Food/Drink: Food news and what to try this week in Boulder County

BABBO PIZZA, $12.95-$26.

Carelli’s of Boulder, 645 30th St., Boulder, 303-938-9300, carellis.com.

TRY THIS WEEK: Babbo Pizza @ Carelli’s of Boulder

WE’VE ORDERED a lot of takeout and delivery meals from Boulder County restaurants over the last two months, but we must say, our recent experience ordering from Carelli’s of Boulder was exceptional. We were greeted with a friendly conversation on the phone while ordering and, at a distance, when they delivered our meal to the car. Looking at the flowered and shaded patio made us long for a time — which is coming quite soon — when we can dine outdoors there, but getting the babbo pizza to-go was good enough for now. It’s a thin-crust pie with well-apportioned basil, organic tomato slices, garlic, mozzarella and fontina cheeses, and an olive oil glaze. The crust is unique — gentle folds create more surface area for crispness.

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n Drink this: Oskar Blues Brewery’s BA20 Vol. 1: All Monde

The first in what will hopefully be a lengthy series of barrel-aged imperial stouts, Oskar Blues’ BA20 Vol. 1: All Monde is exceptional. Aged in bourbon barrels with toasted almonds and Madagascar vanilla beans, the pitch black stout with an espresso-tinged head is like a glass of rocky road ice cream with a boozy finish. The mouth is big, and the back kicks with whiskey. Vanilla balances out the heat, and sweet and creamy malt builds a body worthy of these flavors.

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n COVID-19-related deaths continue at Colorado meat-processing plants and grocery stores

ON MAY 17, THE EIGHTH employee of the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley died of COVID-19. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) local union group, Local 7, says the death of Tin Aye and the seven others before her, is the result of a slow rollout of safety measures from the company. There have been 316 cases at the JBS plant, UFCW says. Additionally, an employee at a King Soopers, a subsidiary of Kroger, in Denver also recently passed away. In an interview earlier this month with Boulder Weekly, UCFW Local 7 President Kim Cordova said she was concerned about rising numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths among the state’s grocery store workers.

Crazy would be a good way to describe it,” says Brian Coppom, executive director of the Boulder County Farmers Market (BCFM), of the last several weeks.

The coronavirus-related shutdown coincided, within weeks, with the projected start of the BCFM season. As farmers pivoted to farm stands, CSAs, deliveries and other methods to sell their early-season foods, BCFM, too, pivoted to an expansive curbside pickup model. On weekends, as many as 800 people are now picking up orders through BCFM2Go, sourced from 42 local farmers, ranchers and other food purveyors.

Like the restaurant industry, the quick adaptation has helped BCFM and local food growers make ends meet during the pandemic, but it won’t be enough on its own to carry them through the season. It also shows their resiliency, Coppom says.

“As soon as they heard we were going to be delaying the markets, many of them were able to set up farm stands, they put stuff online and they had a tremendous response from the public,” Coppom says. “I think the concern for most of our area farmers is really in what happens when we get into summer crops. There’s not a farmer that can make up the volume they make at the market at a farm stand.”

So opening the farmers market (with restrictions — you’re encouraged to make a reservation and/or shop online for pickup, there will be no food samples, etc. (see sidebar for details) will help boost revenue for local food growers, but after running the numbers, Coppom expects peak daily visitation to the market to reach only 1,300 people — down from a peak of 8,000 during regular summers.

It won’t be the same BCFM at whichever location you visit. Gone are the live music, seating areas and artisan booths that made it something to do on Saturday mornings and weekday nights. Instead, it’s a place to get local groceries, which, in the sunshine and open air, might be more appealing than a closed-roof supermarket.

Despite the reduction in visitors, Coppom is targeting sales to be 50% of what they were last year. He estimates that of the 6-8,000 people who visited BCFM locations in the past, maybe 2,000 weren’t buying anything. The people who do visit, hopefully, will be those eager to spend a lot. That’s what the past dictates, anyway.

“Typically what we will find when circumstances are not comfortable, if it’s raining, super windy, anything like that, we find there’s a dramatic reduction in the number of shoppers at the market but there’s also a dramatic increase in the dollars spent per shopper,” Coppom says. “The core shoppers are still coming out, they’ll brave the weather, they’ll brave conditions, and they typically buy larger purchases than the average person. I think we’ll see those core shoppers returning to the market.”

The silver lining in all of this, Coppom says, is that more folks are waking up to the inadequacies of the industrial food system, and that they’re responding by buying locally. It’s a foundation we can build on — Coppom estimates that based on acreage alone, agriculture done on Boulder County could feed 25-30% of the

Back in season The Boulder County Farmers

Markets return this week, with changes to ensure safety, and a vision of changing how we eat by Matt Cortina

The Saturday Longmont market at 9595 Nelson Road is planning to open May 30.

n BCFM opening dates

The Boulder Saturday market on 13th Street in Boulder will open Saturday, May 23. The Boulder Wednesday evening market does not yet have an opening date.

The Thursday Lafayette market will not open to the public this year. It will become a location for curbside pick-up for orders placed on BCFM’s virtual market, BCFM2Go (bcfm. localfoodmarketplace.com). Curbside pick-up launch date is TBD.

