The Colorado Thread

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

quirkzoo1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2013
Messages
4,378
Reaction score
7,005
Location
The Misty Mountains
I down here in lowly Colorado Springs, but someone has to start this.

From my perspective we can combine all the major beer areas in Colorado into one thread because often people will be based in one location and then kick out to one or two of the others for a day.

I will list the Major Cities here and then we can link to specific posts as they are written.

Denver
Boulder
Fort Collins
Colorado Springs
 
Last edited:
Colorado Springs (a little over an hour south of downtown Denver)

Breweries -

Trinity Brewpub - This is probably the most well known brewery in town. Lots of good options. House beers are hit or miss and their guest tap list is usually pretty solid. Their food used to be really good however some recent changes have left it a bit lackluster, especially for the price. The patio has a nice view of Pikes Peak. Trinity is the only brewery I have listed that carries other people's beer.

Phantom Canyon - This is an establishment in the heart of downtown. Specializing in English style beer with two beers always on cask. Solid pub fare and good happy hour benefits. Pool, darts etc. on the second floor.

Rocky Mountain Brewery - A bit out of the way in a more industrialized area, this brewery specializes in fruit beers (several world beer cup awards) and strange adjuncts (smore beer...). Their regular lineup is decent, no bottles but they fill growlers of most of their beers. No kitchen but they do have food trucks during high traffic times.

Pikes Peak Brewery - The up and coming brewery in town. Recently expanded their facility to increase capacity and accommodate more barrels. Mostly American style beers, I would say that their regular offerings are the best of the local breweries. Their sampler platter is the best value in town. No kitchen but they have a panini press, pretzels...

Bristol Brewing - Probably the most established brewery in town. Been packaging beer for a long time. Recently moved into a very cool facility that used to be a very large elementary school. For the most part their beer is pretty middle of the road. Good but not great. In the Fall they release Venetucci Pumpkin Beer made with pumpkins from a local farm. It is a local whale and people line up around the block for it. If you get the chance to try it on tap (usually sells out that night) it is a really good beer.

Colorado Mountain Brewery - Pretty generic brewpub, beer is good, food is good, ambience is a bit chain-ish. Overall you will enjoy your time their but you won't actually remember anything special about it.

Nano 108 - Nice selection of rotating taps, 108 per year is their goal (2/week + special releases). I have had a few selections and they seem to run the gamut from really nice to very meh. No total stinkers yet, but definitely not a consistent location yet.

Fieldhouse Brewing - Pretty new, small brewery, south of downtown. I have heard some good things about their special releases but haven't had any yet. Their regular rotation is solid.

Ironbird Brewing - About a block away from Fieldhouse. Pretty good stuff. The session pumpkin beer was really good. They have two taps on cask.

There are several other smaller breweries in town (Great Storm, Redleg, Smiling Toad...) that I haven't been to so if anyone else has something to add, please do so below.
Bars with good Beer selection-

Brewer's Republic - Best beer bar downtown, lots of events, always great beer on tap, decent prices. Used to be strictly CO beer, they have recently expanded with some guest taps.

Front Range BBQ - Good BBQ, very good taplist, they often host special events
Bottle shops-
Coaltrain - Near I-25 (the major North-South road). Usually has the best selection. Some locals get a little tired of them because there is a tendency to not always release all the special stuff (usually saved for beer dinners that they co-sponsor). Still a good store.

Weber St. Liquors - Close to coaltrain, selection not quite as good, very friendly.

Cheers - A little further east, good selection.

There are several other stores in town and selection and freshness is pretty hit or miss.​


Other Resources
Focus on the Beer - Local website, they run lots of events and are the primary resource for beer information in Colorado Springs. They also run the "Beers Made by Walking" event each year.

Map Produced by Focus on the Beer - http://goo.gl/maps/Z4oKE

This list is by no means exhaustive nor definitive, please improve it.
 
Last edited:
Will Loveland and Longmont (Greeley, Berthoud, Windsor, etc.) all fall under the Fort Collins link? We have no breweries here in Fort Morgan (Nebraska west). The closest are for me are in Greeley and Loveland. Would love to have a map and plan of action as the wife drags me Christmas shopping....
 
