Denver Area Breweries to Visit

This comes up a bunch, but the threads that have most of the info are buried a bit.

What part of town are you going to be in and will you have a car? Are you mainly looking to drop in and have a few beers or are you also looking to bring some stuff back?

 

If you're looking to bring beer home, you're better off just hitting up a liquor store. Some good ones include Davidson's and Lukas in the south, Grapevine near Glendale, Mr. B's and Argonaut downtown, Mile High W&S in Lakewood, Total Bev in Westminster, & Boulder Liquor Mart and Hazel's in Boulder.

As far as breweries go, the ones with the highest profile would be the following in no particular order: Comrade (hoppy), Dry Dock (anything), Odd 13 (hoppy/haze), Crooked Stave (brett/wild), Call to Arms (anything), Black Project (wild), TRVE (anything + wild), Hogshead (English), 4 Noses (hoppy), River North (strong+barrels), Bull & Bush (English, Belgian, barrels), Cannonball Creek (hoppy), Ursula (strong+adjuncts), Vine Street/Mountain Sun (anything), 12 Degree (strong+traditional), and Bierstadt (German).

I didn't mention the obvious places that you likely already know like Great Divide, but they certainly count, too. I also didn't name anything outside of metro Denver. Boulder, Ft. Collins, Greeley, etc. add a whole lot more.

 

I recommend Great Divide and Epic to everyone. And I'm also partial to Denver Beer Company (although some don't like the owner) and Station 26.

Edit- Renegade is pretty good as well. Odyssey is quite nice.

 

I spaced Station 26 - I highly recommend them, too. DBC is okay. If anything, their packaged beers are quite good and the stuff in the tasting room feels like they're still screwing around.

 

Colorado Plus is a good place to try a lot of Colorado beers in one place. They usually have 5 or 6 of their own beers but have a total of 56 taps of all Colorado beer as well as colorado wine and spirits.

 

I've never heard of them but just checked out their website. Tap selection looks pretty nice but their prices are ridiculous and the servings sizes are completely arbitrary in a lot of cases.

 

Wow, so much hate and you haven't been there. Prices are competitive on beers that aren't there's. Their beer is pricey because they currently have a 1 barrel system. Still works if you want to try a lot of different Colorado beers and don't have a lot of time.

 

I think hate is an overly strong word, it just doesn't look like a place I would visit for the aforementioned reasons. I think my criticisms are valid, regardless of the reasons behind their pricing and glassware selection. To be fair, it takes a lot for me to actually go out to a taproom or even brewery to drink when I have so much great beer at home.

 

This is why I don't post here more often. The original guy asked for suggestions and I gave one and it comes under criticism. Totally senseless!

 

Criticisms of suggestions given provide more information to the OP so he can make an informed decision about where he wants to spend his money. If I came in here and suggested he drink toilet water, I think the community would be morally remiss in allowing such a suggestion to go unchecked. You offered a suggestion that is not competitively priced and has an unorthodox glassware/pour size standard (or lack thereof) and I highlighted those facts. Don't take it so personal man; you're not a beautiful and unique ********* with an unimpeachable opinion.

 

You want poor glassware selection? Go to grandma's house.

 

I'll stay at my own house, thanks. That's a big reason why I don't go out to taprooms/bars/etc - I have a better selection of beer right here at home, all the glassware I can dream of, and I don't have to drive. I will take a small bottle share with my buddies over a taproom/festival/event any day of the week.

 

Someone offering such great suggestions as "I have a lot of beer and glassware at my house" might not look so good calling out others' opinions on quality places to visit.

 

Ok...let's get this back on track.

@Domingo has a good list of recs. I find it a bit difficult to recommend places b/c your preferences may differ from mine. However, the River North area (RiNo) is just northeast of the baseball stadium and has a nice collection of places. Bierstadt would be my top choice there.

Hogshead is another favorite. Cask English ales.
Comrade and Station 26 top the list as well.

But I'd suggest that you look at BeerMapping or other maps and just randomly hit some places.

For take-homes, Molly's is just off I-70 and Harlan. It's huge and easy to get to. Small Batch is close by and has some local rares.

Beer bars/tap houses: Falling Rock, Freshcraft, Colorado +, 2 Penguins, Hops and Pie (real close to Small Batch) and Lucky Pie.