New Denver-Area Breweries (2023)

Rather than try and dig up an older thread, I figure it might make more sense to start a new one. We have had lots of new places popping up recently and more due over the next few months. Here are some of the ones that came to mind, but there are obviously more:

Kodiak Brewing (DTC)
Danico Brewing (Green Valley Ranch)
Second Dawn Brewing (Stanley Marketplace)
Cerebral Brewing (East Colfax Location)
Denver Beer Co. (Lowry Location)
Prost (Northglenn Location + New Brewery, Opening this summer?)
Live Slow Brewing (Crown Hill/Wheatridge, Opening this summer?)

Been to any that are noteworthy or looking forward to any in particular? I've been to Kodiak and the new DBC location at Lowry. Kodiak was solid to good on both the food and beer front. I don't know if I'd specifically travel across town to go there, but that's an area where a boatload of people work. It's also an area undergoing a bit of a renaissance after seemingly dying a few years ago. The new DBC location is built around a park and I can already tell they're going to do gangbusters business based on that alone. They serve the standard-fare DBC beers, which are mostly all good ever since they started packaging. The food is pretty killer, though. I'd go there for that alone. I foresee them having some Station 26 type issues, though. Mid-summer I can already imagine those seats being occupied by 500 people with only 1/4 of them actually ordering food/beer. Wild guess, they'll have to crack down on that whether they want to or not.

On the other end of things, I'm pretty pumped for Live Slow, even if it is on the other side of town. Beer and bowling speaks to me, and I think their brewer knows what he's doing.

 

Anyone have any insider info on that? Every 6-9 months they'll post something vague on Facebook and then disappear. Is this a pipe dream or something they're just trying to do a certain way? They still brewing for the other locations at Vine St. or do they have equipment at the other Mountain Sun spots? I know at least the Boulder location used to, but I haven't been to the back room in a while.

 

They've been saying more or less the same thing for 2+ years now. I know they were pretty good at retaining staff back in the day, but something feels odd. Especially with them reopening all the other locations and other (similar) places fully staffed. I know food service is in the middle of a "new normal, but "that's why I've been wondering if something is amiss behind the scenes. I want 'em back open or (even better/wishful thinking), give me another location somewhere on the eastern side of town instead.

 

That's one reason I was thinking they were keeping the VSP space no matter what. Even if they were to brew in Boulder again, the output would be a fraction of what that location can do. I dunno. I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed and hope they have a plan. At the very least, I'm happy the other locations are up and running. Their food and beers might be "simple," but they're dialed in perfectly to my personal tastes.

 

I definitely want to hit them up soon. I guess their claim to fame (which I don't mean in a sarcastic way) is that their head brewer came up with Voodoo Ranger. That's pretty impressive, no matter what you think of NB's new direction.