Denver area BA small brewery meet-up

Yeah, I've heard less than good things...but I'm willing to give it a go at some point. I know I've had some less than stellar experiences at a couple places that turned out to be really good down the road, so maybe they'll get better. I had a pretty so-so (at best) experience at a high profile newer place this weekend, so you never really know what you're going to get with some of the newer start-ups.

 

I think there’s a learning curve to running your own brewery. I won’t name names, but I’ve had some pretty so-so beers at several different start-ups that ended up becoming good if not great down the line. That can even happen with places that have been around, but gotten into a rut. One semi-famous place that turned things around completely is the Rockyard in Castle Rock. It used to be the epitome of average (or below), but now they’re doing weekly firkins and putting out some fine stuff.

I’m not excluding anyone, even the places that have disappointed me personally. You never know when you’ve stumbled upon a bad batch they had to salvage or a “wasabi rice ale” moment.

 

I think the big names that came out last year are putting out some good stuff on the whole. They seem to be doing good business, too. People don’t tend to flock to bad beer for long. Copper Kettle is packed to the gills every weekend. I made it to Renegade yesterday and they were doing nearly Dry Dock-like business. Denver Beer Co has been a madhouse for months, although their seasonal nature makes them a bit more up and down.
That doesn’t mean I haven’t had a bad beer from any of them. That said, none of them have given me an overtly poorly made beer lately.
Pretty much all of the bad or so-so beers I’ve gotten from the little guys were when they first opened. Things like diacetyl, dms, low carbonation, or just a flat-out flawed recipe are fixable and the breweries that are succeeding right now have adjusted.

 

K folks, here’s the first go-round – hopefully enough people are able to make it. I haven't made any kind of reservations or anything yet.

When: Saturday, March 24th
Where: Wit’s End Brewing & Pint’s Pub

Wit’s End is located off of Bryant and 2nd Avenue at 2505 W. 2nd Avenue, #13. Ignore Google maps, which places it off of 4th. Take Bryant off of 6th Avenue (it’s the first/last exit off of I25 and 6th) and take a left on 2nd.
Pint’s Pub is at 221 W 13th Ave a block west of the Denver Art Museum.

What Time: Wit’s End around 5:30 or 6PM. From there we can head over to Pint’s around 8’ish.

Anything Else? If you have an unusual bottle of something, bring it along! Even if we can't do an impromptu tasting, it might be fun to have a swap. Wit's End does growler fills in almost any container you can think of, so bring a vessel if you're interested in taking something home.

Feel free to drop in at either location if you can’t make both. If people need transportation, post it here and we’ll try to work something out.

 

Good point. With all of the weird site changes, I kinda forgot about that. I'll see about posting something and I'll run it past Scott at Wit's End just to make sure there's nothing crazy going on there, too.

 

I got everything cleared through Scott at Wit's End and he'll be happy to have us. The advance notice should help him out to make sure he has enough of everything.
I also submitted the event for approval on the normal BA site, so it should hopefully be up today.

Anyone who thinks they'll be coming - either post here or use the BA calendar. As we get closer to the 24th, I'll give Pint's a call and make sure we have enough room.

 

Certainly. If you're here, you're welcome to come. Some of us know one another, others don't. Just add yourself on the calendar (so I have a rough idea how many people we'll have when I call Pints) and we'll see you there.

FYI - here's the BA Calendar URL: http://beeradvocate.com/events/info/52785

Looks like we have 5 confirmed people, and my wife and maybe another friend will be along, too.

 

I'll throw out an impromptu random event - anyone else heading out to Renegade this evening? The weather should be nice(r), they have a new bar space, and the Quiero Arepas food truck will be there.