot of it was a lot of it was during
Amanda Bristol:construction because it was,
Lauren Ferrara:you know, it was empty and people were here, you know, in odd hours during construction. And, although, I also have heard it from, employees the closing employees mostly because you wouldn't hear it unless it's quiet. So you have to kind of be here at an odd odd hour.
Carly Ries:Alright. So maybe Han and I go out tours next October. We'll go to a less scary one.
Amanda Bristol:I'm not a big by myself,
Carly Ries:but so
Amanda Bristol:I guess I'm Well, they're
Lauren Ferrara:just kids. It's not scary.
Carly Ries:Yeah. That's always scarier. Settling. We'll move on to the next one. The brewery was started as a dare.
Amanda Bristol:Oh gosh.
Lauren Ferrara:No. That would be a great story though.
Carly Ries:Yeah. But She won.
Lauren Ferrara:No. No. It wasn't. It was, that's just a crazy idea.
Amanda Bristol:Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah, we started home brewing. Well, I I will say I was Mike's able assistant, but, we in his kitchen, you know, we started that and and then the beer was good and
Lauren Ferrara:At least we thought it was at the time.
Amanda Bristol:Yeah. Well, your, your roommate wanted it for his rehearsal dinner, so that was our first our first, public
Carly Ries:Our first pro gig. Yeah.
Amanda Bristol:But, yeah. It just, it all kinda came together at a time when, Mike was ready to own his own business. He's such an entrepreneur at heart, and I was working for an ad agency and and it was like, you know, you can you can name the beers and do the advertising and the marketing and and I'll make the beer and we'll start a brewery together and then What
Lauren Ferrara:could possibly go wrong?
Amanda Bristol:And then we then so we that was all when we were just dating and so then we we got married in December of 93 and started the brewery in in June of 94. Perfect. So false. It's our first crowd.
Carly Ries:Yep. Awesome. Yep. Alright. Going back to Ivy Wild, the Ivy Wild school bell rings when a new beer is released.
Carly Ries:Oh.
Amanda Bristol:Another good idea.
Lauren Ferrara:I wish that was were were the case. We need to put a bit
Amanda Bristol:Well, we do have a actual bell that we ring to get people's attention when Mike makes the Maybe that's us. But
Lauren Ferrara:But I do like the idea. Yeah. There's not really an Ivy Wyld bell, although we do have a bell that actually came from the church across the way.
Amanda Bristol:Where's that?
Lauren Ferrara:Someday. I think it's around here somewhere.
Carly Ries:Wait for that.
Lauren Ferrara:So I'd say I'd say false on the on the, like, the school bell sort of thing.
Carly Ries:Yes. Okay.
Lauren Ferrara:But we do we do ring a bell just to get everybody's attention in the pub.
Carly Ries:And it
Amanda Bristol:was a bell that came off of, like, eBay or something.
Carly Ries:So it's
Amanda Bristol:it's not actually related to Adiwell, unfortunately.
Carly Ries:Okay. Good to know. So last one, you're planning to open an actual beer school.
Amanda Bristol:Another good idea.
Lauren Ferrara:Now we have had sort of variations of beer school over the years. We worked with Colorado State University Pueblo for a little while to host a program here, and we've done some some beer education things. But I don't know in the future I don't know. It seems like people are maybe people that wanna learn more about beer have already learned it, so it doesn't seem like there's quite as much demand as as there was 15 years ago. But, but we do like the idea of educating people in in any way possible, and and so I would never rule out something like that.
Lauren Ferrara:It would be kind of an interesting project.
Amanda Bristol:Yeah. Awesome.
Carly Ries:Well and before we get into the now for rapid fire questions because you actually already answered one of mine. Oh. We didn't decide if you guys could pick out the porter that is yours Oh. Or the other, and I wanna make sure we give the listeners what they want. So which one is yours?
Lauren Ferrara:I'm gonna guess the left one.
Carly Ries:You are correct. Couldn't
Lauren Ferrara:go I couldn't get through it real quick.
Amanda Bristol:See, these are also close. I think it's my right one.
Carly Ries:If you lift it up and see a sticker underneath. Do you see a sticker? Yes. Okay. It's a free Sprite.
Carly Ries:Oh, wow. Free for
Lauren Ferrara:free ice.
Carly Ries:Alright. You guys know your beers. I'll even say you know all your beers.
Lauren Ferrara:Well, I don't know.
