Backcountry Pizza & Tap House

Bar, Eatery

2319 Arapahoe Ave
Boulder, Colorado, 80302-6605
United States

(303) 449-4285 | map
backcountrypizzaandtaphouse.info
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.54
Reviews:
24
Ratings:
67
pDev:
7.49%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by blindpiggie:
Photo of blindpiggie
Reviewed by blindpiggie from Colorado

4.15/5  rDev -8.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5
Went here for the first time yesterday before Avery's barrel-aged release event.

The interior of the place is much nicer than the exterior would indicate and the row of tap handles is imposing. Even more imposing is the bottle list, which includes some pretty desirable and rare beers at not much more than 20% markup from the store.

Ordered a pizza (natch), which arrived looking like an abstract painting with each topping heavily distributed on various sections of the pie. It tasted pretty good at least.

My first beer selection was Crooked Stave's Surrette which lived up to the sourness I was looking for and the waitress had promised. The second beer I ordered, Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour, was just terrible, but based on what I've heard since, I don't think the restaurant can be blamed for that.

Nice place, probably the best beer bar in Boulder.
Jun 25, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of NCSapiens
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
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, 2021
 
Rated: 4.4 by chitownfanatic21 from Wyoming

Jun 24, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by bpfrush from Wisconsin

Nov 19, 2018
 
Rated: 4.4 by Budlum from Maryland

Sep 28, 2018
 
Rated: 4.49 by AmeriCanadian from Tennessee

Sep 23, 2018
 
Rated: 4.31 by jaydoc from Kansas

Jul 11, 2018
Photo of darktronica
Reviewed by darktronica from Indiana

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, 2018
 
Rated: 4.54 by sohearn from Alabama

Oct 03, 2017
 
Rated: 4.54 by SDRedDevil from California

Aug 14, 2017
Photo of SeanMNCraftBeerLover
Reviewed by SeanMNCraftBeerLover from Minnesota

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, 2017
Photo of sfdragoon
Reviewed by sfdragoon from Hawaii

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, 2017
 
Rated: 4.6 by Eddiehop from Texas

Feb 16, 2017
 
Rated: 4.69 by ManBearPat from Colorado

Jan 18, 2017
 
Rated: 4.14 by Sneakybeat from Utah

Nov 29, 2016
 
Rated: 4.44 by deereless from Colorado

Nov 13, 2016
Photo of Vinithing
Reviewed by Vinithing from Wisconsin

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, 2016
 
Rated: 4.88 by daem3384 from California

Dec 19, 2015
Photo of scxcrunner
Reviewed by scxcrunner from Massachusetts

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, 2015
Photo of stephens101
Reviewed by stephens101 from Oklahoma

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, 2015
 
Rated: 4.35 by Viljoen from New Zealand (Aotearoa)

Nov 03, 2015
Photo of gmoneyproductions
Reviewed by gmoneyproductions from Colorado

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, 2015
Photo of MLDucky
Reviewed by MLDucky from Texas

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, 2015
 
Rated: 4.43 by MammothTarantula from Colorado

Jul 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4.6 by Bjornberg from Colorado

Jun 26, 2015
Photo of Macsimus
Rated by Macsimus from North Carolina

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, 2015
 
Rated: 4.6 by WildDalby18 from Colorado

Mar 12, 2015
Photo of Canada_Dan
Reviewed 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
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, 2015
 
Rated: 4.65 by eawolff99 from Minnesota

Feb 22, 2015
 
Rated: 4.51 by Twal from Colorado

Dec 30, 2014
 
Rated: 3.88 by Yagi1

Dec 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by ricknelson from Vermont

Dec 09, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by CatapultDowntown from Colorado

Dec 02, 2014
Photo of bigotecircus
Reviewed by bigotecircus from Colorado

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, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by McNazz from Colorado

Oct 17, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by OsoRojo from Colorado

Oct 08, 2014
Photo of outoffocus
Reviewed by outoffocus from Pennsylvania

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, 2014
 
Rated: 4.96 by OctoberNexus from Colorado

Sep 05, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by HighonHops42 from Colorado

Sep 03, 2014
Backcountry Pizza & Tap House in Boulder, CO
Place rating: 4.54 out of 5 with 67 ratings