I was wondering if anyone could comment on the following plan and let me know what I need to add or remove. Planning on bringing two suitcases to fill with beer and bring home. Comments about breweries/food/other are all appreciated. Day 1- We will be flying into Denver on a Tuesday around noon. From the airport go to Cerebral (open 2pm) and Trve (3pm) head north to Boulder for a stop at Avery (11:30) Hotel in Fort Collins Day 2- Wed Zwei (11am) New Belgium (12) tour Jessup (4pm) Purpose (4pm) and bottle shops Wilber's and Supermarket Liquors Hotel in Fort Collins Day 3- Thurs Peculier (12) Weldwerks (11am) return to Denver airport
Everyone will have their favorite spots, but overall I think that's a pretty strong list. The only one I'd probably recommend against is Avery. It's a hell of a facility, but I'd say they've "lost their way" a bit. There's a thread about it further down. If anything, I like their food more than the beer these days. Plus, it's a bit out of the way based on your trajectory. I'd really only go if they're a particular old favorite or something. Boulder isn't the beer town it once way, but the Mountain Sun locations, Upslope, Sanitas, Twisted Pine, and Wild Provisions are all solid stops. They aren't really famous, but they're good. Since you're heading to Ft. Collins eventually, another option is going a bit further north of Boulder up to Longmont. That's where Oskar Blues, Left Hand, Wibby, and Bootstrap are. Verboten and Grimm Brothers are a little further north in Loveland. On the last day, Wiley Roots is only like 200 yards from Weldwerks. Some people love them, others hate them, but they're super close either way.
Tweak used to be one of my favorite beers (Avery) so I think that was the main reason for going there. I haven't had the beer in a couple years so I was thinking about going just to see if the stories are true about the changes. You are probably right that the detour might not be worth it for 1 brewery.
That’s a solid list. Agree with Domingo that you should skip Avery and hit up Wiley Roots when you’re in Greeley. Last time I was up there (granted it was maybe five years ago) I actually enjoyed Wiley Roots’ beers more. In Denver, both TRVE and Cerebral are great. Can’t go wrong with either. I personally wouldn’t miss Bierstadt, which won’t be too far out of the way. Comrade also makes world class beer, especially if west coast IPA is your thing. But their location is likely too far out of your way. In Fort Collins, 100% agree on Zwei and the NB tour. I’d personally hit Odell and Funkwerks instead Jessup and Purpose, but perhaps that’s just nostalgia speaking. Have fun and please report back!
Great list! Avery's facility is super cool. Haven't been there in a minute so can't really comment on their quality recently. If you've never visited Boulder and want to see it anyways and skip Avery, Mountain Sun (any location) is a hidden gem that doesn't get talked about very much. Just bring cash. Man, I wish they'd open Vine Street back up again. All of Domingo's Longmont/Loveland recs are solid breweries as well. Funkwerks in Fort Collins is also super good, and I really like their space. I'm not sure who I'd sub them out for (maybe Zwei), but if you feel like you've got some extra time, especially after NB everything is super close. Have fun!