Carly Ries:I do know your beers. Okay. To round out the interview, quick rapid fire, what is the favorite beer name you've come up with and why? I'm gonna put this question on you, Amanda.
Amanda Bristol:Oh, well, it's gotta be Laughing Lab. I remember I remember it so well when I was working on it. And, yeah, and it's just happy, you know. It's just and it's unusual. And especially, I mean, back then, the beers were beer names were very, very, kind of stuffy, you know, or beer labels definitely were.
Amanda Bristol:And and it just went together to have the dog and the name together. And so, yeah, I I just had a lot of fun with that.
Carly Ries:Yeah. We we sure love that one. That's that's a fact. I don't know if you can answer this. It might be, like, one of your kids, and I think you said this last night, the beer you're most proud of.
Lauren Ferrara:Yeah. I'd certainly love them all. I I guess the beer that I would be most proud of would probably also be laughing lab only because just in this industry to have a beer that's remained a flagship beer for 30 years is really rare. And so I think that that just that that longevity and the following of that beer has really been fantastic. I mean, I wouldn't say it's I mean, there's plenty of other beers that we've brewed that I list I just really loved the the execution of that particular recipe.
Lauren Ferrara:And and the lab was that way in the beginning, but just the fact that it's lasted that long is really incredible for this industry.
Amanda Bristol:And it's also won, you know, 10 medals at the Great American Beer Festival. And you it's the ideal to have a beer that the judges like and also your customers like, you know. More important to have your
Lauren Ferrara:customers rare.
Amanda Bristol:More important to have your customers like it, but to have beer judges also like it is just wow. It's it's pretty amazing and and to me, I'm proud of that one too for that reason. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. And the Scottish ale, like, back in, you know, at at any point, you know, someone's saying, yeah.
Amanda Bristol:Give me a Scottish ale. Like, what even is a Scottish ale? Most people don't even know what that is. But, yeah, it has a lot about it that is, to me, really interesting and cool. Yeah.
Carly Ries:No. Absolutely. And and your answer to this one might be a laughing lab, but it has been chilly here in Colorado Springs. We've already had our big first blizzard. It's really cold today.
Carly Ries:If you're hanging out by the fire, what is your favorite beer to drink in these cold temps?
Lauren Ferrara:Oh, it's for me, it's Winter Warlock, or Winter Warlock most of the time or on a special occasion or old number 23 barley
Amanda Bristol:wine. Oh, you stole those.
Carly Ries:Both from
Amanda Bristol:me. Those were my 2 also.
Carly Ries:Good answers though.
Lauren Ferrara:And actually smoke breast porter comes in there too.
Carly Ries:Yeah. For me.
Amanda Bristol:And I do love, the Winter Warlock on Nitro, which is, you know, as opposed to, CO 2. It's so creamy and smooth and kinda like a a milkshake, a beer milkshake almost. And it's actually good with ice cream too.
Carly Ries:Oh my gosh. Those are it's like the the affogato for coffee, but for beer instead. Yeah.
Lauren Ferrara:Yeah. Yeah.
Carly Ries:Okay. Last one. You're by the fire. You're drinking the Winter Warlock. What snack do you have with it?
Carly Ries:Cheese.
Amanda Bristol:Blue blue cheese. My Blue cheese and winter warlock. And actually blue cheese also goes well with the barley on with our old number 23, which
Carly Ries:we
Amanda Bristol:I don't think we have available right now. So maybe we should talk more about the winter warlock. Yeah. Yeah. It's really good, with a nice hearty blue cheese Stilton or Maytag.
Carly Ries:Say no more. That's what I'm doing tonight, you guys. Well, this has been so fun. I have so enjoyed chatting with you 2. Again, big fan of yours just before we sat down to chat and will continue to be forever.
Carly Ries:And I just really appreciate your time today, so thanks for coming on. Oh, thank
Lauren Ferrara:you so much. For your interest.
Amanda Bristol:Really fun. Yeah. Thank you for Let's do
Lauren Ferrara:it again.
Carly Ries:Oh, for sure. You were in here first. I mean, how great are they?
Lauren Ferrara:What a great company. Okay.
Carly Ries:So you heard me in the interview say that I was not really a pumpkin beer person because it's usually syrupy. But, man, I love that beer. I asked Mike and Amanda what their favorite beers were and and time of year. They mentioned Winter Warlock. But I I gotta say, I really like the the pumpkin ale, the vintage tea
Lauren Ferrara:potato. It's
Carly Ries:so good.
