Denver, Vail & Fort Collins Advice

Here’s another thread that covers Fort Collins in part:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/fort-collins-denver-in-2-days.673572/#post-7836671

Zwei is can’t miss in my opinion. And that’s on the south side of town. Odell is another good option especially with a kid in tow.

 

I think most places in FoCo should be family friendly. You're there when school is out, so you won't even have (m)any college kids getting wild, either Entertainment-wise, New Belgium and Odell are huge complexes with tons of room + tours, so I'd probably prioritize them. Coopersmith's has food anyone can enjoy, so I'd probably recommend them 3rd.

Denver is fairly safe, but we do have a lot of vagrants. Especially around the core downtown areas around the 16th street mall. They're unlikely to cause any problems, but it throws some people off. Don't expect anyone to try and rob you or pickpocket you or anything. As you head north into River North (aka. RiNo), that's less of an issue. The only area you're likely to go where I'd watch my surroundings is near Great Divide. There's a recue mission a block north of them. It isn't necessarily dangerous, but I've definitely been yelled at by the mentally ill more than once. If you end up visiting Great Divide, I'd just go a block or two west before heading north.

 

Craftsman Brew Co in Edwards is worth a stop. Had some good beers and food there a few weeks ago, about 10 minutes from Avon.

 

If you’re a NEIPA guy like me, this Reddit thread tells the story:

https://www.reddit.com/r/COBeer/comments/ubpbfx/who_is_doing_the_best_hazy_ipas_in_denver/?sort=old

 

As mentioned Zwei in South FoCo is excellent. Fantastic beer, great staff and while it’s in a strip mall, it’s easy to forget that because of the nice space they’ve created.

The New Belgium production tour is great, but I’m fairly certain they don’t allow kids.

Not mentioned in this thread, or the other FoCo linked one, is Hello Brewing. It’s a tiny (tiny) place about a 1/3 mile from NB and are putting out very good beers. Massive contrast to the NB space.

 

Headed to FOCO as apart of a family vacation. IDK how much time I'll have for breweries as I'll be with family so want to make my time count. Any hidden gems for craft beer in FOCO? Any breweries with disc golf associated?

Years ago, I hit the usual spots (Zwei, Odell, NB, The Mayor, etc.) I'd like to branch out from there, but I also wouldn't mind revisiting Zwei as that trip was pretty much when I first started drinking craft beer.

Looking forward to a week of lifting, drinking craft beer, and playing disc golf!

 

Funkwerks still makes world class saisons, if that's of interest. I've also enjoyed everything I've had from Horse & Dragon.

 

I went to both of those places during that trip too. Pretty cool to hear nearly all the FOCO breweries to be maintaining good credibility over that duration. Would rather it be somewhere new-new to me, but I'd also like to revisit places now that I have a better understanding of craft beer.

I have a suspicion Horse & Dragon's main stout would be something my dad would enjoy. Thanks!

 

I've never had a bad beer from Horse and Dragon. They're kinda/sorta in-between Odell and FW, so they can make for a good pitstop even if you're walking.
It's probably at least worth mentioning that Sweetwater is now a Breckenridge taproom. They should still have the Sweetwater beers on tap for another month or two, but their social media postings have implied that's temporary.

 

Any bars and/or breweries in FOCO that offer cask beer?

 

Coopersmith's does. At least for a couple of their beers. They aren't exactly Hogshead, but their beers are still solid. They're very much in the mold of the 1990's brewpub, but they've found a way to survive without changing their M.O. much, if at all.

 

That's great to hear. My dad and I were planning to go there one day for a meal, but we'll certainly have to for some cask beer!

 

Their food is good. Their fish and chips are especially tasty and are actually prepared onsite instead of going from a bag into the fryer. They also have one of the best old-school green chili beers I've ever had, Sigda's.

 

Talking my language. My dad loves Fish n Chips. Coopersmith's is the first place I ever had craft beer too, so I really wanted to revisit some years later to take some beer notes and write some reviews.

Good food helps me convince the rest of the family and my GF (not a beer lover) it's worth a visit.

 

Last (I think) question for a bit - what are the recommended bottle shops in Fort Collins?

Eager to try new-to-me beer, but I'd also love to grab a fresh bottle of Pliny the Elder for old time's sake. Especially if we end up picnicking anywhere, or perhaps it'll just make an epic disc golf round beer.

 

No clue if the locals have some newer honey holes up there, but I still shop at Wilbur's when I'm in town.

 

You went on a quite the tear and got to try a lot of good items that aren't typically known outside of this area. Cheers!