Two Breweries More & A Moscow Mule

We spent most of our day Saturday walking to the breweries that were farther away, so Sunday afternoon we planned to spend more time in the Old Town area of Fort Collins. Our hotel offered free bike rentals and since our feet were aching from our long walk the day before and the hike that morning, we gladly obliged. 

It was a beautiful day, hovering in the low 50’s and sunny. So we strolled the streets and checked out a few of the shops. 

Then landed at Coopersmith’s Pub and Brewery.  

We opted to sit on the patio to soak in the last of the evening sun. However, after we got the first couple of sips of beer down, the cold hit like a ton of bricks, so we retreated inside. 

We had 45 minutes until the next brewery on our list was scheduled to close so we chugged sipped briskly, and almost ran to our next stop. 

Pateros Creek Brewing Co.

We loved the small, cozy feel of this brewery. Everyone seemed to know everyone else, and after everyone had been served, the bartender offered a brewery tour. The entire bar got up and followed him into the small brewery behind the bar. 

A short and sweet walk through of their process, and the tasting of a little roasted barley (I could eat that stuff as a snack!) the tour ended and it was back to the tasting room.

At night the Old Town area wears a crown of pretty white lights.

I wished it was summer so we could have strolled at a more leisurely pace instead of running, coats pulled tight to our next destination. 

And where did we end up? Why Ace Gillette’s again of course! 

(sorry for the blurry pic, I was too cold to take my time for a better one)

This time I remembered to take some photos inside. 

I know all bars have specialty drinks and cocktails, but I swear few celebrate the cocktail like this place does. They have very inventive drinks on their menu, and it really brings back the fun of a pre-dinner aperitif. 

I started with the Faster Pussycat, a delicious mix of blood orange vodka, lavender, and hibiscus.

But by far, my favorite was this amazing Moscow Mule served in a perfect copper mug. I promptly found us a set online for our bar at home.

For dinner we cabbed it over, because there was no way we were braving the cold and wind to ride our bikes the 2ish miles to the restuarant, to Cafe De Bangkok. I had the shrimp pad thai, I couldn’t resist. It had been ages since I allowed myself to order it. But the star was definitely Husband’s Northern Style Curry Noodle (Kao Soi). I missed taking pictures of our dishes, but it was seriously some of the best (the actual best in my opinion) thai food we had ever had. It was bursting with flavor, beautiful in presentation, and nothing short of life altering in our quest for good asian cuisine. 

We had hoped to go back to Ace’s for a bit, but my belly was so full I was practically waddling, and we were tired. The hot tub was calling our name, and we answered. 

The next day we headed home…and got caught in a Wyoming snow storm.