Pre GABF Denver Trip

Discussion in 'Mountain' started by lionssoccer13, Jul 15, 2018.

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  1. lionssoccer13

    lionssoccer13 Zealot (518) Jun 30, 2011 Florida
    Trader

    Going to be in Denver for the first time in September (a couple weeks before GABF) and looking for recommendations. I'm sure there are threads ad nauseam for this kind of thing but upon quick search it was kind of fragmented. Looking for everyone's favorite breweries, beer bars, bottle shops, restaurants, cant miss things to see, etc. My wife is also a baker by trade so if anyone has suggestions in that realm, it would also be appreciated.

    Couple quick notes: I will be staying downtown (North Capitol Hill area) and will have a rental car. I will also be there for a week, so have plenty of time to see a decent amount.

    So Denver BAs what do you recommend?
     
    #1 lionssoccer13, Jul 15, 2018
  2. Mebuzzard

    Mebuzzard Grand Pooh-Bah (4,290) May 19, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Yah, I'd say just peruse the previous threads. I'll give a few to start things off:

    Best German beer: Bierstadt
    Best English beer: Hogshead
    Best IPAs: Comrade and/or Station 26 and/or Cannonball Creek
    Best Brewpub: Bull and Bush
    Best/widest selection: Hmm...Great Divide or Epic
    Best "sours": Crooked Stave
    Best Satanic-ish Atmosphere: TRVE
    Best tap house: Falling Rock (don't overlook: Freshcraft, Goed Zuur)
    Bottle Shops: Quite a few--Molly's, Grapevine, Davidsons, Argonaut, Mondo Vino, Mr. Bs
    Best "Brewery Row": River North area

    If you can do a Coors tour, do it. Quite fascinating. Then hop across the street (literally) to Barrels and Bottles Brewing.

    And iffin you want some single malt scotch, hit up Pints Pub. http://www.pintspub.com/assets/whiskybook-4-7-18.pdf
     
    #2 Mebuzzard, Jul 15, 2018
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  3. lionssoccer13

    lionssoccer13 Zealot (518) Jun 30, 2011 Florida
    Trader

    Thank you sir! Awesome start.
     
    #3 lionssoccer13, Jul 15, 2018
  4. tylerstravis

    tylerstravis Pooh-Bah (2,487) Feb 14, 2014 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah

    I'll play! (Denver Area Only)

    Best German beer: Bierstadt
    Best English beer: Hogshead
    Best West Coast IPAs: Comrade or Cannonball Creek
    Best NEIPAs: Cerebral
    Best Brewpub: Bull and Bush
    Best/widest selection: Go for quality first
    Best "sours": Black Project
    Best Satanic-ish Atmosphere: TRVE
    Best tap house: Falling Rock (don't overlook: Crafty Fox, Goed Zuur)
    Bottle Shops: Quite a few-- Mile High Wine and Spirits, Littles, Mondo Vino, NOT Molly's
    Best "Brewery Row": River North area

    Best Danish Bakery: Taste of Denmark
     
    #4 tylerstravis, Jul 16, 2018
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  5. Mebuzzard

    Mebuzzard Grand Pooh-Bah (4,290) May 19, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Great minds, they....um....let's see....they do something...they....
    Well, anyway. Cheers!
     
    #5 Mebuzzard, Jul 16, 2018
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  6. tylerstravis

    tylerstravis Pooh-Bah (2,487) Feb 14, 2014 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah

    Just a couple of corrections :slight_smile:
     
    #6 tylerstravis, Jul 16, 2018
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  7. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Ftfy
     
    #7 SFACRKnight, Jul 16, 2018
  8. Dan_K

    Dan_K Pooh-Bah (1,980) Nov 8, 2013 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    RE: Sours

    Black Project beers are spontaneously fermented and/or inoculated using the solera method.
    Their beers tend to be mildly to very funky, mild to medium acidity. They generally have 3-6 beers on tap. Occasionally they will have bottles to go or on-site pours. They do a lot of "blended" batches, fruited sours, and beers made with wine grapes.

    Crooked Stave beers are not spontaneously fermented but they do use a mixed culture. The beers are moderate to heavy acidity, mild to moderately funky. They have 12 to 20 beers on tap. They produce some clean beer including pilsner, IPA, DIPA, and coffee Baltic porter. They have an extensive cellar of to-go bottles available for purchase. The sour beers use a variety of bases and then from there usually get raspberries, blueberries, peaches, or cherries.

    Crooked Stave is a little older and more well established, Black Project is a little newer and trendier. For my tastes I think I like BP a little more, but I think you can't go wrong either way.

