Golden-Boulder-FoCo

Really, just rent a car. It's inexpensive and your easiest option, especially traveling between four cities.

Give a shout when you're in FoCo and I'll meet you for a beer (or trade) man.

 

Yeah, there's no easy/cheap direct route between Boulder and Ft. Collins. Renting a car will be cheaper and easier than trying to get an Uber or Lyft. It'll give you some freedom to stop in Longmont and Loveland, too. Once you get to Ft. Collins you can park and walk to most places, but Boulder is spread out.

 

How long will you be in the area? I would suggest giving each city its own day to really enjoy everything each city has to offer and to prevent a DUI as there are almost too many choices in a small area. Golden even has quite a variety these days!

 

The one big strike against Fort Collins is that the taprooms for Fort Collins breweries close relatively early so pay attention to hours.

 

Definitely go to Cannonball Creek in Golden. It's one of my favorite breweries in our area.

 

Check out Barrels and Bottles in Golden. They brew their own beer, which is average, but they usually have some gems on their guest taps.

 

My favorites are Cannonball Creek (hands down) and Mountain Toad. GBC has been lackluster in my experience.

 

Only beer I've ever drainpoured was a GBC.

 

Are you guys talking about Golden City? They were really good at one time, but that has been years ago. I'm probably screwing this up, but I *think* one of their older brewmasters ended up creating several of the medal winners at the Yak & Yeti. Some of their old bottles have held up pretty well over time, too. Can't say I've had much from them in the last 3-4 years, but they weren't always bad.

 

Yeah, GCB. I wrote GBC, but I meant Golden City. The last time I was there was probably June-July last summer. The two beers I had were average at best.

 

I don't know if I've had anything from them in 4 years, but I have fond memories. Back before we had Hogshead (and before the B&B had their current capacity), Mad Molly Brown was one of the top English mild beers in the state. Old bottles of Centurion still occasionally show up at tastings and are surprisingly good even after nearly a decade.
Considering the size/shape of the place, it probably makes a lot of sense for their brewers to want to move on to bigger and better things, though.

EDIT: The brewer I'm thinking of is Chris Kennedy. He was at both GCB and the Yak and Yeti. Looks like he is (or was) at Heretic in California.

 

Their Zeke Collaborations with Mile High were outstanding, as well.

 

It's all hearsay from me, but I was under the impression there was a brewer there for quite a long time that left a couple of years ago. I'm in the same boat with most of you had some of their stuff 2-3 years ago and loved going there after a day at the creek in the summer. They did used to have a very impressive IPA...

 

Not sure if you've been to Barrels & Bottles recently, but they had a head brewer change about 6 months ago and the beers they are putting out now are far better than they used to be. And as you mention, they get some great guest taps.

Cannonball has the best beer in Golden and Mountain Toad the best outdoor space. They both get food trucks nightly, with Cannonball keeping their facebook page updated as to which truck is there each night. While the beer selection is nothing to speak of, Thai Gold puts out excellent Food.

 

I couldn't agree more!