-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
Backcountry Pizza & Tap House
Bar, Eatery
2319 Arapahoe Ave
Boulder, Colorado, 80302-6605
United States
(303) 449-4285 | map
backcountrypizzaandtaphouse.info
2319 Arapahoe Ave
Boulder, Colorado, 80302-6605
United States
(303) 449-4285 | map
backcountrypizzaandtaphouse.info
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by NCSapiens from Indiana
4.61/5 rDev +1.5%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
4.61/5 rDev +1.5%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
Really fantastic tap house for craft beer aficionados. Tons of world-class taps and bottles. Vibe and service is great. The building isn’t anything special, but there are pinball machines which is cool. 9 person bartop is great. Tasty pizza. If I lived in Boulder I would definitely be a regular.
Aug 14, 2021Reviewed by darktronica from Indiana
4.4/5 rDev -3.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4
4.4/5 rDev -3.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4
Solid pizza, wings and burgers joint with a magnificent tap list. Over 60 beers on draft, and on my visit, these included things like Abraxas and Sump, Casey Fruit Stands, Firestone XXI, Velvet Merkin and Parabola, at least five Russian River beers, and multi-year verticals of Bligh's and w00tstout. Many more rare and aged beers in bottles. Reasonable prices for small pours on draft, considering the quality and retail bottle prices of the selection. I'll definitely stop here again the next time I'm in Boulder.
Feb 10, 2018Reviewed by SeanMNCraftBeerLover from Minnesota
4.98/5 rDev +9.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.75
4.98/5 rDev +9.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.75
This place was so good!!! Had an excellent server who had a lot of knowledge about the beers available and what to recommend. She even gave us some fresh hops from their garden in back. Nice touch. Will definitely come back when in Boulder. So many good beers on tap!!!
Aug 10, 2017Reviewed by sfdragoon from Hawaii
4.75/5 rDev +4.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 5
4.75/5 rDev +4.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 5
Awesome and intimidating selection of draft beer. Only intimidating because I want to try them all. Great and relaxed atmosphere makes it easy to enjoy the beer and have a conversation.
Apr 18, 2017Reviewed by Vinithing from Wisconsin
4.81/5 rDev +5.9%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5 | food: 4.75
4.81/5 rDev +5.9%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5 | food: 4.75
So glad we stopped here. The tap list is just crazy! It took me 10 minutes to read through all of the pages. The server was helpful suggesting her favorites and very knowledgeable. The pizza was awesome as well. A must stop in Boulder!
May 23, 2016Reviewed by scxcrunner from Massachusetts
4.29/5 rDev -5.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25
4.29/5 rDev -5.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25
had to walk a mile to get here which was difficult after a 100 mile run but well worth it. great beer selection decent pizza and friendly staff. would definitely recommend when in the boulder area.
Dec 11, 2015Reviewed by stephens101 from Oklahoma
4.76/5 rDev +4.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75
4.76/5 rDev +4.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75
Visited 9/14.
This place is sprawling, like someone kept adding onto their house. It's a compound. A beer compound. And I'm good with that.
Rolled into Boulder on a Sunday night and figured this was as good a watering hole as any. Parking lot was empty when we arrived but filled up pretty quick.
Backcountry has an exceptional bottle and draft list (one of the best I've seen) with a wide array of rare Belgians and domestic crafts, including Russian River, Lost Abbey, Firestone Walker, Port, Prairie and Perennial along with a good selection of top locals. Their enticing cellar sits behind a picture window and can be seen as you enter, which is a very cool touch. Kind of whets the beer appetite.
The waitress was super friendly in a small-town kinda she really means it kinda way, which is rare these days. Had the hummus plate with veggies and the pork belly tacos, both of which were flavorful and complimentary to the brew. There's not much atmosphere-wise, but spending time on the beer, which is what counts, has paid off well.
When I get my teleporter working the first palce I'm setting the coordinates to is Backcountry!
Nov 13, 2015This place is sprawling, like someone kept adding onto their house. It's a compound. A beer compound. And I'm good with that.
Rolled into Boulder on a Sunday night and figured this was as good a watering hole as any. Parking lot was empty when we arrived but filled up pretty quick.
Backcountry has an exceptional bottle and draft list (one of the best I've seen) with a wide array of rare Belgians and domestic crafts, including Russian River, Lost Abbey, Firestone Walker, Port, Prairie and Perennial along with a good selection of top locals. Their enticing cellar sits behind a picture window and can be seen as you enter, which is a very cool touch. Kind of whets the beer appetite.