Lauren Ferrara:And and I love they really were like the OGs of pumpkin beers. It wasn't really a thing. I didn't realize this until your interview, but I guess it wasn't really a thing until they started doing it. And now everybody has a pumpkin beer, but theirs is far and away better than any other pumpkin beer I've had.
Carly Ries:Mike said he was like, I still like our beer to taste like beer.
Lauren Ferrara:And Solid.
Carly Ries:That it does. Honestly, those 3, I I'm a big Bristol beer fan, so I'm kind of, biased. But I really you can't go wrong with any of those 3 beers. I just I mean, I'm a PSL girl. Got partial to those pieces.
Carly Ries:B. Trader Joe's pumpkin stuff, just all of that get in my mouth.
Lauren Ferrara:Love it. Have you had the Trader Joe's stuffing popcorn yet? Here's the thing, Lauren. You keep talking about it,
Carly Ries:and I keep intentionally not buying it because it would be very problematic.
Lauren Ferrara:It is problematic. Like, I have I bought 7 bags of it, and I don't have much left. And I'm tempted to go back, but also I need to cut myself off. But it's not good.
Carly Ries:Yeah. I have no no self control in that kind of stuff in my house. But to the point my mom gets these truffle chips from Trader Joe's, and when we go over there, I ask her to hide them so that I don't go and destroy the bag.
Lauren Ferrara:But I was the the Thanksgiving popcorn, I was like, this would be so good with the Vendittucci pumpkin ale.
Carly Ries:So so true. Well, aside from this popcorn, which I think could be your pick of the week for the rest of your life, What is your pick of the week this week? Let's do it. Let's do our picks
Lauren Ferrara:of the week. So my pick of the week would be cookies with Santa. Colorado Springs Moms Collective puts it on every year, and it is such a fun and not overly some holiday events are just so crazy. And just a lot of people are standing in lines, they have this timed entry. So you come in, you decorate ornaments and make cookies, and you get your photo taken with Santa.
Lauren Ferrara:And we've gone for the past 3 or 4 at least 4 years. And it's the real Santa, I'm telling you. It and you get these beautiful professional photos And they are doing a special discount for our listeners. Same code, springs and things, you get a 10% discount. It's December 1st on Sunday, 1st in Main Town Center, Upper Loft.
Lauren Ferrara:And, good news y'all, it's inside.
Carly Ries:Did you guys just hear the y'all?
Lauren Ferrara:Yep. It comes out. It comes out, especially when I'm talking about beer with Mike and Amanda Bristol.
Carly Ries:So my pick of the week is actually also on December 1st at 5 o'clock. It is ask the actors at the Fine Arts Center. Oh. So curious about the lifestyle of a theater professional or what it takes to slip into character night after night? I I actually always think about that.
Carly Ries:Then stay in your seats stay in your seats after the show for a curated discussion with the cast and creatives, and just satiate that curiosity, you guys. It'll begin immediately following following the December 1st, 2 PM performance of The Little Mermaid Up. That's I don't know why I keep singing in our show, but, I apologize to everybody. And this event is
Lauren Ferrara:free people listen. They just wanna hear you sing.
Carly Ries:I know. I know. I'm trying to get my 15 minutes of fame in the recording studio. But this event is free, open to the public, and no reservations are required for the ask the actors at the FAC. So please go check
Lauren Ferrara:it out. And I just got my tickets for The Little Mermaid, and I'm super excited. Hi. And I, like, peaked backstage as they were making the sets and everything, and it it looks pretty spectacular.
Carly Ries:I've seen a few, iterations of The Little Mermaid, never at the FAC, but just in other theaters. And I'm always like, how are they gonna do Ursula? It just that costume seems so elaborate to me. I just cannot wait to see how they do Ursula.
Lauren Ferrara:Yes. Well, they have on their social media. There's little little previews of it so you can take a peek. So Look
Carly Ries:at that insider scoop even
Lauren Ferrara:though Yeah. Well, this has been fun, Carly. What a great conversation with the Bristol's, and you can still get your give back pack, but they're going quick. Right?
Carly Ries:They're going so fast, so get them today. And listeners, this has been such a fun ride so far. And don't forget to
Lauren Ferrara:share this with a friend. If you enjoyed this podcast, we would love it if you would text the link to a friend and also write a review. Thanks so much for listening.
Carly Ries:We'd so appreciate it, and we will see you next week on Springs and Things.