bottles of (colorado) beer on the wall

99
BOTTLES OF
(COLORADO)
BEER
ON THE
WALL
As the state with the
third most breweries, not to
mention second in beer
consumption, there’s plenty
of reason to hoist a pint to
local brews
annette slade
BY KYLE WAGNER
september 2015 / DenverLifeMagazine.com
65
1
3 Freaks Brewery
Location: Highlands Ranch;
3freaksbrewery.com
Beer: Odd Man Stout (dark, full-bodied
oatmeal stout; ABV: 6 percent)
Brew-haha: The brewery’s name is a
term of endearment for owner/brewer
(and career firefighter) Jeff Atencio’s
three children.
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300 suns brewing
BEER BLURBS BY lesley kennedy
Location: Longmont;
300sunsbrewing.com
Beer: Rabbit Mountain (red ale;
ABV: 6 percent)
Brew-haha: 300 Suns runs themed
home brewer “collabeeration”
contests, with first-place winners’
creations put on tap.
3
38 state brewing co.
Location: Littleton; 38statebrew.com
Beer: Witbier (wheat ale spiced with
orange peel; ABV: 4.6 percent)
Brew-haha: Brewed on-site on a very
small system, the beer menu from
the four owners (a master gardener,
teacher, engineer and businesswoman)
changes almost daily.
A
flight of beers sits before Rich Grant
at a corner table at Wynkoop Brewing
Company in LoDo, and he regards
each variously hued brew for a brief
moment before downing it or setting
it aside with the conviction of a man
who has been drinking beer for … well,
he’s not telling.
But this is the former communications director for Visit Denver—for
35 years—and so it’s reasonable to assume that, during
that period of time, there may have been a fair amount
of Colorado beer sampling in the name of promotion.
So when Grant says he understands where Colorado
came from in terms of craft brewing, where we are right
now and where we’re probably headed, it could be the
beer talking, but it’s more likely that he knows what he’s
talking about. Clearly, the Canadian TV crew interviewing him at Wynkoop as we’re speaking thinks he does—
they’ve been following him around much of the day trying to get their own sense of Colorado’s craft beer scene.
The setting certainly lends some credibility to
the conversation. October marks 27 years ago that
Wynkoop Brewing Company became Colorado’s first
brewpub—coincidentally the
same year it became legal in the
state to produce and sell beer to
people on the same premises.
“At the time Wynkoop
opened, no one knew what
craft beer was,” the famously
scraggly-haired booster of all
things Denver—and Colorado,
really—says, waving a pint of
the brewpub’s Mile High Pale
Ale for emphasis. “People were
drinking Coors. You had to
educate them about what craft
brewing was.”
Needless to say, things have changed. According to
statistics released in late July by the Beer Institute, a
national industry group based in Washington, D.C., the
number of brewing establishments in Colorado hit 269
in 2014, up 52 from 217 in 2013. That means growth
for Colorado craft brewing remained pretty steady
from 2013 to 2014—the state had 56 new permitted
breweries in 2013, double that of 2012, when 28 new
ones were issued. With new breweries having opened
steadily in 2015 so far—for instance, Barnett & Son
Brewing Co. in Parker and Boggy Draw Brewery and
Tap House in Sheridan—and dozens more in the planning stages (including Bierstadt Lagerhaus in the River
North neighborhood, Something Brewery in Brighton
and Unbroken Beer in Aurora), Colorado appears to be
on track to break 300 this year.
The Beer Institute analyzes active “permitted breweries” licensed by the federal Alcohol Tobacco Tax and
Trade Bureau, and also determines the economic impact
of craft breweries in each state. Another trade group,
the national nonprofit Brewers Association—host to the
Great American Beer Festival held annually in Denver,
which sold out for the upcoming September 24-26
event despite offering more tickets than it has since the
event began in 1982—defines craft brewers as “small,
independent and traditional.” Meaning, annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less, with less than
25 percent of the brewery owned or run by an alcohol
beverage industry member that isn’t itself a craft brewer,
and with the majority of the beers’ flavors derived from
traditional or innovative brewing ingredients.
“The brewpub and the first microbreweries were just
the beginning, and I consider that part of what I call the
‘first wave,’” says Grant, who currently makes a living as
a beer blogger and travel writer. “It was all about education, so you had a lot of tastings and experimenting.”
