Will be in Boulder for a couple of days in June and wondering about any can't miss beer stops. Avery I assume? Anywhere with a ton of Colorado taps? Any can't miss pizza or burger joints with good beer or restaurants in general? Looking to book a hotel somewhere close to where we'll be drinking at if possible. Thanks for any help you can lend and if you have any can't miss things to do or see in Boulder I'd love to hear those too. We'll be in Golden for a few days prior to Boulder and plan on hiking a decent amount around that area.
Avery in Boulder, then head to nearby Longmont for Left Hand Brewery, Tasty Weasel (Oskar Blues), and Wibby Brewing.
Backcountry Pizza & Taphouse is the best beer bar in Boulder, not too heavy on strictly Colorado brews on tap, but worth a stop. I really like Blackbelly, the food is phenomenal. Frasca and Corrida get named regularly as top restaurants in Boulder
Wibby is a must stop. Smoking Dave's BBQ & Brew (short walk from Wibby) is good. Had bison long ribs for lunch. License No. 1 at the Hotel Boulderado is good for cocktails if you're tired of beer.
The Oskar Blues location on the Pearl Street Mall has a great taplist with a focus on Colorado stuff. Even though the other OB locations have great food, that one unfortunately doesn't, though. Backcountry Pizza is an easy recommendation for both food and beer. For beer alone, Upslope, Wild Provisions, and Uhl's are all located within walking distance of one another. They're a little off by themselves compared to the rest of Boulder, but it's probably only a $10-15 Uber/Lyft from the more populated areas.
Mountain Sun on Pearl and Southern Sun on S. Broadway are both great for beer/food. I personally like the space of Southern Sun more, but it’s not as centrally located. Bring cash or an ATM card.
I'd double check the hours for Mountain Sun and the pubs. Some closed during the first shutdown in March 2020 and still not open
When you're in Golden, Cannonball Creek is a must. When in Boulder -- after hitting Avery, Backcountry, and Wild Provisions -- I personally would make the quick drive to Lafayette for an afternoon to hit up Cellar West (killer saisons, lagers, and other oak aged options) and Odd 13 (hazies, stous, sours), and maybe the Post for pilsner and fried chicken.
Vision Quest can produce some surprisingly true to style NEIPA sometimes if you're into it. Sanitas is nearby for solid beer, tacos and chill outdoor space. Rayback and Avanti have reliable taplists and plenty of great food options. Hit Blackbelly Market if you're looking for a great restaurant!
Any thoughts on Hoplark out of Boulder? I've heard some great things about their teas and they've recently started showing up in SoCal.
Can't give you specific commentary there...but my wife hits Celestial Seasonings every time we're in Boulder to get tea to bring home. That said, neither of us are in the depths of the tea game. Locals may have better rec's.
I like Hoplark a lot, for at least what I feel it is, which is a tea that includes hops vs. a NA beer or beer replacement. I believe they’re going after both the tea drinker and the beer drinker that wants something NA, but their product does not scratch the beer itch for me. And it’s effervescent, not carbed at a beer level.
I like the products. The happier ones tend to have that cheesy taste some beers exhibit. I'm unsure why, but I really like the chamomile and lemondrop.
Sanitas is quite good and the taco truck is incredible (biased opinion here as we love them enough to have them come to Fort Collins to cater our wedding last summer)…
I haven't been to boulder in ages, but i'm happy to see that the suns still exist. many good memories in both of those spots from many years ago
Right now I *think* the Mountain Sun locations that are open = Under, Southern, and Long's Peak. Those are the ones that have online ordering at least. The two flagship locations, Pearl Street and Vine Street are still closed but hope to reopen "soon" per Facebook. I see lots of sponsored posts from them about hiring opportunities, but I've been seeing those for months. I just hope they come back as intact as possible. I'm a huge fan of both the beers and the food. If they were to fold or change in a major way, that would be a big loss for our scene.
I enjoyed Sanitas as well ( and you're right about tat taco trailer). Added bonus is the La Sportiva factory store across the parking lot. Twisted Pine brewing is across some railroad tracks, it's a solid OK.