Denver-area
(updated 11/25/13)

Downtown
Breweries/Tasting rooms
Beer Bars/Restaurants
Stores: Argonaut, Mr. B's

Near Downtown (~3 miles or inside Denver-city limits)
Stores: Joy Wine & Spirits, Mondo Vino, Colorado Liquor Mart
Bars: World of Beer, Stapleton Tap House

Outside Downtown (suburbs)
Stores: Lukas, Davidsons, Mile High Wine & Spirits, Applejack, Total Beverage, Total Bev, Parker Payless

Try www.beermapping.com for others.

http://www.fermentedlychallenged.com/p/denver-area-breweries-map.html
 
Last edited:
Colorad(o?)ans,
Hope everyone had a great day yesterday. I'm in town from Los Angeles and will be in Denver hitting a bunch of breweries and beer stores today. I'll be wearing very light blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a picture of a noticeably slim Charles Barkley skying for a dunk. I also wear glasses and have a sleazy mustache at the moment. If you see me anywhere, come say hi and I'll buy you a beer. Planning to hit Prost, Bull and Bush, Copper Kettle, Renegade (and possibly some others) over the course of the afternoon/evening. Look forward to hopefully meeting some folks.

Best,
Jeremy
 
I hit Station 26 on Sunday. Nice little place. Fairly busy. OK line up of beers on tap. The DIPA was spot on. A couple of others were meh, but for the most part will definitely hit again. I know it's in DenverBeerDrinker hood so he should be able to keep us updated on how they are fleshing it all out.

Cheers.
 
Hey gang. I am flying to Denver and driving to Vail on the 25th. Will be spending the first and last day of my ski trip in Denver.
I really didnt start looking at what works best for me logistically - for a beer nerd. If anyone is bored and wants to throw some ideas my way, that would be cool. I am going to be with people who enjoy good beer and nice taprooms, but would factor in convenience as a decision maker.
 
Hey gang. I am flying to Denver and driving to Vail on the 25th. Will be spending the first and last day of my ski trip in Denver.
I really didnt start looking at what works best for me logistically - for a beer nerd. If anyone is bored and wants to throw some ideas my way, that would be cool. I am going to be with people who enjoy good beer and nice taprooms, but would factor in convenience as a decision maker.

Where will you be staying?
 
River North, Epic, Great Divide, and the Source are all an easy stop coming and going from Vail and DIA. You could stop in to Mr Bs down there if you wanted to shop. Applejack liquors is a great spot as well just before you head up I70.
 
Thanks guys - I see that crooked stave is right next to great divide - is that the same thing as source?
Crooked Stave is in The Source. The Source is kind of a weird ass indoor hippy mall. (Cool though). If you have time, Jagged Mountain is in the neighborhood too and it was really good and less crowded than either of the other two.
 
Crooked Stave is in The Source. The Source is kind of a weird ass indoor hippy mall. (Cool though). If you have time, Jagged Mountain is in the neighborhood too and it was really good and less crowded than either of the other two.
Most hippies I know could not afford to shop at The Source, and it's not really all that weird - unless you find a butcher, an artisan bread maker, a couple of good eateries, Crooked Stave, etc...weird.
 
Most hippies I know could not afford to shop at The Source, and it's not really all that weird - unless you find a butcher, an artisan bread maker, a couple of good eateries, Crooked Stave, etc...weird.
To one as uncultured as I, it is a bit weird, in a cool way. But damnit, I live out here on the plains of CO. We all redneck out here. ;)

Says the guy born and raised in Los Angeles.
 
http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2014/02/avery_brewing_expands_its_accl.php

Bottled BA Tweak

1375928691761.jpg
 
http://blogs.westword.com/cafesocie...efining_beer_trinity_brewing_six_versions.php

Thoughts? I like the sound of Swing Se Pliser and the double.

Red Swingline is a great beer. The price prohibits me from buying a lot, but it is worth the tag. It will be interesting to see what they charge for these and how much is available. I will LOL if they price the session swing at $18.99.

And I've got to rant a bit about this growing notion of the Colorado Wild IPA. It's stupid. Just because you brett, sour, or fruit an existing style doesn't mean you've created some brand new style. Prepared for incoming Californians and Floridians with their WC IPAs and Floridaweiss
protestor-riot-slips-throwing-rock-13850599162.gif
 
http://blogs.westword.com/cafesocie...efining_beer_trinity_brewing_six_versions.php

Thoughts? I like the sound of Swing Se Pliser and the double.

