Coors Factory Tour

On our first visit to Colorado, we included a morning at the Coors Factory Tour in Golden. Golden is a quaint town that is proud of its wild west roots. We also nearly moved to Golden, as my husband’s prospective new job was nearby- sadly, his new job was not at the beer factory! We ended up settling in a different community, but we enjoy visiting Golden.

Located just off the main shopping street, Coors is the largest beer brewery in the world. It’s absolutely massive. Knowing that it is a popular attraction, we arrived about an hour prior to opening. The parking and shuttle to the factory are both free. We parked and got in the queue.

Technically, we could have walked from the parking lot, but the complimentary shuttle bus is a way that they can stagger the groups entering the building. The bus driver also gives visitors a bit of a narrated tour around the main part of Golden, which is nice for people not familiar with the area.

Here are a few shots from outside of the factory.

In late 2019, the tour was only ten dollars for adults ( five dollars for locals) and included three 8 ounce samples of beer. Soda and non-alcoholic beer was also available for those not consuming alcohol. It’s a real bargain! They also threw in complimentary glasses to take home.

The first step was to have our souvenir pictures taken, so that we could buy them for a criminally inflated price at the end of our visit. We declined the photo, but we did take our own secret shot of a family from Indiana that we got to know while waiting in the shuttle queue. They were very nice people, and even gave us the idea and courage to try to biking down Pike’s Peak….which is still one of the most foolish things that I have ever done.

We were given audio tour wands that provided additional information at numbered stations, but otherwise, the tour was a self-guided, one-way journey through the visitor areas of the factory.

We started by learning about the origins of the company, which was started by a Prussian born immigrant named Adolphus Coors. Coors immigrated to the United States in his early twenties and worked a series of odd jobs, including as a brewer. In 1872, he made his way to Denver and by 1880, he had founded Coors Brewery.

Different bottle shapes.

The many Coors brands. I love Blue Moon.

Prior to viewing the factory, we learned a little bit about the ingredients that go into making beer.

And into the factory, where we learned a bit more about barley and hops.

Of course, once you brew it, you need to make sure that it meets the standards.

We were given a small taster. This was not the same as the eight ounce samples, which were given at the end of the tour. Every time we were given a drink, it was marked on our wrist bands. They were very strict about not sharing samples.

A section that mentions the different brewery locations and some of Coors special programs, such as recycling.

Here is my happy husband about to go into the bar area for our eight ounce samples. It was about ten a.m. and we went on an empty stomach, which was fun, but not wise!

I enjoyed all of the old advertising campaigns. Even E.T. was shilling for Coors!

Our beer. I could only handle two of the three samples and I was desperate for some food to line my stomach. We ended up going to a local pizza restaurant for an early lunch.

A few final pictures at the end of the tour.

On the way out, we were handed a “Golden Ticket,” which is a scratch off coupon that is good at several of the restaurants in town. The trick is, you don’t know your discount until you scratch it at the end of your meal. It’s a great way to promote tourism and we were delighted, especially as we thought the Coors tour was an exceptional value. We couldn’t believe that we were getting more. I can’t remember, but I believe we got 20% off at the pizza place with the Golden Ticket.

We returned to the Coors Factory the following month with friends who were visiting from California. We wanted to take the kids this summer, but due to Covid, the tours have been suspended. Yes, you read that correctly= kids. The Coors Factory is interesting from both a historical and manufacturing standpoint. It’s educational and fun. Although beer is certainly consumed, there is an emphasis on keeping it family friendly and excessive drinking is prohibited. The Coors tour is engaging for all ages and should be part of any Colorado vacation.

Book Review- Kat Chow's Seeing Ghosts

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy of Kat Chow’s memoir, Seeing Ghosts, in exchange for an honest review.

The youngest of three daughters, Kat Chow was in middle school when her mom passed away from cancer. Her mother’s illness was diagnosed late, and although her mom may have been ill for a long time, the loss seemed sudden and unexpected. After the loss of her beloved mother, Kat struggled through her grief, especially as her older sisters move out of the family home and Kat is left with her father.

Kat’s relationship with her father is fraught and difficult, made even more challenging by her father’s money troubles and his own childhood trauma, including losing his father at a young age.

Seeing Ghosts was a very emotional read for me. I lost my mom to cancer back in 2008. Reading through Chow’s own experience brought back a flood of emotions, and especially during the first half of the memoir, I was a sobbing mess. I was crying so much, that I had to take breaks. That said, Chow’s beautiful writing and raw emotions were very cathartic for me.

The second half of Seeing Ghosts explores Chow’s father’s background and his search to find the remains of his father. Chow was born in the United States, but her parent’s immigrated from China via Hong Kong. When her father was a child, his father left Asia to find work in Cuba, and ended up dying in Cuba, separated from his wife and infant son. Chow’s grandfather’s body was never repatriated and it has been her father’s life long quest to find his father’s bones, a story that finds a happy resolution in the final chapters of the Seeing Ghosts.

