GABF 2013: Denver/Boulder Recommendations

Thanks I didn't want to start a thread that had an almost identical title (Denver instead of Denver/Boulder)! Since we're visiting friends, they'll probably have cars and I would LOVE to go hiking. Unfortunately, the bf is flying in on Thursday, he has a thesis midreview on Wednesday and can't skip it. I've actually decided to just go to one day of GABF. I love beer fests, but I equate it to music festivals. Sure, you can see your fav artists play their hour sets, but you realize the same artists are also playing at awesome local venues on the days they aren't at the festival.

 

Rueben's In Downtown Boulder has great burgers + and 43 taps all of quality beer (many Belgians),pretty straight shot from there to Avery.
Back Country has a fantastic tap selection as well,great (smoked) wings among other food and even straighter shot to Avery,

Fate is not that good despite how close they are to Avery.I don't know anyone that has eaten there who have been served a meal in reasonable time frame (if at all ) and the beer just isn't really worth a stop if coming all that way.Sorry that's my opinion (as well as quite a few other folks I have talked to).Their service may have gotten better but I had their IPA last night at Lucky Pie and for the life of me I couldn't smell any hops.They seem to be overly proud of their mediocre offerings and they make you pay for it...

Lucky pie is quite good and if you head in during happy hour you can sit at the bar and get a wood oven pizza for $5 (and it's good size meal).

As mentioned There is the catering business directly across the parking lot at Avery and the food is great but not really a fill up meal.I would get the Jalapeno popper roulette regardless (it's just evil fun)...

 

Reuben's is good, but pricy. I almost shit when I realized I ordered a $15 burger, but it was worth it. That's a good spot to lay down a nice greasy base layer. Backcountry rocks.

The poppers are awesome. The first time I had them, I ordered them without looking at the menu. I picked a hot one right off the bat. I was ruined.

 

It seems that Denver is running its own website this year that's supposed to be aggregate all GABF-related activities. Might be a good resource.

http://www.denver.org/denverbeerfest/

 

Most burger at Rueben's are in the $11-12 range and they are huge,$15 is the most expensive burger there and I think it's the one you can put whatever they have on it.
Get there during happy Hour 3-6 and you can get some good beer at a great price (2.75 stone cali belg or 16oz great divide Titan IPA).

 

Every time I come to Colorado, I always have to make a stop at Red Rocks. Last year I went to Pikes Peak and some other peak that I can't remember. The one I can remember was supposed to be Pikes Peak, but my GPS led me to a person's trailer, which was like a 90 minute drive....

 

Unless it was the other way around and we ended up going to Pikes Peak after the GPS led us to no where... Wish I could remember.

Maybe it was Mount Evans? (I think I figured it out...)

 

Did you go to Colorado Springs first? It's pretty hard to miss Pikes Peak or Mount Evans considering the abundant signage. Those are probably to two most visited peaks along the front range.

 

I think we just tossed in Mount Evans into the GPS and it led us to like an abandoned motel. We then went to the visitor center and found out about Pikes Peak. We went to Mount Evans the next day.

 

looks like the view from mt evans to me.

 

the bottom photo is definitely from the top of mt evans'


drive up guanella pass next time to see mt evans from the other side...

 

I will have to try to remember that, would love to go back. Hope to some day go see Hanging Lake too.

 

Funkwerks is great and definitely quite different than Odell. Enjoy both.