Red Swingline is a great beer. The price prohibits me from buying a lot, but it is worth the tag. It will be interesting to see what they charge for these and how much is available. I will LOL if they price the session swing at $18.99.

And I've got to rant a bit about this growing notion of the Colorado Wild IPA. It's stupid. Just because you brett, sour, or fruit an existing style doesn't mean you've created some brand new style. Prepared for incoming Californians and Floridians with their WC IPAs and Floridaweiss
protestor-riot-slips-throwing-rock-13850599162.gif


Yeah, I was going to post something about the Wild IPA thing after I read this blog post:

http://focusonthebeer.com/2014/03/rise-of-regional-styles-the-gateway-sour.html/

In general I agree with you, you get a couple of breweries in a close region that make some unique beers (I can't think of any Brett/sour IPA's made outside of CO but I am sure there are some). But just because you have 4 commercial examples doesn't mean you have a whole new style.

With that said, I hope breweries still make them because of the 4 listed on that blog post I have had three and they were all excellent beers.
 
Thank you for all the information in this thread! AleApostle and I are planning a CO trip for the first weekend in June, with a day spent in Denver and the rest of the time spent in Ft. Collins, so this is a great resource. For those of you in Denver, is there a particular area or neighborhood you would recommend staying in to be able to hit a lot of places on foot? Also, any favorites among the smaller breweries in Denver that you all would say are "can't miss?" We are planning to hit some of the more familiar names for sure (Crooked Stave, Great Divide, etc.), but any recommendations on some of the lesser known stops would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for any recommendations!!
 
any favorites among the smaller breweries in Denver that you all would say are "can't miss?" any recommendations on some of the lesser known stops would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for any recommendations!!

DenverBeerDrinker went to Jagged Mountain a month or so ago. It was spot on. Haven't been back since but I really, really want to. Are you guys coming out the 1st or the weekend of the 7th?
 
DenverBeerDrinker went to Jagged Mountain a month or so ago. It was spot on. Haven't been back since but I really, really want to. Are you guys coming out the 1st or the weekend of the 7th?

Thanks, we'll definitely check it out! We are coming the weekend of the 7th. We'll actually be in Denver on the 5th and 6th, and then we're heading up to Ft. Collins sometime on the 6th, with a few stops planned along the way.
 
I'll be up the canyon that week camping more than likely. I have a sour fest ticket but may just sell it. I'm really jonesing to get up in the mountains.

That being said, SourFest would be an option for Saturday if you felt like it. Finding tickets on the secondary market isn't terribly difficult. Like I said, I may have one. The fest is in the afternoon so you can definitely still do stuff afterwards considering the pours and ABVs are small.

The Fort Collins spots are all pretty straight forward. Funkwerks, Fort Collins Brewing, Odell, and New Belgium are all basically on the same street (Lincoln, New Belgium is just north of Lincoln you can't miss it). Funkwerks usually has a small food cart that serves hamburgers and stuff. Fort Collins Brewing has a restaurant attached. Odell will have one or two food trucks. The Goodness is usually there and is a tasty combo of basic American stuff with some vegetarian options. New Belgium has a couple trucks around as well.

If you want to do the New Belgium tour, which I highly recommend, just show up when they open and get on the list. The tours are always booked 3 months out, but you should be able to catch on as people always flake out.

Then in old town you have Coopersmiths and Equinox. Coopersmiths is a brew pub with decent beer and good food. Equinox is a hippy-ish joint. The beer is good but it gets crowded and loud sometimes. Black Bottle Brewing is just South of old town on Prospect. They have some good beers of many varieties including barrel aged stuff. They also have guest taps and serve decent food. Lastly, there's a new brewery named Horse and Dragon. Haven't been there.

