I’ll be in Boulder for three nights in September. Looking for some good places to check out. I will be flying into Denver and have time maybe for fort collins on my way to Boulder. Otherwise I will be in Boulder the rest of the trip.
Fort Collins is about an hour north of Boulder so factor in the drive time if you decide to go up there. Otherwise you have good options in Longmont/Boulder. Oskar Blues (the tasty weasel) and Left Hand are good choices in Longmont. In Boulder you have Avery, Twisted Pine, Boulder Beer Co., Asher, Upslope. Lots of other smaller breweries in both cities.
Avery’s taproom is nice and they put some cool stuff on tap. That would be my must-stop place in Boulder.
If you make it up to Longmont then Oskar Blues and Left Hand also have nice taprooms. Both usually have beers on tap that don’t make it into normal distribution. I think Left Hand’s taproom smells weird but there is seating outside and it’s worth tolerating the smell to get the beer.
You might need to narrow down what type of breweries you want to visit… There are 8-10 just in Boulder proper. Add FoCo and the Denver sprawl and it’s 100-150 depending on how far you’re willing to drive.
In Boulder, Mountain Sun/Southern Sun is a good brewpub experience, as is Boulder Brewing (the first craft brewery in the state). Avery and Twisted Pine have good beer and smaller menus; I haven’t eaten at either. Then there are the breweries/taprooms - I haven’t been to Upslope, but some of their canned beers have been quite good, and I’ve heard good things about Fate.
If you go up to Fort Collins (which is very out of the way for a drive from DIA to Boulder), check out Funkwerks (all-saison brewery, and IIRC they have some charcuterie/cheese/tapas-type food at the taproom). Equinox has some great beers, and Cooper Smith’s brewpub has been around forever.
I don’t even pretend to keep track of the openings/closings in the Denver area. Crooked Stave is well worth a stop if that’s your cup of tea.
Thanks guys. I have been to Fort Collins before. And have had something from most of the breweries you mentioned at beer festivals. I will check out Avery and left hand for sure. Probably give crooked stave a shot as well.
I’m mostly interested in trying stuff that I can’t get in California.
My recommendations:
-Avery
-Upslope
-Sanitas
-Wildwood
-Twisted Pine
-Fate
-Southern Sun/Mountain Sun
-West Flanders
-Redstone Meadery
-There are a few small distilleries, too (303 and I forget the other one…they’re close to each other)
I’m sure I’m leaving out stuff…but that should keep you busy ;D
Avery. Awesome place. Great tap room, and quite a variety of stuff on tap that you don’t find in the stores.
Lefthand. Another top notch brewery.
Oskar Blues is pretty cool too.
4 Denver highlights:
Dry Dock - (Bligh’s Barleywine) as you leave the airport side of town, headed west.
Crooked Stave (fantastic sours & saisons) and Epic - (Big Bad Baptist!) on the east side of downtown, coming in from the airport. Also, Epic just hosted our Assoc. Rally!
River North -(Belgian inspired awesomeness) as you head towards downtown from CS/Epic.
Bonus #5, Prost - (strict German purity law brews) just west of downtown, next to I25 and an easy shot to Boulder.
However, at that point, you’d probably want to call a cab…
Slainte
+1 to Prost if you like German style beer.
42 Draft Beers at Rubens Burger Bistro in Boulder. Check out the menu online you may want to stop in…
Just got to dry dock. Cool place with a homebrew shop in back. Hop abomination was their best. Vanilla porter is overpowering vanilla. Citrus stout was very enjoyable.
Went to crooked stave and great divide as well. As much as I try to like Brett, farmhouse, sours and such. They are just not for me. Loved great divide. Going to Avery for dinner
Yesterday went to West Flanders, BRUboulder , and Upslope. Today went to Left Hand and Oscar Blues. New favorite of the trip is left hand