Scrumpy's

A bar dedicated to cider? What more could I ask for?! Ace Cider mentioned this place on their Facebook page just a week before my visit to Fort Collins. It was immediately added to the list of must try. We came here on a Saturday night around 9 and sat right at the bar. We all chose a flight of 6 ciders and it was such a great time. I tried 6 ciders that I had never tried before! There was so many more to try and the staff was super knowledgeable. We talked about cider for a while and we also tried some mead, described by my friend as "a really old alcohol brew that you don't see much anymore accept for Renaissance Fest"... which pretty much summed it up. Kind of a less sweet wine, more like a cider. Pretty cool. I wish we had a place like this in Houston!

Also, their food looked amazing. I was sad I had already eaten dinner. One of my buddies got a sandwich and he really enjoyed it.

I got a cider sampler first thing, since that's their gig. The sweeter ones were especially delicious and refreshing, though I'm normally a beer guy (being in Fort Collins and all), and have nothing educated to say about them. The sandwich I had, the Peter Rabbit, was money. Guac and cream cheese is a surprisingly great combo. They rock the British theme strongly, with lots of ciders on tap (many are craft), but they also have a bunch of great microbrews on tap, including the new Black Bottle. They're apparently going to be brewing their own ciders pretty soon.

We had a great server. I had a hankering for a plate of Brie after eating my sandwich, and he happily set me up even though their actual cheese sampler wasn't store-ready yet.

The sandwiches are definitely unique - lots of cream cheese and jelly. Come to think of it, a couple of them are slightly reminiscent of Backcountry Provisions sandwiches, but that's quite the compliment because that place is the tits. The ambiance is awesome, with old, dusty looking chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, yet not over-the-top. With Crank right next door, the north side of old town is getting some great life breathed into it.

A cider bar in a beer town? Sounds fun to me! My friends have been waiting for this place to open for months, and at long last we were able to go check out this neat little place.

First of all, we were greeted by the owner right when we walked in. She shook all of our hands and gave us a rundown of all their ciders, specials, and upcoming news (they'll be serving their homemade cider in the next couple months). I tried a sample of their blueberry agave drink, which was a pretty awesome concoction. It even had blueberries floating in it.

My friends and I ordered 2 taster trays, so we got the whole shebang. I ended up ordering the blue agave and a wild turkey sandwich (turkey, bacon, guacamole, cream cheese, sprouts, tomatoes, and salsa - YUM). Their menu isn't complete yet, but they should be up and running at 100% soon. They do accept credit cards, but it's much easier if you pay with cash.

The layout of the place was pretty cool too. The exposed brick was nice, and the booths were perfect for seating 4. The restroom can be a little hard to find (they'll be putting up signs soon), but basically all you need to do is follow the hallway all the way to the back and through the door. It feels like you're about to step outside, but really you're just stepping into the hallway they share with CrankNStein.

I've got high hopes for this place, looking forward to seeing how it turns out!