Beer bars/restaurants in Fort Collins are The Mayor of Oldtown, Choice City Deli, Tap and Handle, The Forge, and Mainline. The Mayor has 100 taps and is a really fun place. You won't find a ton of rares, but there's plenty of great beer. They also have a kitchen that serves sausages and pub food. Choice City is the ****. Can't miss. Get a burger or a rueben. You'll be blown away by the quality of beer on tap for a butchers shop. Tap and Handle is right across Olive from Choice City. They have 50 or so taps. The Forge is a cool little place. They only have 10 or so taps but they're usually good. It's impossible to find so don't be afraid to call. They don't have food other than charcuterie. Mainline is a restaurant owned by Breckenridge Brewing and Wynkoop. You'll find their beers there. The food is good and it's a decent place to watch a game if needed (so is old Chicago right next door).

If you want to shop go to Wilburs, Supermarket Liquor, 287 Wine and Spirits, or Pringles.

Verboten and Grimm Brothers are good spots to stop in Loveland on your way up. Liquor Mart is a good shop in Loveland.

Some under the radar spots I've been to recently outside the Denver area would be The Post in Lafayette and Bru in Boulder. The Post has the best fried chicken I've ever had. Their beers are coming along. Same thing with Bru. Amazing food and good beer.
 
I'll be up the canyon that week camping more than likely. I have a sour fest ticket but may just sell it. I'm really jonesing to get up in the mountains.

That being said, SourFest would be an option for Saturday if you felt like it. Finding tickets on the secondary market isn't terribly difficult. Like I said, I may have one. The fest is in the afternoon so you can definitely still do stuff afterwards considering the pours and ABVs are small.

The Fort Collins spots are all pretty straight forward. Funkwerks, Fort Collins Brewing, Odell, and New Belgium are all basically on the same street (Lincoln, New Belgium is just north of Lincoln you can't miss it). Funkwerks usually has a small food cart that serves hamburgers and stuff. Fort Collins Brewing has a restaurant attached. Odell will have one or two food trucks. The Goodness is usually there and is a tasty combo of basic American stuff with some vegetarian options. New Belgium has a couple trucks around as well.

If you want to do the New Belgium tour, which I highly recommend, just show up when they open and get on the list. The tours are always booked 3 months out, but you should be able to catch on as people always flake out.

Then in old town you have Coopersmiths and Equinox. Coopersmiths is a brew pub with decent beer and good food. Equinox is a hippy-ish joint. The beer is good but it gets crowded and loud sometimes. Black Bottle Brewing is just South of old town on Prospect. They have some good beers of many varieties including barrel aged stuff. They also have guest taps and serve decent food. Lastly, there's a new brewery named Horse and Dragon. Haven't been there.

Beer bars/restaurants in Fort Collins are The Mayor of Oldtown, Choice City Deli, Tap and Handle, The Forge, and Mainline. The Mayor has 100 taps and is a really fun place. You won't find a ton of rares, but there's plenty of great beer. They also have a kitchen that serves sausages and pub food. Choice City is the ****. Can't miss. Get a burger or a rueben. You'll be blown away by the quality of beer on tap for a butchers shop. Tap and Handle is right across Olive from Choice City. They have 50 or so taps. The Forge is a cool little place. They only have 10 or so taps but they're usually good. It's impossible to find so don't be afraid to call. They don't have food other than charcuterie. Mainline is a restaurant owned by Breckenridge Brewing and Wynkoop. You'll find their beers there. The food is good and it's a decent place to watch a game if needed (so is old Chicago right next door).

If you want to shop go to Wilburs, Supermarket Liquor, 287 Wine and Spirits, or Pringles.

Verboten and Grimm Brothers are good spots to stop in Loveland on your way up. Liquor Mart is a good shop in Loveland.

Some under the radar spots I've been to recently outside the Denver area would be The Post in Lafayette and Bru in Boulder. The Post has the best fried chicken I've ever had. Their beers are coming along. Same thing with Bru. Amazing food and good beer.

Wow, this is awesome. I appreciate all the information!
 
Heya dudes. My next travel adventure is Denver next week for Memorial weekend. Be there the 22nd through 26th. Last time I was in town, I did all GABF-centric activities. I've found some fun things going on around town, but not a lot of beer related hijinx. Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers.
 
The old Crooked Stave Barrel Cellar taproom is now open on Fridays 4-8pm and Saturdays 12-8pm.

1441 w. 46th ave Unit #19

Cheers!
 
Back
Top