The second wave, he believes, came in the form of
chain breweries and brewpubs and then more upscale
operations—such as Rock Bottom Restaurant and
Brewery and the Denver ChopHouse & Brewery—followed by the third and more recent wave, a return to
what he calls craft brewing’s roots: breweries joining
up with food trucks and the
advent of taprooms.
With dozens of older breweries, such as Great Divide
and the newer Denver Beer
Co., pairing with food trucks
that simply “pull up to a slab
of concrete,” as Grant puts it,
and taprooms such as Hogshead Brewery or Station 26
providing steady rotations of
reasonably priced pours, the
focus has returned to the brews
—Rich Grant themselves.
“This is my favorite time of
beer,” Grant says. “This is back to where English pubs
were way back when. We’re getting back to the basics,
back to the way it was when it was mostly about just
making the beer. Don’t get me wrong; with little-to-no
overhead on some of these simple concepts, it’s a cash
cow, so there’s money being made, but it’s not as much
about selling a $5 beer that cost 5 cents to make because you have to pay for all the stuff around it.”
Grant says that at the same time, the fourth wave
has been what he calls “destination breweries”—New
Belgium Brewing Company, Oskar Blues Brewery,
Odell Brewing Company—that offer tours, taprooms,
cooking classes, the chance to be a brewer for a day,
you name it.
“These are places where you can spend the whole
afternoon just immersed in beer, and then drink some,”
he says. “It’s beer tourism on the craft brewing level.
And it’s wonderful.”
“These are places where
you can spend the whole
afternoon just immersed
in beer, and then drink
some. It’s beer tourism
on the craft brewing level.
And it’s wonderful.”
september 2015 / DenverLifeMagazine.com
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annette slade
WHAT’S ON TAP
Thirsty? Here are 99 of our
favorite local beers.
4
4 noses brewing co.
Location: Broomfield;
4nosesbrewing.com
Beer: Hiker’s Helles (pale lager; ABV:
5.2 percent)
Brew-haha: It’s a family affair at 4 Noses,
where there are actually five noses running the show: Tommy Bibliowicz and his
wife, Megan, plus his parents and brother.
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asher Brewing co.
Location: Boulder; asherbrewing.com
Beer: Tree Hugger Organic Amber
(caramel sweetness with a dry
finish; ABV: 6 percent)
Brew-haha: Colorado’s first all-organic
brewery uses 100 percent wind power,
environmentally sustainable products and
socially responsible business practices.
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aspen Brewing co.
Location: Aspen;
aspenbrewingcompany.com
Beer: Independence Pass Ale
(classic IPA; ABV: 7 percent)
Brew-haha: Named after Aspen’s
eastern boundary—the 12,095-foot high
pass—this IPA can be sampled yearround in the tasting room.
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avery Brewing CO.
Location: Boulder; averybrewing.com
Beer: Liliko’i Kepolo (Belgian-style
white ale brewed with spices and
passion fruit; ABV: 5.4 percent)
Brew-haha: Avery’s new
state-of-the-art facility in Gunbarrel
features a sit-down restaurant, taproom and patio space.
Colorado:
The Brewery
State?
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annette slade
backcountry Brewery
barnett & son brewing co.
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batch 19
beer by design brewery
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Location: Frisco; backcountrybrewery.com
Beer: Imperial Saison (farmhouse
ale; ABV: 9.1 percent)
Brew-haha: Recognized six times by
the GABF, this Summit County mountain
spot offers an epic happy hour (watch
the sun set over the Tenmile Range), eats
and views.
Location: Parker;
barnettandsonbrewing.com
Beer: Falling Skye (Scottish ale;
ABV: 6.4 percent)
Brew-haha: Opened earlier this year,
Parker’s newest small craft brewery
serves pints in its tasting room and
offers growlers to go.
Location: Golden; batch19.com
Beer: Pre-Prohibition Style Lager
(golden lager; ABV: 5.5 percent)
Brew-haha: From AC Golden, this beer
is based on a recipe found in the Coors
archives dating back before 1919, just
before beer (gasp!) was banned.
Location: Northglenn;
beerbydesign.com
Beer: Platinum Blonde Ale (premium
malt ale; ABV: 5.7 percent)
Brew-haha: Open since 2013, Northglenn’s first craft brewery uses special
mashing and kettle processes to create
cleaner-tasting beer.
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black bottle Brewery
black shirt Brewing co.
blue moon Brewing co.
bonfire Brewing
Location: Fort Collins;
blackbottlebrewery.com
Beer: Scuba Steve (American IPA;
ABV: 6.6 percent)
Brew-haha: Don’t miss the brewery’s
Cerealiously Count Chocula beer, brewed
with the sugary cereal, on tap now and
bottled in time for Halloween.
