Tommyknocker Brewery

Tommyknocker BreweryTommyknocker Brewery
Tommyknocker BreweryTommyknocker Brewery
Brewery, Bar, Eatery

1401 Miner Street
Idaho Springs, Colorado, 80452
United States

(303) 567-2688 | map
tommyknocker.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.64
Beers:
59
Ratings:
6,034
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.91
Reviews:
31
Ratings:
75
pDev:
12.28%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by SidSales:
Photo of SidSales
Reviewed by SidSales from England

4.33/5  rDev +10.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Visted this fantastic brewpub whilst on holiday from the UK.

As soon as I entered I was knocked back by the wonderful smell of hops. The mash tun was just being dug out and the smell was great, I couldn't believe how close you could actually sit to the mash tun - about 5 feet with no shield.

The room was quite noisy as the bottling plant was going at full pace.

As for food, we had the Ultimate grilled cheese triple at $7.95.

All beers could be sampled for $1.25 per 4oz glass.
The Imperial Nut Brown was by far the best at 9.8% with Black Powder Stout also being outstanding but all other beers were pretty good too.

The selection on my visit (4 Sept 07) was:-

Maplenut Brown
Ornery Amber
Pick Axe Pale Ale
Jack Whacker Wheat
Black Powder Stout
Alpine Glacier
Imperial Nut Brown Ale
Fitzy's Bitter
Tundrabeary
Butt Head Bock
Oct 23, 2007
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.9 by jaydoc from Kansas

Jul 08, 2023
 
Rated: 4.11 by Sellen from Connecticut

Dec 05, 2020
 
 
Rated: 4.08 by pkeating59 from Illinois

Jul 18, 2019
 
Rated: 4.29 by COBEERHUNTER from Colorado

Jan 31, 2019
 
Rated: 4.17 by HeartofMiami from Florida

Aug 28, 2017
 
Rated: 4.26 by evanwoertz from California

Jul 10, 2017
 
Rated: 3.93 by Joshpu from California

Feb 27, 2017
Photo of moosecal
Reviewed by moosecal from Colorado

1.91/5  rDev -51.2%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 1 | service: 1.75 | selection: 3 | food: 1
My wife and I own 2 business in Estes Park, Colorado. We had frequented Tommyknockers three to five times a year for over a decade, making our dinners there the apex to our days of skiing at Loveland Ski Area. Their delicious burgers, sides, appetizers and generous glasses of craft beer so impressed us that we regularly recommend Tommyknockers as a "must stop" to many of our customers and RMNP visitors that were headed west through Colorado. That is why I felt I needed to comment about our most recent experience at Tommy Knockers Brew Pub in Idaho Springs.

Although our last visit in April of 2016 was as great as ever, we stopped for the first time this year on Tuesday, February 14th, and ordered many of our favorite items, only to be stunned by the drop-off in quality and service.

Our draft beers were served in 12 ounce and 8 ounce glasses, whereas they were always served in pint glasses in the past. When we asked if we could get a pint glass, our server told us he had been working there for 6 years and those were the only glass sizes the drafts were ever served in (which I know to be untrue).

One of our previously favorite appetizers, the Spinach Artichoke Dip, tasted like a can of Campbell's Cheese Soup, and contained 2 pieces of spinach and absolutely no artichokes.

The Elk Bleu Burger, which has always been cooked as ordered and deliciously juicy in the past, came out over-cooked, dry and flavorless. The onion rings, which used to be some of the most delicious, flaky onion rings I had ever had, tasted like the rubbery frozen oven-bags of onion rings you get at Safeway. And yet another burger at the table that was ordered seared on the outside and rare on the inside (which their cooks have always done to perfection in the past) came out as a hunk of slightly warmed meet that appeared to have simply been microwaved for a few seconds. And a side of sautéed onions and mushrooms showed up as about a tablespoon of cold, mushy mushrooms and onions - not even enough to cover the top of the burger.

Even more disconcerting was the response I received from their staff. After politely making him aware of our unhappiness with the meal, the manager apologized, then assured us he would "Ask the chef to kick up the flavor a notch for next time" (whatever that means), and offered us a couple free beer coupons for future visits. How exactly was asking the chef to kick the flavor up a notch going to alleviate our undesirable situation? How does not even offering a discount for the poor dishes make us want to come back in the future? I had only eaten a very small portion of my meal and would have been happy to have them take it back and remove it from our ticket, but that wasn't even offered as an option. I understand that there may have been staffing changes in the kitchen or other issues that contributed to the overall poor meal, but the general attitude of the manager to just tell us "sorry, try again next time" was a very unprofessional way to handle unsatisfied customers. If I dealt with my customers in that fashion, I would be out of business.

Additionally, I sent an email detailing our experience to both one of the owners and the general manager, and never received any kind of reply.
Feb 23, 2017
 
Rated: 3.8 by Brob245 from Missouri

Sep 07, 2016
 
Rated: 4.68 by blayrelovesbeer from Colorado

Jul 23, 2016
Photo of GratefulBeerGuy
Reviewed by GratefulBeerGuy from New Hampshire

3.79/5  rDev -3.1%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.75 | food: 4
Another trip out to CO from NH. This time based around Denver, Idaho Springs and Red Rocks Ampitheatre, July 2015.

