The Best of Both World's

Fort Collins, Colorado, is 5,000 miles from Europe. But its three family-owned breweries turn out a range of Old World beers few American cities can match.

The oldest of the three is Odell Brewing Company (800 East Lincoln Avenue; 970-498-9070), which specializes in English-style ales. But brewmaster Doug Odell doesn't let style definitions get in the way of brewing fresh, innovative beer.

His eclectic approach is reflected in Odell's flagship brew, 90 Shilling Ale. It's classified as an amber ale--a broadly-defined style created by American microbreweries. But the beer really is a British hybrid: it has the body of a Scottish ale and the mildish hopping of an English pale ale. Why the name "90 Shilling"? It comes from the old Scottish method of levying excise tax; a beer with a high original gravity was taxed at the highest rate: 90 shillings.

Two of Odell's beers are named after the cutthroat trout, a fish native to Colorado and highly sought after by anglers. Cutthroat Porter, like 90 Shilling Ale, crosses style boundaries; it has a roasted malt flavor one associates with a stout. Cutthroat Pale Ale is brewed in the English style, characterized by subdued hop character.

Odell's selection also includes unfiltered Easy Street Wheat; the lighthearted Levity Golden Amber; Curmudgeon's Nip, a barleywine brewed in the original, less hoppy, English style; and a winter warmer called Isolation Ale.

Named for a German brewmaster, H.C. Berger Brewing Company (1900 East Lincoln Avenue; 970-493-9044) brews New World versions of Germany's traditional beer styles. The owners, Peter and Bob Davidoff, are also carrying on a family tradition of good food and drink; their ancestors ran Café Schiller in Berlin and Tavern on the Green in New York.

There's a good chance you'll find H.C. Berger's year-round beers in your home town. Chocolate Stout, Indego Pale Ale, Red Banshee Ale, Red Raspberry Wheat Ale, and Whistlepin Wheat are available in 17 states.

But you probably haven't tried H.C. Berger's "Beer Master's Choice" series. It's like taking a vicarious beer tour of Germany. The series includes Kölsch, the refreshing, light-colored ale of Cologne; dunkel, inspired by the brewmaster's trip to the Andechs monastery outside Munich; altbier, the malty ale enjoyed in Düsseldorf; Maibock, which won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival; and rauchbier, a smoky beer rarely brewed in America.

The New Belgium Brewing Company (500 Linden Street; 888-NBB-4044) was inspired by Jeff Lebesch's bicycle tour of Belgium. Lebesch came home to Colorado with a strain of Belgian yeast...and a dream of starting a brewery. To call him and his wife, Kim Jordan, successful would be an understatement. Ten years ago, they were brewing in the basement and delivering beer in a station wagon. Today these award-winning entrepreneurs run a sleek, state-of-the art brewery powered entirely by wind.

The brewery's best seller is Fat Tire Amber Ale, a super-smooth beer named for the bicycle Lebesch pedaled around Belgium. In a few short years, Fat Tire has achieved cult status; it's found on store shelves and in alehouses throughout the West. New Belgium would love to distribute it nationwide, but can't for now; the brewery is running at capacity.

What makes New Belgium special is the amazing variety of Belgian beers it turns out. There are, of course, the Trappist classics: a strong, dark amber dubbel; and a golden-colored, and even more potent, trippel. New Belgium also brews Sunshine Wheat Beer, spiced with coriander and Curacao orange peel; a saison ale, brewed by farmers after the harvest and brought out the following summer; and a svartbier (black ale), an all-but-forgotten style discovered in an century-old book.

Recently, Lebesch took on his most ambitious project yet: brewing a Flemish red ale, a tart beer that gets its taste from years of conditioning in oaken barrels. He called it La Folie, an ironic comment on a time- and labor-intensive enterprise that yielded all of 3,000 bottles. But don't shed any tears for Lebesch: his creation won accolades from beer writers, and he's hard at work making another, bigger batch.

If you find yourself in the Fort Collins area, why not tour all three breweries? They're close to downtown, and open Monday through Saturday. Once you've sampled their beer--and bought a six-pack to take home--head for historic Old Town, the home of CooperSmith's Pub and Brewery (5 Old Town Square; 970-498-0483). This lively brewpub offers at least 10 beers on tap, including several cask-conditioned English ales. The menu ranges from classic pub grub to local specialties like buffalo burger; the house ales go into the preparation of many dishes.

And if you're making summer travel plans, circle June 23 and 24 on your calendar. That's when more than 40 of the state's craft brewers will be in Fort Collins for the Colorado Brewers' Fest.