Location: Denver;
blackshirtbrewingco.com
Beer: Colorado Red Ale (balanced
red ale; ABV: 8 percent)
Brew-haha: This music-driven
River North brewery features lots of live
acts and food trucks and concentrates
on red ales, only.
Location: Golden;
bluemoonbrewingcompany.com
Beer: Cinnamon Horchata Ale (ale brewed
with long-grain rice; ABV: 5.5 percent)
Brew-haha: Founded in Denver in 1995,
Blue Moon (owned by MillerCoors) was the
first American beer to call for an orange
slice as garnish (on it’s Belgian White).
Location: Eagle; bonfirebrewing.com
Beer: Coloradler (ale with lemon and
mint; ABV: 6.1 percent)
Brew-haha: Get on the wait list (note:
it’s long) to join Bonfire’s Mug Club—you
get a one-of-a-kind 20-ounce numbered
mug to drink from during taproom visits,
plus deals and special offers.
september 2015 / DenverLifeMagazine.com
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With 269 breweries as
of the end of 2014—and
counting—Colorado
remains the state with
the third most breweries, after California and
Washington, and followed closely by Oregon.
Colorado was second in
consumption in 2014,
though, averaging 13.6
gallons of beer per adult,
behind number one
Vermont and ahead of
number three Pennsylvania. And, contrary to a
pervasive myth, Colorado
does not have the most
breweries per capita: It
ranks third, with 6.1 per
capita, behind Vermont
and Oregon.
Sources: Brewers Association, Beer Institute
PURSUIT OF HOPPYNESS
The beery background: Aurora’s first brewery, Dry Dock is actually two breweries in one, with
the 40-barrel, four-vessel production facility North Dock, which sports the four-tap Canoe
Room tasting room (so named because it was once a storage area for The Boy Scouts of
America Aurora chapter’s canoes) and South Dock, a larger tasting room (180 seats and 16
taps) and seven-barrel system behind the sister company, The Brew Hut, which is where it
all began as a small speakeasy-style bar.
Michelle Reding and Kevin DeLange started Dry Dock in 2005, have expanded twice
and now package the flagship line of beers in cans, including the Amber Ale, Hop Abomination, Hefeweizen and Apricot Blonde. Reding and DeLange divide the duties, which
keeps things running smoothly and allows the new head brewers at each operation to
work on coming up with new products. “I’m the numbers girl and he’s the ideas guy,” she
says. “Those are our official titles.”
At the smaller setup at the South Dock location, Reding says the team is able to do test
batches and try different things. “We’re always testing samples, seeing what works,” she
says. “That’s my favorite part of my job.”
dry dock brewing co.
Owner/founder: Michelle Reding
and Kevin DeLange
Head brewer: Tim Evon, South Dock;
Alan Simons, North Dock
Beer: Apricot Blonde (golden
blonde ale; ABV: 5.1 percent)
Brew-haha: From humble beginnings
in 2005 to an operation that now has
the capacity to brew more than 30,000
barrels a year, Dry Dock has won
20 GABF medals, the prestigious Brewers
Association’s Small Brewery of the
Year award and five World
Beer Cup awards.
Michelle says: “I kind of coined this
term—instead of ‘return on investment,’ I’m looking for a ‘return on
fun.’ We try to keep current and relevant within the industry, but most
of all we try to keep true to what is
fun.”
Drink this: If you’ve ever just said no
“Instead of a ‘return on investment,’ I’m
looking for a ‘return on fun’.”
to fruit beers, Dry Dock’s Apricot
Blonde—the 2014 bronze medal
—Michelle Reding
winner at the Great American Beer
Fest in the American-Style Fruit
category and a Silver World Beer Cup award champ—could change your life. There’s a
pronounced apricot nose, but the flavor isn’t too sweet, and it has a faint and appealing
buttered bread quality that makes it a great go-to weekend brunch brew.
Find them here: North Dock, 2801 Tower Road, Aurora; South Dock, 15120 E. Hampden Ave., Aurora,
303.400.5606, drydockbrewing.com
can, annette slade; michelle reding, zac henderson
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Unique brewpoint: Dry Dock is the
largest craft brewery in the state of
Colorado that is only in the state of
Colorado, and they intend to keep
it that way for as long as possible
while still expanding production.