Although my family story is very different, I could find a connection to Chow’s family through the themes of how we struggle to understand the traumas of previous generations and how many people have a desperate need to connect with their ancestry. When visiting Cuba, Chow’s father holds a glimmer of hope from gossip that his father had an affair, hoping that he might have a living half-sibling. I’m an only child, with no close living relatives, and I have to admit that I too have a similar hope. I feel that there are many people out in the world looking for connections and Seeing Ghosts is a memoir about connecting, both to our past and with those still living.

Chow’s father is a bit of a hoarder, a problem that increases after his wife dies. This is a a major area of stress and worry for Chow and her sisters, but the problem also reveals an important aspect of her father’s personality. He has experienced so much uncertainty and loss in his life, that the objects allow him to have a sense of control and peace. I saw a similar behavior in family members who were alive during the Great Depression and WW2.

I also must mention the tremendous amount of love in the Chow family. Chow’s mom did not hold back when showing affection towards her daughters, and that love has spilled over into the relationship between the sisters. Love is open and vibrant, shown through words, actions, and gifts. There is so much strength in their love, that it kept me hopeful, in even the darkest moments.

Seeing Ghosts is a beautifully written and highly emotional memoir. It’s a fascinating look at the Chow family, but also a deeper story about the affects of leaving your homeland and figuring out your place in the world. It is about navigating the ephemeral and transitory nature of life.

Cambly Tutor Experience

As a child, there were three types of places that I wanted to work: a theme park, a zoo, and a bookstore. I’ve already checked-off the first two on the list. I spent fifteen years at Universal Studios Hollywood, and during my twenties, I was part of the Behavioral Research Department at the Greater Los Angeles Zoo.

Now, starting tomorrow, I will be the newest employee at The Tattered Cover Book Store here in Littleton. The Tattered Cover is a wonderful Colorado company that has a chain of independent bookstores. I’m thrilled to be around books and book lovers. I imagine it will give me invaluable insight as I work towards my goal of revising my novel and finding an agent.

However, I can’t begin my new job, without reflecting on the past three years that I’ve spent as an independent contractor for the San Francisco based ESL tutoring company, Cambly.

Cambly came into my life when things were uncertain. We lived in a rural mountain community and we were traveling a lot, frequently hitting the road on the spur of the moment. I needed to earn money, but I needed the flexibility. My husband’s best friend suggested it to me and I applied. Two days later, I was hired and starting my first session, which is similar to a zoom meeting, but through Cambly’s site.

The idea behind Cambly is simple enough, you just show up and help people improve their conversational English. Beyond being a native English speaker, no real skills are needed. However, I found this to be somewhat untrue, as my writing background certainly helped me both tutor and retain students. Sometimes students want help with specific grammar issues or they have complicated questions.

I found myself really diving deep and considering why certain things are the way they are in the English language. I learned more about my native language through helping others. I was also in awe of the learning process and dedication that many of my students showed, often waking up before sunrise to learn English, so they would have time before work and kids gobbled up their day. People are out there achieving major goals and it is inspiring.

After a few months, I was established enough to have a roster of regulars and my schedule became fixed, Mon-Fri, 9am-12pm and 2pm-5pm. I found that my schedule filled almost immediately after I released new time slots. I must “not-so-humbly” brag that I was a popular tutor.

The best part about Cambly is the students. I met amazing people from all over the world. I met doctors, engineers, CEO’s, pilots, architects, lawyers, university students….the list goes on. My youngest student was four and my oldest was in their mid-80’s. I met people who needed English for their careers and those who simply had a love for learning. I met people all over the political and ideological spectrum, and was able to engage in productive, respectful conversations, a truly fascinating and fortunate opportunity as we live in such a divided world.

My stats on Cambly state that I met 1787 different students. I’m not sure how many countries I met people from, but the countries I met the most students from were: Brazil, Turkey, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. My life is certainly enriched from having met these students. I know more about world history, world politics, and geography than I did previous to Cambly. I also have added many places to my travel bucket list. Cambly does not allow tutors to share private information ( I even went by my mom’s middle name- Zora, to protect my identity), but luckily they leave the messaging system active, so when I do travel to these countries, I can contact my former students…my friends.

The worst part of Cambly was the pay. It’s low and per minute of talk, which means when there is a cancelation, there is no pay. There are no other benefits, such as sick pay or medical. The benefits are flexibility and the personal rewards that come from meeting and helping others.

Here is the profile picture I used for Cambly. I was trying to capture the “I’m a fun tutor vibe,” which seemed to work! I’m leaving the site with a 4.97 rating, which is high, and many of my students wrote very kind messages when I told them I was leaving.

I will certainly miss my students and the flexibility, but it was time to move on to the next opportunity. Luckily, my Cambly account will be still be active, so if I decide to return, I can, at any time. I’m not sure what the future holds, especially with pandemic uncertainty, but if I return to Cambly in the future, I know it will be with a happy heart to reconnect with my students from around the world. My life is better because of my time working for Cambly.