Denver/Boulder/Fort Collins Vacation Stops

[LakeErieMonster]

My wife and I are going on vacation to Colorado. I realize there are a huge amount of breweries and I won't be able to visit every one.

I'm looking for recommendations on which breweries I definitely need to stop by while I'm out there.

 

[Thanks_Yeasties]

I think you will find most of them are great but I just moved back from there after a few years, personally I enjoyed;

1 - left hand - longmont
2 - oskar blues - longmont
3 - avery - boulder (favorite)
4 - new belgium - ft collins
5 - dry dock - aurora
6 - great divide - denver
7 - crooked stave - denver (amazing sours)
8 - odells - ft collins

also, grimm brothers in loveland and mountain sun in boulder are solid. Its tough to go wrong, there are a lot of good breweries with alot of character. never go to wynkoop, ever. ha

and yes, even coors being the hated macro brewery it is, is a very cool tour, the sheer size of the place and logistics make it worth it. then its killians and blue moon for free at the end til you run out of wristband stamps!

 

[LakeErieMonster]

Thanks for all of the suggestions,but I gotta ask,what makes you single or wynkoop as bad ?

 

[aprichman]

New Belgium had the best tour I've ever been on. Colorado laws must be pretty lax because I had at least one glass of beer in my hand for the entire tour. It was an impressive tour and lasted for well over an hour. Most impressive part IMO was their barrel room which had GIANT barrels of sour beer that they blend. Got to try a few of their blends as well as some single barrel samples.

Would have checked out a few other places if I had time but my wife and I just made a quick stop on a road trip to visit family. Definitely had to grab some lunch after that tour - they were very generous with their samples and we didn't want to hit the road right away :cross:

 

[shetc]

Make sure to book the New Belgium tour in advance - it's very popular.

 

[Cyclman]

I think you will find most of them are great but I just moved back from there after a few years, personally I enjoyed;

1 - left hand - longmont
2 - oskar blues - longmont
3 - avery - boulder (favorite)
4 - new belgium - ft collins
5 - dry dock - aurora
6 - great divide - denver
7 - crooked stave - denver (amazing sours)
8 - odells - ft collins

also, grimm brothers in loveland and mountain sun in boulder are solid. Its tough to go wrong, there are a lot of good breweries with alot of character. never go to wynkoop, ever. ha

and yes, even coors being the hated macro brewery it is, is a very cool tour, the sheer size of the place and logistics make it worth it. then its killians and blue moon for free at the end til you run out of wristband stamps!

^^^^^^^^
These. And if you like lagers, Prost is excellent with a gorgeous brewhouse. Enjoy, CO is beer heaven.

 

[tgmartin000]

Where will you be? Agreed on everything Above.
the only good thing about wynkoop is their founder is the governor.

 

[30_Ounce]

Don't miss the New Belgian tour, it's fantastic! O'Dells and Fort Collins Brewing are right around the corner. Funkworks is less than a mile away and Horse and Dragon is right there too! In Loveland I would hit up Loveland Aleworks, Verboten (I had a Pro-Am with them last year! Awesome people!) and Grimm Brothers. Then of course the Longmont breweries listed above and I would add Grossenbart to them...brand new and solid beers! Avery in Boulder is awesome but I have not been to their new facility which I hear is badass! Cannonball Creek in Golden was really good!! I would suggest hitting Fort Collins first and working your way south.

If you want some company, my wife and I would love to show you around...just PM me...

 

[MrHopScotch]

If you want to grab a new belgium tour you need to book a while in advance. They open up 2 months in advance and the weekends can fill up within a day or two of being made available. Midweek is generally a lot more flexible. If you can do it, it is definitely the best tour I have been on.

 

[30_Ounce]

I have done the New Belgian tour 3 times and have always gone standby (if someone doesn't show up I /we fill their spot). But I highly recommend getting on their list on the website.

 

[LakeErieMonster]

Some more info, I will be in Denver for a Saturday night, Sunday, Monday. Then to Boulder/Longmont for a few days. Then to Fort Collins for a few days.

I'm glad my wife let me plan our vacation this year.

Definitely plan on doing the New Belgium tour. Sounds even better than what I already read about it.

 

[chewse]

Avery for sure. Their new brewery just opened in late January. I haven't visited the new brewery yet, but I understand its really state-of-the-art.

 

[Collmorgen]

The Horse and Dragon and Funkwerks are great stops in Ft Collins in addition to New Belgium and Odells.

 

[Seven]

Great Divide, Crooked Stave, and Jagged Mountain in Denver are near each other so you could easily hit those on the same day. If you want to try something different another cool place is Happy Leaf Kombucha - which is right down the street from Crooked Stave.

Falling Rock Tap House in Denver isn't a brewery but they always have a ton of great craft beers on tap.

Stem Ciders in Denver is good if you like ciders.

Avery Brewing is a must visit in Boulder.

Mountain Toad Brewing in Golden is really good too.

