Iron Bird Brewing Co.

Iron Bird may be, overall, the best place to drink beer in Colorado Springs. They have a solid line-up of quality beers, have nailed down their particular 'style' and approach. But for me, what makes IB a great place to hang out is the setting, the light, the design elements, the bar setup, and yes, the service. They also do real ales (CASK) for those of you who are fanatics. I've tried a few, and while the cask style doesn't wow me, I do appreciate getting one every few months to try something different. Iron Bird is also now serving pizza from a real oven next door, so no more take-in food awkwardness. There's little that I've had here that I didn't enjoy. Well done, bird, well done.
UPDATE: has gone downhill, not sure if they changed or lost brewer (or what), but their IPA is "meh" at best and most of their styles just off the mark. Time to work on quality again!

Great beer options, but limited food selection. If you want to include kids, beware that the limited menu does NOT offer family friendly options. A few pizzas and small salads.

Low key place to meet friends on a Saturday afternoon as you plot out your evening plans.

 

V-Iron Bird is located near downtown Colorado Springs. It has the typical industrial-chic decor that includes natural steel furniture, some wood, and brick. It is a nice space, though, with lots of light coming in through the windows on the small bar and few scattered tables. A nice patio (with fire pit) and fireplace inside with a few overstuffed chairs add some comfortable lounging spots. The place was mellow when I first arrived at 5:45 pm on a Tuesday, but it filled up a bit when I left an hour later. Mostly locals.

Q-I tried two beers, a English Pale Ale and an IPA. I though the English Pale was pretty decent, but the IPA was off.

Ser-I tried to ask the server about the beers but she was too busy chatting with her friend to give me a decent answer, which was annoying. A second server was more helpful. Slight attitude aside, the service was prompt and the pours were well-done in proper glassware.

Sel-Iron Bird had eight beers on tap when I visited, three of which were an IPA. I like hops, and I get that hops are what the people want, but I would prefer to have a little more variety. Props, however, for offering some lower ABV options instead of all 8% or higher.

O-I liked the funky vibe of this place -- how often do you get to hear white-haired guys chatting about high-school baseball -- but the service was hit or miss and the beers were hit or miss. A little more QC and this place would be great.

 

 

 

 

 

Visited while on vacation in Colorado Springs. Very nice surprise in Downtown. Enjoyed a great flight of 4 beers. I especially like the beers on cask.

nice little spot down here, cool vibe. looks not way different form other tap rooms, wood features, iron, clean and minimalist decor. there is a huge patio, and they are apparently expanding into a pizza spot immediately adjacent. the bartender was super friendly, she gave me plenty of samples, had a great sense of humor, and shared their story. the brewer whom i also met was a nice guy as well, a little shy, but happy to talk about his equipment and processes. they maybe had ten beers on, including a whopping four hand pulls, which you never see so many of. not overly english beer styles i didnt think, but the cask set up rules just the same. i had three beers here, the new red ale being probably my favorite, but i also really enjoyed the steam beer/common. the slum lord was my least favorite, but still drinkable enough. id like to see the beers get a little more creative, but they seem to have their bearings under them now, and should do really well, or apparently already are doing really well. ill be back for sure, heard good things about the ipa...

Visited on a weekend evening and it was packed. Tried two cask beers, one was great but the English pale ale was a far cry from what one might get on cask in England in the same style. Not bad though, just not as good as others in the area for that style (phantom canyon cask beers are generally great). I can't pass judgement on the whole range of beers this place brews from just two glasses. My impression is that they know what they are doing. The vibe was typical of a small brewpub with lots of hipsters and rather loud. Nothing bad, nothing super special. I would return in a heartbeat, but to truly shine in today's world of ultra-competitive craft beer, a place has to transcend the status quo, and this place didn't seem to. Overall very good feel though.

 

 

Opened late summer of 2014. Another new downtown brewery on corner of Nevada and Costilla. Sits between Greenman Taproom and Fieldhouse Brewing.

Well designed place with a L-shaped bar that sits 10-12. TV showing football. Food truck out front. Tables scattered about and a couch area in one corner. You can see their brewing equipment in the back. Two rollup windows/doors that look like they open up when weather is nice.

Had 5-6 regular beers and 3-4 on cask. Beers were decent. Tried the regular and cask versions of their pumpkin spice beer.

They also sell Howlers for beer to go.

Place was packed around 6-7 pm on a Thursday night.