“We just hit regional brewery status,” says Reding, who points out
that, at this point, Dry Dock beers
are mostly offered along the Front
Range and the I-70 corridor. “But
our goal is to stay only in Colorado
until we can really manage the
growth in a way that allows us to
keep a good handle on the quality
control and the product,” she says.
“That’s a tough thing to do.”
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Location: Niwot; bootstrapbrewing.com
Beer: Insane Rush (IPA; ABV: 7.2 percent)
Brew-haha: The classic rock fan owners
list music pairings with their beers: think
“Fire on the Mountain” with the Flagstaff
Amber, Jimmy Buffet tunes with the
Warthog Stout or “Thunder Struck” with
the Wreak Havoc Imperial Ale.
bootstrap Brewing
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Location: Boulder; boulderbeer.com
Beer: Shake Chocolate Porter (American
porter; ABV: 5.9 percent)
Brew-haha: Founded by two University
of Colorado professors back in 1979, the
state’s first craft brewery was originally
housed on a small farm in a goat shed.
Location: Denver; breckbrew.com
Beer: Breck IPA (Colorado-style IPA;
ABV: 6.3 percent)
Brew-haha: After opening in Breckenridge in 1990, the brewery moved to
Denver two years later and became the
first in the state to package craft beer
in six-packs and 12-packs.
Location: Colorado Springs;
bristolbrewing.com
Beer: Red Baron Octoberfest (Viennastyle lager; ABV: 5.8 percent)
Brew-haha: With nine scottish ale
medals, Laughing Lab (which boasts a
nutty, mildly sweet flavor) is the most
recognized Colorado beer at the GABF.
Location: Glendale; bullandbush.com
Beer: Man Beer (IPA; ABV: 7.7 percent)
Brew-haha: Started by identical twin
brothers Dean and Dale Peterson in
1971, the popular neighborhood sports
bar is now run by Dale’s sons, David
and Erik.
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boulder beer
breckenridge Brewery
bristol beer
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bull & bush Brewery
butcherknife
call to arms brewing co.
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Location: Steamboat Springs;
butcherknifebrewing.com
Beer: Hefeweizen (Bavarian-style
hefeweizen; ABV: 5.5 percent)
Brew-haha: Because of its location,
Butcherknife gets first use of water that
flows off the Continental Divide, providing
pure, fresh water in each batch.
Location: Denver;
calltoarmsbrewing.com
Beer: Amigos Borrachos (Vienna-style
lager; ABV: 5 percent)
Brew-haha: Run by three Avery Brewing Company vets, the Call to Arms coat
of arms represents each man’s family.
Location: Denver; cautionbrewingco.com
Beer: Lao Wang Lager (lager with Asian
spices; ABV: 5.1 percent)
Brew-haha: Owners Danny and Betty
Wang use secret Asian spices from
Danny’s father, Lao Wang, owner of
Denver’s Lao Wang Noodle House, in
their award-winning lager.
Location: Multiple locations; cbpotts.com
Beer: The Weasel (German-style
medium-bodied lager; ABV: 6.1 percent)
Brew-haha: Ty Nash, out of the
Highlands Ranch brewery, won a gold
medal at the 2014 GABF for this golden
beer in the Dartmunder or Germanstyle Oktoberfest category.
Location: Fort Collins;
centennialbeercompany.com
Beer: All American Blonde (golden
ale; ABV: 5 percent)
Brew-haha: Two styles—the blonde
and All American Red—are brewed and
canned by Crazy Mountain Brewing
Company (No. 35) out of Edwards.
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caution Brewing co.
c.b. & potts
centennial beer co.
chain reaction brewing co.
city star brewing
co-brew
coda Brewing co.
colorado native
Location: Denver;
chainreactionbrewingco.com
Beer: Pink Peppercorn Saison (saison
with spices and citrus; ABV: 6.2 percent)
Brew-haha: Run by cousins, this
Athmar neighborhood spot features a
bar and tables made from wood from a
family sawmill in Tabernash.
Location: Berthoud; citystarbrewing.com
Beer: Bandit Brown (English brown ale;
ABV: 5.5 percent)
Brew-haha: Offering small batch, handcrafted ales, this small town brewery won
both gold (for Bandit Brown) and bronze
medals at the 2013 GAFB.
Location: Denver; cobrewdenver.com
Beer: Mosaic (IPA; ABV: 7.1 percent)
Brew-haha: A small-scale brewery and
homebrew supply store, CO-Brew also
offers a brew on premises experience,
where you can learn brewing skills (or
just host a rad party).