Love these old Mining towns, rich in history.
Had a nice selection of draft on tap. Pilsner standing out ad highlight. Food was quality, service o.k vibe decent. But after 900 + mile days on the road from NH. It was a real delight.
Jul 08, 2016
 
Rated: 4.06 by COR8RFAN from Colorado

Jun 17, 2016
 
Rated: 3.46 by msvitak from Colorado

Jun 11, 2016
 
Rated: 4.1 by Bruce5 from Pennsylvania

May 31, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by ricknelson from Vermont

May 24, 2016
 
Rated: 4.18 by daem3384 from California

Mar 21, 2016
 
Rated: 3.81 by tommy5 from Michigan

Feb 28, 2016
 
Rated: 3.58 by Hilljack51 from South Carolina

Nov 03, 2015
 
Rated: 3.4 by Raime from Korea (North)

Oct 12, 2015
 
Rated: 4.19 by atone315 from Wisconsin

Oct 09, 2015
Photo of DesMoinesMike
Reviewed by DesMoinesMike from Iowa

4.54/5  rDev +16.1%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.25
Copied form my Trip Advisor review.

Stopped in on the way to RMNP to fill up a growler because they are hard to come by in Iowa. After several tasters I went with the Imperial Nut Brown. I was happy they filled a 32 oz growler from another brewery. The atmosphere is a mountain brew pub that has their act together and cares about their customers. While I was ordering the waitress brought my wife some crayons/paper to keep our 3 year old occupied. She even brought some stickers for him that he loved. Road trip win for Tommyknocker! They're a relatively short drive from Denver so check them out.
Sep 28, 2015
Photo of gmoneyproductions
Reviewed by gmoneyproductions from Colorado

4.38/5  rDev +12%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.75
was here on saturday with my wife for a late lunch/early dinner
it was peak leaf peeper season and a beautiful day
we live about 40 minutes from idaho springs and come here a few times a year
the town is super touristy but at the same time has some authentic mountain elements and an overall decent vibe....the place was packed when we got there but we were seated in 25 minutes in the bar area which we requested. the vibe is classic brewpub and if you sit in the bar area you are basically right in the brewery itself
i wouldnt sit in the dining room
we had an ipa and a half and the imperial nut brown ale. the ipa was decent although not great, the imperial nut brown was excellent strong brown and smoky!
we had duck wings which were good but greasy, and burgers that were fantastic as well as onion rings
service was absolutely spot on and the crowd was entertaining as well
overall vibe at least in the bar areas was great
quality of beers was solid
service was excellent
they had i think 6 or 7 beers on tap and food selection and quality was great
an overall positive and enjoyable afternoon!
Sep 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.48 by kmanjohnson from California

Aug 02, 2015
 
Rated: 4.3 by Beastcpa from Pennsylvania

Jul 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.84 by Taillon75 from Colorado

May 15, 2015
Photo of sudski77
Reviewed by sudski77 from Colorado

3.91/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75 | food: 4.5
I've been to this brewery about 4-5 times. The brewery really plays well to the location and love all the natural wood and openness to the brewing equipment, however the seating area is rather small in the bar area. I always order the bison burger med-well - solid choice. The seasonal pumpkin beer is tasty, however some of their beer tastes too flavored. I've never had bad service but nothing outstanding - always sit in the bar area.
May 10, 2015
 
Rated: 4.08 by Blazer22 from Colorado

Apr 14, 2015
 
Rated: 4.41 by crobinso from Colorado

Feb 08, 2015
 
Rated: 4.14 by sirhc3034 from Texas

Jan 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.4 by Yagi1

Dec 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by spark3148857 from Ohio

Dec 05, 2014
Photo of dcscientist
Reviewed by dcscientist from Colorado

4/5  rDev +2.3%
I love visiting this place in Idaho Springs, and the restaurant is as good as the beer. Hard to go wrong with a buffalo burrito and a beer, that's for sure. I liked the old style of label and logo more than the new version, but that's how it goes sometimes. As long as they keep the beer good, right? They could stand to try a few new ideas, but the tried and true are generally successful.
Sep 25, 2014
Photo of Basoos1
Reviewed by Basoos1 from Oklahoma

4.5/5  rDev +15.1%
A must everytime we drive out (or back from) the mountains. Every visit has new seasonals/rotators/etc as well as their long time favorites.

Food's also pretty good
Sep 12, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by Huffaroma from Montana

Sep 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by belgbeerdrinker from Colorado

Sep 09, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by OctoberNexus from Colorado

Sep 05, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by banger7 from California

Aug 25, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by 22Blue from Kansas

Aug 02, 2014
Tommyknocker Brewery in Idaho Springs, CO
Brewery rating: 3.64 out of 5 with 6034 ratings