Bone Yard Brew Pub

The oft closed-and-reopened Fruita Brewpub's latest reincarnation is as the Bone Yard, and it's run by the same owners and brewers from the (very good) Palisade Brewery up the street. As such, they keep all of Palisade's four flagship brews on tap along with five house brews and a couple of specials.

Given how strong Palisade's beers are, it's not surprising that the beer is the best part of a visit to the Bone Yard. The food is fairly ho-hum pub grub--my ribs were fine, but nothing worth writing to anyone about--and the atmosphere, particularly the side dining room, leaves something to be desired. So, let's focus on the positive: they had eleven beers on tap the Palisade four (IPA, amber, Irish red, English bitter) and five house brews (a pilsner, ESB, strong ale, American wheat, and porter). To top it off, they had Palisade's Peccadillo Peach--the best fruit beer made in the US today--and an imperial stout on draft. A great selection all around, and the house pilsner was a real stand out. I was less excited by the ESB and strong ales, but what's comforting about this place is that a beer geek can always fall back on the quality Palisade brews if the smaller batch Bone Yards ones don't pull through.

Relative to the other craft beer options on the Western Slope, the Bone Yard is not quite on par with Kannah Creek in Grand Junction or the true Palisade Brewery, but they're a cut above Rockslide (also in GJ) and the Glenwood Springs brewpub. And, after a long day of biking around the beautiful roads and trails of western Colorado, the main bar and patio at the Bone Yard are more than enticing.