The waitress was super friendly in a small-town kinda she really means it kinda way, which is rare these days. Had the hummus plate with veggies and the pork belly tacos, both of which were flavorful and complimentary to the brew. There's not much atmosphere-wise, but spending time on the beer, which is what counts, has paid off well.
When I get my teleporter working the first palce I'm setting the coordinates to is Backcountry!
Reviewed by gmoneyproductions from Colorado
4.49/5 rDev -1.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 5 | food: 4
4.49/5 rDev -1.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 5 | food: 4
this place was for a long long time Dolans restaurant and then a failed location for several other restaurants and ultimately ended up being backcountry pizza's second location(the original is in nederland)
the restaurant itself is dated and sitting at the bar is far preferable to sitting in the dining room which i find dark and dreary
the clientele is a mix of college kids and locals lots of beards(i am not a fan)
quality and selection of beers is impressive both on tap and in bottles and can be overwhelming
several visits are necessary to really dig into what they have to offer
service is hit or miss to say the least if you sit at a table and i have only had their pizzas and calzones which are great....i wouldnt delve much deeper into the food menu
overall great beer selection and great pizza(avoid the nederland location at all costs though!)
Sep 17, 2015the restaurant itself is dated and sitting at the bar is far preferable to sitting in the dining room which i find dark and dreary
the clientele is a mix of college kids and locals lots of beards(i am not a fan)
quality and selection of beers is impressive both on tap and in bottles and can be overwhelming
several visits are necessary to really dig into what they have to offer
service is hit or miss to say the least if you sit at a table and i have only had their pizzas and calzones which are great....i wouldnt delve much deeper into the food menu
overall great beer selection and great pizza(avoid the nederland location at all costs though!)
Reviewed by MLDucky from Texas
4.8/5 rDev +5.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
4.8/5 rDev +5.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
Had a Calzone and really enjoyed it so I can only rate based on my one item. Crust and middle were cooked through, which can be difficult at some places. Beer selection was outstanding and service was excellent. For full disclosure, we went on a Saturday night, about 2 hours before closing in the summer. It was dead, mostly other service industry patrons and a few college students.
Aug 12, 2015Rated by Macsimus from North Carolina
4.75/5 rDev +4.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
4.75/5 rDev +4.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
Great tap list and epic bottle list
May 20, 2015Reviewed by Canada_Dan from Colorado
4.6/5 rDev +1.3%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.5
4.6/5 rDev +1.3%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.5
One of the best draft lists in Colorado. The beer cellar is pretty great too. Pizza is awesome, try the Nediterranean. Go to Backcountry, you won't be disappointed.
Feb 27, 2015Reviewed by bigotecircus from Colorado
4.5/5 rDev -0.9%
4.5/5 rDev -0.9%
Among the most impressive tap lists I have ever seen. And one hell of a bomber list to go with it! Good people, beer enthusiasts, and some goddamn awesome beards.
Nov 18, 2014Reviewed by outoffocus from Pennsylvania
4.1/5 rDev -9.7%
4.1/5 rDev -9.7%
The tap list was good, not great. I had looked at a list online a few weeks before traveling to Boulder though that was amazing, so I know that I just happened to hit it at an unlucky time.
I was disappointed by the atmosphere. It's dark and a bit dated. The beer list is enough to look past this for the most part.
The food I tried (a chicken sandwich) was pretty bad.
I actually stopped by twice on my trip. Once the service was excellent, the other time it was subpar. On the trip with the subpar service the bartender had a buddy sitting at the bar and was focused on him.
Didn't get a chance to get into the bottle list, but it was extensive. Pricey, but not abnormally so.
I like seeking out new beer so I'd go back.
Sep 09, 2014I was disappointed by the atmosphere. It's dark and a bit dated. The beer list is enough to look past this for the most part.
The food I tried (a chicken sandwich) was pretty bad.
I actually stopped by twice on my trip. Once the service was excellent, the other time it was subpar. On the trip with the subpar service the bartender had a buddy sitting at the bar and was focused on him.
Didn't get a chance to get into the bottle list, but it was extensive. Pricey, but not abnormally so.
I like seeking out new beer so I'd go back.
Rated by afsdan from Colorado
3/5 rDev -33.9%
3/5 rDev -33.9%
Great draught and bottle list. Too bad the service makes this place almost unbearable to visit. Jackass bartenders breed like flies here.
Aug 19, 2014
Backcountry Pizza & Tap House in Boulder, CO
Place rating:
4.54 out of
5 with
67 ratings
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the place's attributes plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!