El Rancho Brewing Company

 

this place definitely has a mountain feel going on, looks like a ski lodge inside, a huge place right off the highway with a ton of wood features and is just gigantic. long wooden bar, big dining room, patio, it looks more like a place to host a wedding reception than it dos a brewery. small brew house right in the front where you enter. they do a big range of beers for being a newer operation, i had some cool sours even, but i liked the scotch ale and the hefe the best. the scotch was light on alcohol and body but has a ton of flavor, while the hefe is on the lighter side too with a lot of lemon in the finish. all the beers were decent, but definitely some better than others, the ipa and the blonde didnt do much for me. we had a nice meal here though, they seem to specialize in bbq, and it was quite good, especially for the price, very affordable for the mountains. our server was awesome, talkative and funny but also well informed. the beers still seem like a bit of a work in progress, but definitely still worth a stop, they have a cozy vibe going for how big the space is, and its definitely not the typical denver taproom. we enjoyed our time here and will likely be back before too long. good stop on your way up or back from mountain activity.