    Crooked Stave is closer to a bunch of other breweries, whereas BP is a little bit on it's own.
     
    #8 Dan_K, Jul 16, 2018
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  9. Mebuzzard

    Mebuzzard Grand Pooh-Bah (4,290) May 19, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    You're such a nerd. And I love it!
     
    #9 Mebuzzard, Jul 17, 2018
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  10. lionssoccer13

    lionssoccer13 Zealot (518) Jun 30, 2011 Florida
    Trader

    Great sour breakdown, thank you for that. We get some Crooked Stave here in FL and I believe I’ve had 1-2 Black Project sours at Hunahpu Day a couple years ago. Both are awesome and really looking forward to hitting those spots!
     
    #10 lionssoccer13, Jul 17, 2018
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  11. clusterfolk

    clusterfolk Devotee (377) Jun 20, 2014 Colorado

    Black Project is on a bit of an island, but you can hit up Baere and TRVE on your way down South Broadway. If you make it to TRVE and BP, I think that you're really hitting the two best spots making mixed culture/spontaeous/barrel-aged sours in Denver. Have fun exploring!
     
    #11 clusterfolk, Jul 17, 2018
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  12. lionssoccer13

    lionssoccer13 Zealot (518) Jun 30, 2011 Florida
    Trader

    Really great suggestions guys! Is Baere worth the stop? I’ve heard a couple things both ways. So many great places in and around Denver so it’s tough to narrow it all down.
     
    #12 lionssoccer13, Jul 17, 2018
  13. MtnSoup

    MtnSoup Initiate (0) May 20, 2013 Colorado

    Yes. It's worth the stop. I'd stop there over TRVE (nothing against TRVE, but Baere tends to have something for everyone). Their sours are definitely top notch (their 'Baereliner' is GREAT), but their barrel aged stouts and IPAs are also great. Their saison medaled at GABF last year. So yeah.
     
    #13 MtnSoup, Jul 18, 2018
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  14. tylerstubs

    tylerstubs Initiate (0) May 14, 2015 Colorado


    Doesn't Crooked Stave have a coolship and a foeder? I don't think it is all inoculated.
     
    #14 tylerstubs, Jul 19, 2018
  15. lionssoccer13

    lionssoccer13 Zealot (518) Jun 30, 2011 Florida
    Trader

    Appreciate the info! It’s definitely on the list now.
     
    #15 lionssoccer13, Jul 20, 2018
  16. lionssoccer13

    lionssoccer13 Zealot (518) Jun 30, 2011 Florida
    Trader

    Little off the beer topic but does anyone have recommendations for hiking trails and scenic driving routes in the mountains? I have two days set aside for these activities. On one of them I would like to do some hiking/driving as well as hit up Outer Range Brewing. The other is fair game for whatever. My wife will be between 4-5 months pregnant so the hiking needs to be somewhat low impact. She is a big cross fitter so I don’t think she’ll mind a little bit of a push.

    Also if anyone has other opinions on bakeries in the Denver area I would love to hear those as well.

    Thanks again for all the above posts, they are very helpful.
     
    #16 lionssoccer13, Jul 20, 2018
  17. elproducer

    elproducer Initiate (0) Apr 19, 2016 California

    Funny you should ask. Outer Range, where you're going, has a series of cans that have topo trail maps of their favorite local trails. Buy a can, peel off the label, and do the hike.
     
    #17 elproducer, Jul 20, 2018
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  18. Mebuzzard

    Mebuzzard Grand Pooh-Bah (4,290) May 19, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I drove my mom along the Peak to Peak highway for scenic views (as a Kansas flat-lander, she was amazed) and stopped in Nederland for beer and BBQ. No hiking with her, though.

    Denver Bread Company is on 32nd and Speer.
     
    #18 Mebuzzard, Jul 21, 2018
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  19. denver10

    denver10 Grand Pooh-Bah (4,155) Nov 17, 2010 New Mexico
    Pooh-Bah

    Baere is definitely worth the stop, even if its only for their amazing Saison.

    And its 2 blocks away from TRVE.

    If you can only do one.....that's a tough one. Last time I was in Denver I was in that position and I went TRVE. The time before that I was also in that position and I went Baere. I think my favorite beer to come from either of them is Baere's Saison, but TRVE's overall taplist is usually more appealing to me (they ALWAYS have at least 5 beers on tap that I want to drink).
     
    #19 denver10, Jul 21, 2018
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  20. lionssoccer13

    lionssoccer13 Zealot (518) Jun 30, 2011 Florida
    Trader

    Thanks for that! Really cool idea.
     
    #20 lionssoccer13, Jul 21, 2018
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