Location: Aurora; codabrewing.com
Beer: Sleepyhead (imperial kolsch ale
with passion fruit; ABV: 6.3 percent)
Brew-haha: Luke Smith, a former
yeast microbiologist and translational
research scientist, and his partner, Scott
Procop, opened the operation next to
the Anschutz Medical Campus last year.
Location: Golden; coloradonative.com
Beer: Amber Lager (lager;
ABV: 5.5 percent)
Brew-haha: Brewed with 100 percent
Colorado-grown ingredients, this AC
Golden company beer is available only
in the Centennial state.
september 2015 / DenverLifeMagazine.com
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Location: Denver; comradebrewing.com
Beer: Superpower IPA (lPA;
ABV: 7.5 percent)
Brew-haha: After working as a brewer
at Dry Dock, owner David Lin started
this local fave in 2014 with brewmaster
Mark Lanham, who won GABF medals at
Idaho’s Grand Teton and Oregon’s Boneyard Beer and Barley Brown’s Brew Pub.
Location: Golden; coors.com
Beer: Coors Banquet (American lager;
ABV: 5 percent)
Brew-haha: Founded in 1873 by Adolph
Coors, who chose Golden’s Clear Creek
Valley for the purity of water from the
nearby springs, the brewery’s original
Coors Banquet still uses only Rocky
Mountain water and high-country barley.
Location: Denver; copperkettledenver.com
Beer: Charlie’s Golden Strong (Colorado
Belgian-style ale; ABV: 8 percent)
Brew-haha: The award-winning
brewery from a husband and wife
team uses bourbon and tequila barrels
to age some of its offerings.
Location: Edwards;
crazymountainbrewery.com
Beer: Lawyers, Guns & Money (barley
wine-style ale; ABV: 10 percent)
Brew-haha: The Vail Valley’s first production brewery recently bought the
old Breckenridge Brewery headquarters
in Denver as its second location.
Location: Denver; crookedstave.com
Beer: Colorado Wild Sage Mountain
Saison (farmhouse ale; ABV: 7.2 percent)
Brew-haha: With its taproom located
in The Source artisan market in River
North, this brewery is known for its
experimental barrel-aged beers.
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Location: Parker;
elkmountainbrewing.com
Beer: Ghost Town Brown (American
brown ale; ABV: 5.3 percent)
Brew-haha: Launched by husband-wife
team Tom and Marcia Bell in 2009, this
microbrewery is known for German
beers with a twist. And if you stop by
with non-drinkers, homemade root beer
and orange soda can be found on tap.
Location: Denver;
epicbrewing.com
Beer: The Gourdian (pumpkin ale;
ABV: 5.2 percent)
Brew-haha: Originally opened in Salt
Lake City, Epic expanded with a second
location in Denver’s River North district
in 2013, brewing up more than 39 beers
and raking in a slew of awards.
Location: Estes Park; epbrewery.com
Beer: Stinger Wild Honey Wheat
(American wheat ale; ABV: 6 percent)
Brew-haha: The popular Stinger is
made with six pounds of ambrosia
honey added to every barrel, offering
sweetness, while coriander and chamomile-spiced hops give it a little kick.
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eddyline brewing
Location: Buena Vista;
eddylinebrewing.com
Beer: Crank Yanker IPA (IPA;
ABV: 7 percent)
Brew-haha: Eddyline opened its
production brewery in 2011, choosing
cans over bottles for their smaller
environmental impact, quality control
and outdoor-friendliness.
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coors brewing co.
elevation beer co.
Location: Poncha Springs;
elevationbeerco.com
Beer: Apis IV (Belgian honey quadruple; ABV: 10.7 percent)
Brew-haha: Four friends decided to
open a brewery highlighting barrelaged and specialty beers close to
outdoor adventures, and chose this
area, minutes from Monarch Ski Area,
to make their base camp in 2012.
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copper kettle brewing co.
elk mountain brewing
crazy mountain brewery
epic brewing
crooked stave artisan
beer project
esteS park brewery
grandma’s house
great divide brewing co.
grimm bros.
grist brewing co.
hall brewing co.
Location: Denver; grandmasbeer.co
Beer: Saison (saison; ABV: 6 percent)
Brew-haha: A collective brewery, this
South Broadway hub serves its own
beers, but also those of other brewers, allowing them to use Grandma’s
system and giving drinkers an everrotating tap list.
