I have a work trip to Denver coming up, and may have some time to visit a brewery or two. I’m staying downtown (a touch south of Coors Field), and will not have a car, so things in easy-ish walking or Uber/Lyft distance are preferred.
So, what recommendations might people have?
I plan to return to Bierstadt, because I had a fantastic experience last time (excellent beer, excellent food). Cohesion potentially is on my list, because I am on-board for Czech lagers. I have done the Great Divide tasting room, and it was OK, but I’m looking to sample some other stuff.
I am a huge fan of good continental European beers (German, Belgian, etc.), and particularly love good lagers (hence my hopeful return to Bierstadt). “Traditional” American craft beers are also awesome (although I know the world has mostly moved on from my beloved amber ales)…sours are OK, but I’ll probably take a pass on a brewery that is sours-only.
If you’re flying in, Cohesion might be a good stop on the way downtown. It’s right off I-70 about two-thirds of the way to downtown. 4 Noses also just opened a taproom a few minutes away. They make good American styles.
Prost is also a good option for German styles. People don’t think they are as good as Bierstadt but I like them. It is pretty much walking distance for you.
Bruz is all Belgian styles and usually have a wide variety of Belgian styles. They have two locations about equally as far from you and rideshare distance.
Trve also does a lot of Belgian styles but more in the saison/sour category, along with some hoppy beers. Need a short drive to get there, too.
Also another vote for Hogshead. They makes great English styles and just expanded to nine beer engines. Definitely need a ride.
If you want another recommendation for American styles, Cerebral is a good mix of IPAs, lagers and stouts. They make a great schwarzbier. They remind me of Pure Project but their IPAs are not as good. That’s a short ride, too. (A few blocks away is Congress Park Taproom which sometimes randomly has great beers like Hill Farmstead. Their website is updated with a current taplist.)
If you’re at Bierstadt and looking for a walk, there’s a few options down the street. Odell has a taproom there with a lot of IPAs if you’re in the mood. Right there is Finn’s Manor which isn’t a brewery but has one of the most interesting taplists in the city. Across the street is Ratio which is mostly just ok but their King of Carrot Flowers is an interesting beer to try if you’re on the block. It’s a saison with elderflower and carrots. It’s an interesting but delicious beer.
The hidden gem downtown is Westbound and Down’s taproom a couple blocks south of Coors Field. Mostly American styles but they usually have lagers on tap. Everything they brew is top tier. I know people love Bierstadt’s lagers but Westbound and Cohesion are my favorite.
Most of the other breweries in and around downtown are not what you’re after, not the best breweries, or only make one or two good beers.
They have also closed the Tattered Cover Bookstore in LODO. These were two of our favorite places in that neighborhood.
I still like to have lunch and a couple beers at Wynkoop and the train station is pretty cool.
As much as we’ve all enjoyed the craft beer bars, at least in Denver, the fad is pretty much gone. What’s left are places like the one across from Falling Rock that are less explicitly craft beer bars and provide a more open atmosphere.
The Falling Rock guys blamed a lot of external factors on their demise but they were sitting on their hands while the market changed around them and coasted on their reputation until it was way too late. By the time they pivoted, they did it in all the wrong ways. Ale Apothecary went up for sale this month with kinda the same problem but at least the owner admitted to his own hand in not changing with the times.
Status report…I had to postpone my arrival by a day due to illness (darnit!), but after my work event tonight I was able to dash over to Cohesion in the last 45 minutes before they closed. Their beers were phenomenal! The Nakuřované (smoked lager) was incredibly interesting, with a perfect smoke level. And their United Lager 12° was another favorite of mine. It was so refreshing to be in a brewery where 2/3 of their beers were under 5% abv, and all were under 5.5% abv! Plus, the employee running things is a homebrewer, so it was fun to chat about that for a few minutes.
Depending on how my schedule goes tomorrow (work first, after all!), I’m hoping to hit Hogshead…
Day 2 status update! I had a bit of time before having to hit the airport…started at Hogshead, and did tasters of all of the cask ales. Their Barge’s mild was my favorite! Really nice to have a brewery with multiple <5% abv styles. Everything I tried was pretty awesome…English ales aren’t my most favoritest styles, but Hogshead definitely did a wonderful job.
I next visited Prost and did a flight of 6…all were good, but none that blew me away.
I had thought I would head back to Bierstadt (after last year), but decided to hit Cohesion again. I only had 45 minutes last night, so wanted a little more time to really savor the beers. Definitely worth the return!
In any case, thank you all for your recommendations. Hogshead and Cohesion were both awesome new breweries for me during this trip. I can’t wait to return to Denver!
Twice I’ve convinced them to serve a suicide of all their cask beers. Takes a real commitment to a customer to try to balance nine engine pulls in one pint glass.
When they have their old ale on they will do a mother-in-law which is a blend of old and bitter. I’ve only otherwise seen mention of that in an eighteenth century English brewing book.
[quote]I next visited Prost and did a flight of 6…all were good, but none that blew me away.
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That’s probably the most common review of Prost around town. There are better lagers around town but they brew a lot of lagers other places don’t and it’s the second best weizen in town.
Cohesion is absolutely destroying the Czech lager game though. I didn’t realize they had a smoked beer on right now. I may need to venture up there this afternoon.
