Popination Desolation

a series of unhinged personal essays disguised as pub reviews. Today: we mourn two Metal breweries’ demise.

Just within the past few weeks, I’ve mourned to hear of not just one, but two brewery closures that were so beloved (and popular?) and Metal and/or horror themed. I’ve Popinated them both already, and I thought I’d memorialize them by collecting those here and giving them a farewell GLOSS treatment. O Trve and Incantation, we hardly knew ye…

Trve Brewery

Find my original Popination at Trve here.

I really liked Trve when I visited, and they even had a little bottle of a tangy farmhouse ale that was named after my husband’s and my song (‘First and Last and Always’). So even though I’ve only been there once, I still have strong sentimental feelings for it. Was it out of the way for me? Yes. Would I have gone back there? Ehh, not enough to singlehandedly save the place, that’s for sure. I have heard that the fried chicken place that shared its space will be staying alive, so it’ll be interesting to see where they end up, and when.

…here we are at another Metal themed brewery. What is it about those two things that go together? But obviously this place isn’t alone: I’ve written about, what. 3 others? This is not a complaint, by the way; I find this environment comforting and lovely, so the more the merrier. Funny enough, Shazam couldn’t recognize or find any of the music playing as I sat there at the bar, either, whether crusty, sludgy or screamy. Methinks that’s a good sign. But it sluices my soul, to go from the light themes of church to this safe and comforting darkness (of a distinctly Satanic flavor). Why is that? Something about the joy and healing properties of dark stuff like this, I think. It’s a balance. It’s chthonic and cathartic.

Incantation I

Find my original Popination at the flagship Incantation here.

Man, I really felt like I was in heaven (or maybe a delightful Metal Hell?) when I stepped into the flagship Incantation Brewery over in Aurora. Tasting some delicious fresh beer flavors, guided by the warmly friendly bartender, and allowing half my attention to fall on to the LOTR movie on the big screen above the bar, which was playing Fellowship instead of what in most other breweries would be sports. What an ideal environment for an afternoon relaxation pint or two. I wonder why they’re closing? Must be a financial thing—I can’t imagine it’s easy to maintain a brewery, even in the relatively less expensive Aurora. It’s got to be so hard. It makes me sad, as it does every time I hear of a good work of art or talented artist quitting on account of having no monetary support. (Speaking of, subscribe? Ahem.)

…I walked in to Incantation Brewery and thrash Metal was playing, skulls and candles lined the bar top, and Lord of the Rings was playing on the big screen above it. The Fellowship had just found Moria, and was trying to find a way in. Was this paradise?

Incantation II

Find my original Popination at the branch Incantation at the Light Rail here.

As much as it’s no doubt expensive to run a brewery, it must be exponentially more difficult to successfully run two branches of a place. The area around that light rail station, while famously rough and a little dangerous, is still a bunch of new development—it’s in the middle of gentrifying, kinda. It’s too bad that little corner of Incantation can’t stay there for the Auraria students to study at. Makes me sad in a similar way I’m sad that DIME Denver had to shut down, too. I can imagine the expense wasn’t sustainable, but still. I feel like what we need is the return of wealthy art patrons that would sponsor endeavors like these. Unfortunately, it seems like high culture and arts aren’t valued in today’s America especially. Let’s hope that changes sooner rather than later.

At any rate, It is a lovely place to wait for a delayed train. Or an Uber. The world I used to dwell in has improved since I’ve left it. Sort of an opposite to a ‘Scouring of the Shire.’ It’s actually a good thing, nice to see, if bittersweet—that the world I’ve left behind is going just great, thank you very much. That’s as it should be. The kids (and the Incantations) are all right.

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SIDE NOTE: I mentioned LOTR in a few of these Popinations and now I wonder what that connection is. Meaning: Metal and Fantasy. Or Metal and D&D. Or specifically Metal and Tolkien. Especially because I happen to be listening to the wonderful Andy Serkis audiobook of it right now, it’s on the brain. I mean, obviously you’ve famously got Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and of course Amon Amarth and their lyrical and otherwise referential nomenclature, but I’m fascinated by the huge overlap in that particular nerddom with the metalheads. And then we’ve got the brewery node.

What makes beer Metal? What makes LOTR Metal? What would Tolkien think? Did he like beer as much as his hobbit characters? We know he smoked like they did…

It’s weird to be mourning these places even though I didn’t frequent them. Even though I wanted to. Like with Dionysus, I feel bad but also yeah that’s kinda why they have to shut down, right? It’s hard to claim I was a fan when I went to these places once each. Though I feel like I was. A fan, that is. It’s not like my few pints would’ve singlehandedly kept them afloat anyway, like I said above, but. I dunno. Anyway it’s a sad day for Denver Metal and beer. I guess we’d all better go to The Crypt, and Black Sky Brewery, before it’s too late.

Godspeed, Trve. Farewell, Incantation. May you serve horns of beer to the worthy in Valhalla.