Afternoon in Denver. Suggestions?

Crooked Stave always wins.

 

Great Divide Hercules was the best IPA that I had when I visited Denver. It is amazing when drank fresh from their taproom.

 

Go to Comrade brewing and order a Superpower IPA. Be prepared to have your mind blown.

 

Great Divide is pretty cool, although when I visited they didn't have any brewery only/exclusive taps on, which is always kind of disappointing when I visit a brewery's taproom. I skipped Crooked Stave last time I was out there, which I really regret. That is not a mistake I'll make the next time I'm there (I get to the area a couple of times a year).

Not a brewery, but still very much worth visiting, is Falling Rock Tap House. Probably one of the finest beer bars in the country. It's about a twenty minute walk from Great Divide.

 

Great Divide doesn't have great IPA's IMHO outside of Hercules which is very good - - I think of them more for their Stouts. Crooked Stave is known for their sours so unless you like sours, this isn't going to satisfy your quest for IPAs. As far as really good IPAs being brewed in Denver, I'll let someone else chime in as I'm not as familiar with the other breweries you listed, but as someone else mentioned, hit up Falling Rock Tap House as its one of the better beer bars in the US. Also highly recommend Freshcraft as well for awesome rotating beer selection.

 

As great as Crooked Stave is, I don't think they have anything that isn't sour. Though they do dry hop some of their stuff - they double dry hopped Vieille is quite tasty. I don't know how far out from Denver it is, but Ska's Modus Hoperandi is a terrific IPA, as is Great Divide's Titan (disagreeing with @Eddiehop there). Avery is worth looking into - Boulder isn't far from Denver.

 

Best Colorado IPA IMO is Odell IPA, so try to get one of those. Odell Myrcenary, their double IPA, is also great. But the brewery is in Fort Collins, so these would be found in a bar.

I'll leave it up to the locals on others, but I look forward to trying Crooked Stave when I'm there over Christmas time. Great Divide is a good spot but doesn't have many special beers there as another said.

 

Gotta make it to Avery. Lots of awesome IPAs. A ton of great beers on tap that are only available at the brewery tap room. Its about a 25-35 minute drive from Denver.

 

Just don't go to Denver Beer Co. whatever you do. That place is a joke.

Breckenridge's Denver location is often overlooked, but it has good barbecue and some of their beers are pretty nice. Great Divide's taproom doesn't usually have too much of interest in terms of exclusive beers, but if you don't mind drinking their shelf offerings give it a whirl. Falling Rock is solid, as others have noted. Wynkoop has great food and their wheat beers don't get enough attention.

 

Ska is in Durango which is a looooong drive from Denver. Certainly can be found at bars, I'm sure.

I don't think of Denver as an IPA city which is part of why I like it so much. Denver's where you go to enjoy a variety, diversity, all the styles you get bored of back home. I honestly can't think of a single stand-out IPA in Denver.

I agree with the Ska and Odell recommendations, and would highly encourage you to try to find Red Swingline and Double Swingline from Trinity Brewing. They are not your traditional IPAs, but the citrus flavor is HUGE.

 

If you like Imperial Stouts, you should probably head over to Epic and see if Big Bad Baptist is on tap.

 

If all I had was one afternoon and couldn't leave Denver, then I'd probably just hit Falling Rock and maybe Great Divide or Hops and Pie. Otherwise, I'd head to Longmont and Ft. Collins. You really need at least two or three days to make the must sees in the area. So much going on there.

 

You have to go to the Source in River North. The barrel cellar is not open as a taproom anymore. The Source does sell bottles to go - make a trip into the cheese shop in the Source for cheese/beer pairings!

 

I'll second (third, fourth?) the recommendation to hit up Falling Rock. They may even have Superpower on tap since Comrade is closed when you are out here. Worth at least grabbing a beer there, and close to some of the places you have mentioned.

You mentioned liking stouts, so I would throw Epic in the ring to get some Big Bad Baptist on tap.

 

I loved Jagged Mountain. When I went in April it seemed a bit under the radar and they didn't really have a stand-out IPA. But their saisons and ryes were exceptional in my opinion and I at least liked everything I drank.