 

[30_Ounce]

Beryl's Beer Co. Is a couple of blocks away from Crooked Stave too.

A lot of barrel aged stuff!

 

[srob18]

I think Odells is hands down the best brewery in CO.

When you are in Fort Collins here are the 3 breweries you have to go to:

1) Odells: have the best beer in foco and probably have about 16+ Taps
2) New Belgium: consistent, i like there beers but there are better in FOCO. That being said it's a great experience.
3) Equinox: Only do beers off tap. They're all great IMO. You won't find any weak beers here. Do classic styles as well as big and bold takes on multiple styles.
4) Funkworks: Pretty much just Saisons, but they are good too.

Denver

i've had beer from plenty of CO breweries but the ones ive been to are:

1) prost: Authentic German Brewery, great.
2) Crooked Stave: If you like sours, it's a must go to.

Hope this helped especially on the FOCO side

 

[MrHopScotch]

I think Odells is hands down the best brewery in CO.



When you are in Fort Collins here are the 3 breweries you have to go to:



1) Odells: have the best beer in foco and probably have about 16+ Taps

2) New Belgium: consistent, i like there beers but there are better in FOCO. That being said it's a great experience.

3) Equinox: Only do beers off tap. They're all great IMO. You won't find any weak beers here. Do classic styles as well as big and bold takes on multiple styles.

4) Funkworks: Pretty much just Saisons, but they are good too.



Denver



i've had beer from plenty of CO breweries but the ones ive been to are:



1) prost: Authentic German Brewery, great.

2) Crooked Stave: If you like sours, it's a must go to.



Hope this helped especially on the FOCO side

Great tip on Equinox, somehow I totally spaced it.

Since you'll be in town for a few days, I can't reccommend the Silver Grill in old town enough for breakfast.

 

[ten80]

BRU in Boulder is a great place for a tasty lunch and microbrew.

 

[Aileen]

Odell is my favorite in Ft. Collins, followed by Equinox. There are so many great breweries in Ft. Collins, though, you really can't go wrong.
I love Oskar Blues, always have. If you want to eat I would recommend the original place in Lyons over the (MUCH bigger) place in Longmont.
I haven't tried Grossen Bart yet, but I met one of the guys a while ago at my LHBS and he was super nice. The people I know who have been say their beers are great. I plan to try them soon, especially since there's quite a bit of (ridiculous, IMO) complaining going on around town about their location. It's prompted a new bill in the state house: http://www.timescall.com/longmont-l...ool-brewery-kerfuffle-spawns-bill-state-house

 

[sniktaw]

Redstone Meadery in Boulder is nice if your interested in that sort of thing. When I was there, they had traditional meads and several sparkling meads that were similar to a lot of lighter craft brews.

 

[tootal]

Glad to see Equinox was finally mentioned. What a great place but they close at 8:00 so don't do what I did and get there at 7:55! It's walking distance from the "pedestrian area" and Coopersmiths. I like chili beers and they have a good one, just in case you like that sort of thing! I try to get there every 2 years or so, due this Summer!

 

[MrHopScotch]

It's not a brewery but if you want a change of pace, The Mayor of Old Town is a bar with 100 taps of awesome beers.

 

[FoCobrewguy]

While you are in denver just head down to lodo

 

[FoCobrewguy]

Sorry not a complete post hit up LoDo and LoHi areas it is around coors field there are like 10 breweries/beer bars that you can walk to (some are a few blocks though). River North, Epic, and Great Devide are around there and worth hitting up as well as others that have been stated. Pearl street in Boulder is worth hitting up. Sun Mountain and west Flanders are there as well as a few others. Fort Collins I agree with others Odell's is a must (tree shaker comes out Friday). Horse and Dragon head brewer is from Odell's so quality beer right off the bat. Zwei Bruder brewing is a new brewery but the brewer's have been doing it for years at another place mostly lagers and other German styles.

 

[shetc]

Don't forget Pints Pub Brewery & Freehold. Specializes in the ESB style and has the most amazing array of whiskeys.

 

[tgmartin000]

When you're in Denver, you gotta hit renegade. I think it's my favorite in town. Killer rye ipa and triple ipa. It's also really close to Breckenridge brewery. If you like sours, Trve (pronounced true) is great. Dry dock is also fantastic, great home brew shop too.

There's at least 30 breweries in Denver alone, so you'll be able to find something close to where you're staying.

Also, make sure to bring an extra suitcase!

You're not coming from Vermont, are ya? Bring us some heady!

 

[shetc]

Oh yeah, Dry Dock! Great brewery / tap room with a very nice LHBS connected to it.

 

[LakeErieMonster]

Are there any beers that are regional I need to buy and take home?: not necessarily breweries to visit, but beers located in CO and not OH I should snag

 

[Thanks_Yeasties]

I guess that depends on what you can get in OH near you and what styles you really enjoy. I would go to Hazels in boulder (huge beer selection) or other large beer store and try to find local CO one offs that dont make it across state lines. Its hard to go wrong.