The Saturday Union Station market in Denver is planning to open June 13.

population. Cut it in half if you account for water restrictions, but that’s still an attainable goal and one that could have a big impact if reached.

“We know for a fact that the globalized, industrialized food system has really delivered well on high volumes of cheap calories and even high volumes of nutritious food,” Coppom says. “What we also see is these big, centralized systems do not adapt easily. That has been one of the blessings on the local food system; it has been highly adaptable and highly innovative. There’s something there about resiliency that these smaller, localized systems are highly adaptable, they’re flexible, and they’re continuing to feed people where the larger systems are unable to do so.”

n BCFM dos and don’ts

DO wear a mask (required) DO use the restrooms before you leave home DO use hand-washing and sanitizing station DO limit your party to one DO stand on 6-foot distancing marks DO follow our one-way flow of traffic DO pre-order DO make a shopping list and plan your route DO keep your market visits short DO use credit cards DO wash and disinfect all your purchases when you return home DON’T come to market if you’re sick DON’T come to market without a reservation DON’T use cash if you can avoid it (If you must, bring small bills) DON’T bring pets to market DON’T touch any produce or goods DON’T consume any food on site

New in brew: Wild Provisions Beer Project Two European brewing traditions collide in Boulder story and photos by Michael J. Casey

ON TAP: Wild Provisions Beer Project, open daily 2-7 p.m. 2209 Central Ave., Boulder, wildprovisionsbeer. com

Boulder’s got a new taproom, and it’s a beauty: Sleek yet rustic, modern but warm, a real treat. You ought to drop whatever you’re doing and go for a pour of something special. Too bad you can’t, at least not yet.

Located in East Boulder’s industrial Flatiron Park, Wild Provisions Beer Project is the passion project of Tommy Bibliowicz (co-owner of 4 Noses Brewing in Broomfield) and Brandon Boldt (co-owner of Primitive Beer in Longmont). They opened their doors on May 8. Well, rolled up the garage door is more like it. They can sell you bottles to go, but it’s going to be a while until you can head in and hang out for a beer or three. A pity too: oak dominates the décor, the open and airy room is flooded with natural light, and the front of the house feels like a natural extension of the back.

“We really wanted the atmosphere to be pretty open,” Bibliowicz says. “Often times, when we have projects like this, it’s like they’re hidden behind the veil. We wanted it to be front and center.”

And it is. From where you sit at the bar, you spy a wooden nook housing a koelschip (a large flat tub where beer is spontaneously inoculated), two upright fermenters and a stack of five large puncheon barrels — all fashioned out of American oak from Missouri. Look further back, and you’ll see glass doors sequestering another coolship, two more open fermenters and horizontal lagering tanks stacked up like piglets.

Welcome to ales and lagers, wild and clean. Two brewing styles alike in execution colliding in 8,000 square feet of Boulder brewing space.

Both are rooted in tradition. The sour ales adhere to Belgian techniques, while the clean lagers mimic the Czech tradition. If you know anything about the two brewing nations, and the beer produced, you know they’re widely different — at least in the glass. But Boldt sees a lot of similarities between the two styles and the

processes involved, especially in their resistance to modernize with the rest of the brewing world. “These two areas, to some degree, said: ‘No, no, no. We love what we’re doing, we’re going to continue on and make this part of our beer culture,’” Boldt explains.

The main ingredient in both is time. While most breweries go from grain to glass in one to three weeks, Wild Provisions’ lagers will more than double that. And their wild ales will mature anywhere from one to three years. They also plan to cellar those sour ales in a separate climate-controlled room, which patrons can rent out for special tastings.

Wild Provisions opened with three sour ales (see sidebar for more), with their fourth releasing on May 22. The Czech lagers will soon follow, as will a proper opening. That will happen when Bibliowicz can assure the safety of his staff and customers. Until then, admire Wild Provisions’ all-black exterior and snag a few bottles of sour ale to go.

THE FIRST THREE

PACKAGED IN HANDSOME

500-ml bottles finished matte black (to keep aging beer safe from light), Wild Provisions’ first three sours are equally effervescent, featuring delightful pops of tartness and subtle hints of wood influence.

Their sour table beer, Ranch Chores, 4.1% ABV, was matured in Château Montelena chardonnay casks, which either impart a tart apple quality to the beer or lead your taste buds in that direction. It pours a pale straw color, fizzes on the nose and delivers light aromas of lemon, field grass and a touch of white grape. Drink it on a hot afternoon.

Old Bones (7.1% ABV) is a golden sour aged on freshly picked nectarines — which give the beer a sweet, fleshy fruit flavor — and Cascade hop cones, which contribute bitterness and structure to complement the tartness, and touches of citrus rind and orange blossom. Old Bones was then aged in chardonnay and whiskey barrels, with the latter adding a touch of woody heat. It’s superb — drink tonight with a lightly dressed arugula and goat cheese salad.

Bowery Lane (11.8% ABV) is a strong golden sour with Montmorency cherries aged in rye whiskey barrels to approximate a classic Manhattan cocktail. Better lay this one down and come back in a few years, after the boozy heat has mellowed and the wood and fruit tannins soften. When that day comes, pair with a marbled rib-eye steak.