Location: Denver; greatdivide.com
Beer: Titan IPA (IPA; ABV: 7.1 percent)
Brew-haha: From its humble Ball Park
neighborhood beginnings in 1994, to a
new five-acre spread in River North, the
brewery’s Barrel Bar is the new beer
lovers’ place to be.
Location: Loveland;
grimmbrosbrewhouse.com
Beer: Batch 500 (imperial pilsner;
ABV: 7.5 percent)
Brew-haha: Inspired by the Grimm
fairy tales (and European beers), expect
names like Little Red Cap, Snow Drop
and 3 Golden Hairs).
Location: Highlands Ranch;
gristbrewingcompany.com
Beer: Berliner Weisse (kettle-soured
Berliner; ABV: 5.4 percent)
Brew-haha: Owner and founder Rob
Kevwitch, an organic chemist, and his
team offer five core beers, rotating in
more creative styles.
Location: Parker; hallbrewingco.com
Beer: Session Pale Ale (American pale
ale; ABV: 4.2 percent)
Brew-haha: Located on a farm, the
owners grow their own hops and
veggies in their 1-acre garden and also
host a brood of chickens.
september 2015 / DenverLifeMagazine.com
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annette slade
comrade Brewing
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Location: Loveland; crowhopbrewing.com
Beer: ’Rado’s Red Ale (Irish-style red;
ABV: 5.9 percent)
Brew-haha: One of its flagship beers,
’Rado’s won a gold medal at the 2014
GABF in the Irish red ale category.
Location: Denver; denverbeerco.com
Beer: Princess Yum Yum (raspberry
kolsch; ABV: 4.8 percent)
Brew-haha: The company, launched
in 2011, opened a $1.7 million canning
facility last year. Fun fact: The previous
job of co-owner Patrick Crawford?
Rocket scientist.
Location: Denver; dieboltbrewing.com
Beer: Anton Francois (French ale;
ABV: 5.5 percent)
Brew-haha: The French heritage of
father and son owners Dan and Jack
Diebolt run deep at this Sunnyside
brewery, influencing a number of
their beer styles.
Location: Dillon; dambrewery.com
Beer: Sweet George’s Brown (Englishstyle ale; ABV: 5.4 percent)
Brew-haha: Brewing around 1,700
barrels a year, the award-winning
Dillon Dam, opened in 1997, is one of
the country’s biggest independent
brewpubs.
Location: Aurora; breweria.com
Beer: Riot Red Rye Ale (rye ale; ABV:
5.5 percent)
Brew-haha: Dude’s Brews, which
opened in 2010, is the packaged-beer
arm of this father-and-son business
serving beer and pizza.
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Location: Denver; fictionbeer.com
Beer: Feely Effects (green tea chocolate
milk stout; ABV: 5.7 percent)
Brew-haha: The folks behind this brewery think good beer and good books go
hand in hand, and have created quaffs
inspired by literature—from Kerouac’s
“On the Road” to Huxley’s “Brave New
World” to Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”
Location: Denver; embracegoodtaste.com
Beer: Salted Caramel Porter (robust
porter with sea salt; ABV: 6.5 percent)
Brew-haha: Be sure to stop in to
check out the cool bar—crafted from
a Cessna airplane wing—at this South
Broadway spot.
Location: Fort Collins;
fortcollinsbrewery.com
Beer: Chocolate Stout (stout;
ABV: 5.3 percent)
Brew-haha: Start your Sundays off right
with a Brewery Power Yoga class—$15
gets you a sweat session plus a beer or
Bloody Mary (and proceeds benefit the
nonprofit FoCo Café). Namaste!
Location: Fort Collins; funkwerks.com
Beer: Raspberry Provincial (sour ale
brewed with raspberries;
ABV: 4.2 percent)
Brew-haha: Focusing on saisons,
Funkwerks was named Small Brewing
Company and Small Brewing Company
Brewer of the Year at the 2012 GABF.
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kannah creek brewing co.
left hand brewing co.
lone tree brewing co.
lowdown brewery + kitchen
new belgium
Location: Grand Junction;
kannahcreekbrewingco.com
Beer: The Demise of Ivan (imperial
stout; ABV: 11 percent)
Brew-haha: The Kannah Creek runs
from the Grand Mesa, an ancient
volcano, offering pure snowmelt that
the brewery turns into ale.
