I’m getting the opportunity to go to Denver for a day before a wedding, and my wife will be with the bachelorette party, so I get to explore Denver for a day! I was hoping to hit a couple breweries (along with maybe some other cool sites) and was wondering if any of you had recommendations for where to go to get a few brews (and sight see).
I googled breweries up there and it looked like there was literally a brewery on every street corner… Looking for some help choosing! I like pretty much any beer, but I lean more toward malty than hoppy overall.
Are you staying in the downtown area? If so, I recommend some of the establishments in the Rino district including Ratio, Bierstadt Lagerhaus (german beers), and First Draft (tap room where you pour your own beer). There are also some pretty bad breweries in that area so be cautious and get samples before committing to full pours…
Denver Beer Co. is just west and has improved dramatically in the past few years since opening and is within walking distance of Prost (german beers). Both are just across the river near I-25
Tons of breweries in Denver. One of the few cities where you can find pretty much every style brewed.
Traffic can be pretty bad so you’ll make your life a lot easier picking one or two areas.
In downtown RINO is probably the biggest concentration of breweries and you can walk/short drive the area. LODO (lower downtown) has a number of bars, many with very good selections (Falling Rock, Freshcraft). There’s also the area near the interstate with Prost and several other breweries. There are several areas south of downtown with good brewery options.
My favorite sight seeing in Denver is to sit at a brewery where I can see the mountains while I drink good beer. Maybe you have more ambitious goals.
Wyncoop was the first Colorado brewpub. It’s near the light rail and it’s not far from Great Divide. If you are staying on the west side (Lakewood, Golden) it’s about a 20 minute drive to Tommyknocker in Idaho Springs. Great beer and food. I loved the pils there. On the hoppy side but not as much as Firestone’s Pivo Pils. Oh yeah, Coors is in Golden
I was in Denver a couple of years ago for a very limited time. I spent hours researching the interwebs to maximize my time, and there were so many places I wanted to see, but the only one I actually found time for was Bull & Bush, and it was actually very good – I love malty beers and this place did not disappoint in that regard. So I got pretty darn lucky I thought.
I did manage to also stop at a liquor store and purchase numerous bottles of Crooked Stave’s stuff as well as Dry Dock and Avery, and some more B&B (yum). Crooked Stave’s stuff is alright, but I’ve had better. Either that or I guess I’m not as much a sour lover as I’d originally thought. Dry Dock was okay, too, but not anything that knocked my socks off. Depends on how picky you are.
But as a beer mecca, yeah, Denver’s certainly got a TON to choose from, as long as you’re willing to drive all over town for hours to get from one to the other. Huge, huge city… so huge it’s “YUGE”.
Other places that research suggested I probably would have liked but unfortunately I didn’t get there:
Crooked Stave (fortunately they have bottles)
Comrade
Twelve Degree
Great Divide
Post
Just to name a few – I had quite a list, but those were just the Top 5 that I really wanted to see. I’d be very interested to hear if any of those are really phenomenal, or just “average”, so I know how bad I missed out. And maybe this will help someone else. Personally I probably will not be going back to Denver for many many many years. But I suppose anything is possible.
I knew I could rely on y’all. I can’t say my palate is super refined so I can’t say I’m super picky. I’m just looking for good beer and a cool place to chill, enjoy the town and read a book
I would recommend Black Shirt Brewing. They brew all Reds, in many different styles. Awesome guys too. Also Trve brewing, especially if you like Death Metal!
So are you sticking around the downtown Denver area or venturing around?
If near Golden, I would hit Cannonball Creek for hoppy beers and belgians and New Terrain for solid beer in a cool location.
Hogshead is an excellent brewery with traditional English style beers including a lot of stuff on cask. It is in a cool neighborhood a few miles west of downtown Denver.
Since you don’t have any specific breweries in mind, I’d get a day pass for the light rail ($5-9 depending on how far out of downtown you’ll be) and stick to places within walking distance. Just off the top of my head:
Wynkoop - solid brewpub, big beer list, across the street from Union Station where you’ll probably change trains, and which is worth a quick visit in its own right
Falling Rock - the (huge) original location is right on the 16th St pedestrian mall a few blocks away
Lowdown - maybe too hop-focused, but good apps/pizza and a nice patio, plus the owners/brewers are great
Declaration - huge beer list, food trucks, probably the best beer garden in town
If you do a little more walking on Broadway south of downtown around Declaration, you have Former Future (sours/barrel aged stuff), Grandma’s House (average beer, hilarious decor), and TRVE (good beer, bring earplugs), any of which is worth a quick stop if only for the ambiance.
Even on dry roads, that’s more like 40-60 min. But the drive up US 6 is well worth it, and puts you right next to Cannonball Creek.
If you’re coming up that far and have the time, might as well carry on to Summit County where you have seven breweries off the same exit.
One tip on drinking there, also drink a lot of water to stay hydrated. 2007 NHC had bottled water available, and we were often reminded to drink that water.
We were staying on the west side of Lakewood, right off 470. It was maybe 30 minutes at most via I-70. We really loved Tommyknocker and Idaho Springs in general. We easily made it there for lunch and back to Lakewood then to downtown Denver for an evening wedding.
Yes, my wife had altitude sickness/dehydration the first day there.