Plan for the trip was to sample as many breweries as I could. When possible I would get a flight that had at least one of a sour, an IPA, and a stout. Day 1 - Landed at the airport in Denver and went directly to Cerebral right as they opened. Nice brewery with a large outdoor seating area. Beers were decent and so was the chicken sandwich I ordered. Drove to TRVE which was more of a hole in the wall location. Very dark with a goth/dungeon feel. Beers were decent but didn't feel like a place you would spend a lot of time to relax. Also no flights as an option. Up to Bolder for a stop at Avery, tons of seating, 2 floors indoor and a patio outside. The Avery thread is true that Tweak is but a shadow of what it used to be. Now just a cheaper good stout compared to the amazing beer it used to be. Up to Loveland for a visit at Verboten. Small indoor/outdoor location where you could order pizza/chicken for the store next door. I am glad that Domingo mentioned this place because it ended up having the best dark beer I had on the trip. Day 2 - Started at Zwei, indoor/outdoor location with a german/sportsbar feel. I am not big into german style beers but one could easily tell that was their focus and they did them well from the one I tried. New Belgium for the tour (I scheduled ahead but there was space available for walk ins, not sure if this is normally true or not) Cost was $10 for 90 minutes. Lots of information and lots of chances to try beers. If I had drank everything that was offered I think it would have been at least 8 different 5 oz pours and two cans to go. I didn't think much of the beers but the experience was nice. Peculier was another small location that didn't stand out that much other than the fact that they had 5 workers canning beers by hand in the back area which was interesting to watch (not quite as fast as the 240 cans per minute the New Belgium machines were doing). Jessup Farm was an interesting setup with a two story barn style building where you had to go upstairs to visit the main bar area and purchase beer. It looked like a second area would sell pours downstairs but wasn't open at the time. Probably would be one of the nicer breweries to hang out at, beers were good. Purpose was another small brewery in a strip mall. From what I could tell they did a lot of small batch brews and didn't repeat the same one often (if at all) They only had 6 beers available when I was there and only one of those 6 was in the rating app that I use. I didn't think much of the location or the two beers I tried. Day 3 - Drove to Greeley to visit Weldwerks. This was the location I was most looking forward to based on beers I had previously had. Large indoor/outdoor location with a small 8 item food menu. Very diverse menu - Caribbean, Szechuan, Southern, Japanese, Local Beets... A little bummed that they didn't have a dark beer available but the others made up for it. (missed out on Wiley as they opened later and I couldn't make it work) Back down to Denver and due to the weather our flight was delayed 3 hours. With extra time we did a visit at the Wings above the Rockies museum and a random brewery near the airport called Danico - nice location, the beers didn't stand out. Top Beers by Style- Light beer - Weld Pilsner -Weldworks German -Schwarz Bier - Zwei IPA - Extra Extra Juicy bits - Weldworks Sour - I'm a Summer - Jessup Barley/Stout - Grow in Darkness - Verboten
Verboten flies under the radar a bit, but their barleywines and BA big beers are some of the best anywhere. The BIL crew seems to have caught wind of them (kinda like the the Bull & Bush), but they aren't super well known otherwise.
Piggybacking off of this thread…. I’m going to be in south Aurora next week. What do you suggest within 20 minutes or so of the area? Particularly for someone who prefers NEIPA’s? Thanks.
I’d say your best options in Aurora are Ursula, Launch Pad, and Dry Dock. Not sure how many NEIPAs they’ll have on draft, but I’d imagine they have their current tap menus online. Cerebral is definitely the #1 place to visit for that style. If you go a little closer to Denver you can hit up Copper Kettle and Comrade. Comrade won’t have any NEIPAs, but they make some of the best WCIPAs in the country. Have fun!
Cerebral’s production facility is on East Colfax in Aurora. They have a temporary type of tap room there that has limited hours. Might work out for you depending on timing. Personally I’d avoid Ursula but maybe some people like their beer.
Yeah, the research I’ve done so far suggests Cerebral is my best chance of getting a good NEIPA within 20 minutes or so of where I’ll be. WeldWerks, Outer Range, Knotted Root, etc. are all a little far.
I will add some more stops in Fort Collins in case a repeat trip is taken or as alternate stops in case some breweries are real busy or are unavailable for visiting. Snowbank Brewery - Try the Crankenbrew (a pale ale fused with coffee - like a barista and a bartender all in one in a glass!) Their Colorado Red, Snow Juice, and 47.5 Stout are good too. Located at 225 N Lemay Ave Suite 1. Horse and Dragon Brewery - Sad Panda Stout is their flagship brew. Lots of beer varieties to try here. Kind of tucked away but is in the same neighborhood as Funkwerks. I have filled many a growler here. Located at 124 Racquette Drive. Equinox Brewery - Space Ghost IPA is tasty as well as any of their Outer Space themed brews. Can assemble a decent flight of beers here. Is located downtown Fort Collins. Located at 133 Remington St. Typing this list brings back many good memories of visiting family in Fort Collins and beer friends.
