Breweries to try in Colorado

i thought about making a new thread as it is a different general area but maybe i'll just try piggybacking on to this one...any must visits in summit county other than outer range? i'm going to be staying in frisco next weekend and will obviously be spending a lot of time there, but was wondering if any of the other breweries in the area are worth hitting up?

 

Funny enough, most of them are pretty good. Baker's and Broken Compass for sure. Pug's has pretty good lagers. The Dam's stuff is old school, but good for what it is.
I've heard good things about Angry James, but I've never been. I don't know anything about Highside either.

 

good to hear, thank you!

 

+1 for Highside in Frisco. Their Nitro Silent Bob (7.0% Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout) was fantastic!

 

Wibby brewery in Longmont is pumping out a ton of great beers. Their regular dunkel is one of the easiest and most delicious beers to drink.

 

I thought I'd share my notes from my recent visit to Colorado. I've been to 217 breweries throughout the and the world, Colorado moves into second for most breweries visited with 20. Cheers and come try our VA beer sometime.

Breweries visited on this trip, ranked:

1. Casey Brewing and Blending, Glenwood Springs. World class sours, an awesome DIPA collaboration with WEldwerks, a very good imperial stout, funny and dynamic tour guide. One of my favorite brewery visits ever, in spite of my cranky 12 year old begging to leave.

2. Wiley Roots, Greeley. I was a little skeptical about a frozen slushy beer, but wow, really good. Yummy fruited sours. Pastry stout was very good. Didn't try their hoppy offerings. Nice vibe playing the indie rock hits.

3. Knotted Root, Nederland. For a brewery open less than three weeks, these guys are on fire. I liked their beers as much as Weldwerks’ beers, and i liked the vibe much better. Nice folks working there too. My wife really liked the Dead stuff they were playing. And though I'm not a big Dead fan, you could do a lot worse.

4. Bierstadt Lagerhaus, Denver. If every pils were as good as their slow pour pils, i'd drink three or four pilsners a year instead of none. Food was tasty too.

5. Weldwerks, Greeley. The hype was high on these guys. And though their beer was very good, it was a little bit disappointing. NEIPA's and fruity sours very good but not as good as the stuff I get here in VA from Aslin or the Veil, or from the occasional Other Half trip or drop. The best beer of theirs i drank at Casey. Vibe was sort of lame with mainstream-y music and not particularly attentive service.

6. Crooked Stave, Denver. Some of their funky stuff is amazing, some of it tastes a little off. Not really a fan of the vibe or location, though the service was good and friendly. (Second time here.)

7. Epic, Denver. Quadrupel Barrel Baptist and one of their Oak and Orchard beers were particularly tasty. Everything was good. Bartendress was very friendly. (Second Time here.)

8. Great Divide Barrel House, Denver. Only had a couple of beers, both good. Crashing the trivia night was fun. Location too out of the way. (First time at this location...like this place better than the original, but too much of a hike away from anything)

9. Outer Range, Frisco. I suppose if i never had a NEIPA or pastry stout before, I'd have been blown away, but as i have a steady diet of great versions of those beers here in VA, I found them pretty "meh."

 

I'd second Pug Ryan's and Dillon Dam. Pug's is right on the lake and Dillon has an awesome bar--the actual bar area. I had an awesome time watching a baseball game and eating dinner at Dam and a great lunch with a couple of beers at Pug Ryan's. You're not going to get like super hazy, NEIPA or pastry stout type stuff at either of these places, but they're both very solid, IMO, with traditional pub atmospheres. I particularly enjoyed hanging out at Dillon Dam. Prosit in Frisco is pretty cool too if you like traditional Eastern European beers and sausages. It's not a brewery, but they have some hard to find German stuff on tap, and it's a cool/funky kind of place. Broken Compass is supposed to be good too, but I've never been there. You have a good amount to choose from in a weekend and Frisco and Dillon are absolutely gorgeous. Have fun!

 

The Great Divide Barrel Room is across the street from the Source (Crooked Stave's tasting room) and new New Belgium location. Ratio is right behind it and Blue Moon is a block away. That area is pretty happening.

 

Not all breweries, but a few beer related suggestions:

Check out Vinny's in Frisco for quality eats and a solid beer list (usually have a Broken Compass beer or 2). Our favorite spot to get dinner in Summit Co. hands down.

I really like RMU (Rocky Mountain Underground) in Breck. Local ski maker that decided to open a small bar with craft beer options connected to the ski shop. The front porch is prime for Main St. people watching and soaking up some afternoon rays.

If you wanted to take a short drive over Hoosier Pass into Park Co. there's South Park Brewing in Fairplay. They're making some good beers and the vibe there is more local when compared to the tourist driven service you get in Summit.

 

Broken Compass is worth a visit, unless you hate dogs.
I think Dillon Dam is worth a visit, for food and for beer.

Backcountry in Frisco is a good bottle shop to visit.

 

Wiley Roots is great.
I understand your Weldwerks comments, but I think part of it is that you had a lot of high expectations. They seem to have a lot of turnover in the taproom, probably because it's not a town that 20 somethings live in unless they are going to college. The taproom is large and gets crazy busy during certain events, but is pretty chill the rest of the time. They also may not have had any medianoches on at that time either, which I consider to be their best beer.

For their anniversary party this year, they had a huge tent in the parking lot because the taproom gets too full.

 

Totally forgot...we went to Liberati for the lunch special and had some wine-y beers there. Really like what they are doing. I might put them at #4.

 

Has anyone been to or had anything from Knotted Root up in Nederland?


Got an air bed and breakfast for my babe and I not far from there for next weekend and wondering what people are thinking about the beer and space there.

 

I’ve been twice for post-mtb ride beers, and I’ve picked up a few cans in Denver. I’d say they’re on par with the better hazies in the state. Very hop saturated style, which works for my palate. I haven't tried any of the fruited sours, but folks seem to dig what they’re doing with those.

Taproom has a great laid back vibe. Everyone working there has been helpful and friendly.

There was a food truck my second visit, but not the first. No clue what’s common on the weekends.

 

Top three "old school" breweries:
Great Divide - Denver
Odell - Ft. Collins
Left Hand - Longmont

Top three NEIPA breweries
Cerebral - Denver
Odd 13 - Lafayette
WeldWerks - Greeley

Top Three "sour beer" breweries
TRVE - Denver
Crooked Stave - Denver
Black Project - Denver

Top Three lager breweries
Hogs Head - Denver
Copper Kettle - Denver
Prost - Denver

Top Three whatever-you-want-to-call-them breweries
Fiction - Denver
Little Machine - Denver
Platt Park - Denver

 

Top Three lager breweries
Bierstadt Lagerhaus - Denver
Cerebral - Denver
Zwei - Fort Collins

FTFY

 

Any new beer-related developments in Steamboat Springs? Haven't been since summer 2018, when the options were, IIRC, Storm Peak and Butcherknife breweries and The Barley Tap and Tavern. TIA!

 

The only one I am aware you are missing is Mountain Tap, which is actually downtown, not on the mountain. Good beer and really good food. I haven’t been up in Steamboat since last winter, so there might have been some other changes.

 

Mahogany Ridge is still in town. Average beer but their happy hour is great for food. Hayden has a brewery that's decent but not necessarily worth the drive from the Boat.

 

Hogshead mostly brews British Ales, they only have the occasional lager on. How come you listed them for best lager and not Bierstadt?