Location: Longmont;
lefthandbrewing.com
Beer: Good Juju (light ale brewed with
ginger; ABV: 4.5 percent)
Brew-haha: The company was named
in honor of Chief Niwot whose tribe
wintered in the area (“Niwot” means
left hand in Arapahoe).
Location: Lone Tree;
lonetreebrewingco.com
Beer: Outta Range (pale ale;
ABV: 5.7 percent)
Brew-haha: Through its monthly
charities program, the brewery donates
a percentage of all tasting room sales
to select nonprofits.
Location: Denver; lowdownbrewery.com
Beer: Patio Pounding Pilz (Bohemianstyle pilsner; ABV: 5.2 percent)
Brew-haha: Hungry? LowDown’s
seasonal menu takes pub food to
a new level with local, organic and
sustainable ingredients.
Location: Fort Collins; newbelgium.com
Beer: Slow Ride (session IPA;
ABV: 4.5 percent)
Brew-haha: America’s fourth-largest
craft brewer and eighth largest brewery, the company is opening a second
brewery in North Carolina next year.
crow hop brewing
annette slade
fiction brewing co.
denver beer co.
diebolt brewing co.
former future brewing co.
fort collins brewery
dillion dam brewery
funkwerks
september 2015 / DenverLifeMagazine.com
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DAD & dude’s brewERIA
golden city brewery
Location: Golden; gcbrewery.com
Beer: Evolution India Pale Ale
(IPA; ABV: 7.3 percent)
Brew-haha: Compete in a monthly
cribbage tournament at what locals
like to refer to as Golden’s secondlargest brewery.
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new planet
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odd 13 brewing
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Location: Fort Collins; odellbrewing.com
Beer: 90 Shilling Ale (Scottish-style ale;
ABV: 5.3 percent)
Brew-haha: Big on sustainability, Odell
sells all its used grain, yeast and hops
to a local dairy farmer—and named
its Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout beer
after him.
Location: Arvada; odysseybeerwerks.com
Beer: Psycho Penguin (vanilla porter;
ABV: 5.4 percent)
Brew-haha: Two long-time friends—a
former marketing pro and an engineer—turned their homebrew hobby
into a new profession.
odell brewing co.
odyssey beerwerks
Location: Boulder; newplanetbeer.com
Beer: Raspberry Ale (gluten-free ale;
ABV: 5 percent)
Brew-haha: Founded by Pedro
Gonzalez, who has Celiac disease, all
beers are gluten-free and a portion of
proceeds go to environmental causes.
Location: Lafayette; odd13brewing.com
Beer: Eric the Red (red IPA;
ABV: 7.1 percent)
Brew-haha: Each beer is given a
character name and likeliness, displayed in comic book-style artwork on
striking labels.
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paradox beer co.
pateros creek brewing co.
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Location: Longmont; oskarblues.com
Beer: Old Chub (Scotch ale;
ABV: 8 percent)
Brew-haha: In 2002, Oskar Blues
became the first American craft brewer
to can its own beer—Dale’s Pale Ale. A
second brewery is open in Brevard, NC.
Location: Divide;
paradoxbeercompany.com
Beer: Skully Barrel No. 18 (sour ale with
spices and apple juice; ABV: 7 percent)
Brew-haha: Beer is barrel-aged for
four months to several years, and then
infused with signature flavors (think
mango, salted caramel or coffee).
Location: Fort Collins;
pateroscreekbrewing.com
Beer: Cache la Porter (brown porter;
ABV: 5 percent)
Brew-haha: Besides its standards,
seasonals and one-offs, Pateros does a
one-off keg called The Outlaw on Thursdays. But hurry: It doesn’t last long and
when it’s gone, it’s gone.
Location: Monument;
pikespeakbrewing.com
Beer: Elephant Rock (IPA;
ABV: 7.7 percent)
Brew-haha: Proceeds from the Local 5
pale ale (available in September and
October) go to the Colorado Springs
Firefighters Association Local 5.
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What’s ABV?
Alcohol By Volume
(the portion of the
volume that is alcohol)
Chinese:
Gan bei (Gan bay)
German:
Prost (Prohst)
Irish Gaelic:
Sláinte (Slawn-cha)
French:
Santé (Sahn-tay)
Hebrew:
L’Chaim (La-hi-em) Italian:
Salute (Saw-loo-tay)
Japanese:
Kanpai (Kahn-pie)
Norwegian:
Skål (Skole) Spanish:
Salud (Sah-lood) Thai:
Chok dee (Chock dee)
Vietnamese:
Dô (Yo)
oskar blues brewery
pikes peak brewing co.
prost brewing
pug ryan’s
renegade brewing co.
revolution brewing
Location: Denver; prostbrewing.com
Beer: Marzen Oktoberfest (seasonal
lager; ABV: 5.8 percent)
Brew-haha: The German-style brewery
in the Lower Highlands, winner of a
2013 GABF gold medal for its Keller-Pils,
just celebrated its third anniversary.
Location: Dillon; pugryans.com
Beer: Dead Eye Dunkel (Munich-style
lager; ABV: 6 percent)
Brew-haha: Launched to complement
Pug Ryan’s Steakhouse, around since
1975, the brewery is now an awardwinning operation.
Location: Denver; renegadebrewing.com
Beer: Endpoint (E3) (triple IPA;
ABV: 11 percent)
Brew-haha: Ready for a deal? A $5
brewery tour of the First Avenue location gets you a pint glass to take home,
two 10-ounce beers and discounted
cans to-go.
Location: Paonia; revolution-brewing.com
Beer: Stout Ol’ Friend (stout;
ABV: 6.2 percent)
Brew-haha: Family-owned and operated, Revolution uses locally grown
hops and water from Mount Lamborn
springs in its beers.
september 2015 / DenverLifeMagazine.com
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annette slade
11 ways
to say
“Cheers!”
PURSUIT OF HOPPYNESS
After finding the right
spot, the stars aligned and
all roads lead to Fate.
The beery background: What’s in a name? If you ask Mike Lewinski, this brewery and restaurant
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fate brewing co.
bottle, annette slade; jeff griffith, zac henderson
Owner/founder: Mike Lewinski
Head brewer: Jeff Griffith (pictured)
Beer: Moirai Coffee (IPA; ABV: 7 percent)
Brew-haha: Beer’s not the only thing on
the menu at Fate. With a Yoder smoker
out back, enjoy freshly smoked meat
and barbecue (plus salads, sandwiches
and more) with your drinks.
was probably meant to be. In February of 2013, he had been managing the operations for Big
Red F Restaurant Group for about 10 years, which included West End Tavern, well known for
bringing in innovative and hard-to-find beers.
“I really wanted to develop my own place, though,” he says. Around that time, Lewinski met
Jeff Griffith (pictured above), head brewer at Golden City, and that sealed their, um, fates.
“We both wanted to develop beer you couldn’t find somewhere else,” Lewinski says. “Jeff kept
telling me, ‘If you ever do anything on your own, keep me in mind’.” But Lewinski and his wife
were expecting their second child, and she was on bed rest—which made starting a business feel
like a bad idea.
Destiny, however, had something else in mind: One day, out of the blue, a commercial broker
called. “She said, ‘I know you’re not looking, but I really want you to see this place’.” As far as Lewinski and Griffith are concerned, from that moment on, the stars aligned and all roads led to Fate.
“We had been thinking about a brewpub, and this was exactly the kind of space we wanted,”
Lewinski says. “People just kind of came out of the woodwork to help make it happen.” Now the
brewpub offers 30 tap handles, with a combination of five core Fate brews, as well as specialty
brews and collaborations with other breweries, and beers they host from different Colorado
brewers. Pair the beers with their menu of updated comfort foods and globally inspired classics.
Unique brewpoint: “We started doing this at a time when other breweries were doing 100 percent
German or 100 percent English, or high-gravity, or this or that, and people were really differentiating,” Lewinski says. “We wanted to do the exact opposite. We don’t want to limit ourselves at all.”
Instead, Fate tries to play with as many styles as possible. “We have the five core styles, of
course,” he says, “but from there, we just play, and try to be innovative and experiment as much
as we possibly can.”
MIKE SAYS: “I’m having such a blast. You know you have those bad days—but everyone has those—
but then I realize what my job is and what I’m doing. The only complaint I can have is that there
aren’t enough hours in the day. But at the end of the day, I can look back and know that we’re making beer, and we know that we’re making people happy with beer and food, and that’s just great.”
Drink this: Say “lye-muhs” when you order the Laimas, a German kölsch-style that won the gold
in its category at the 2014 Great American Beer Fest. Light and refreshing, with a mellow nobel
hops undertone and a sweet finish, in September, you’ll be able to find it in cans.
Find them here: 600 38th St., Boulder, 303.449.3283, fatebrewingcompany.com
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Location: Pagosa Springs;
riffraffbrewing.com
Beer: El Duende (green chili ale;
ABV: 5.4 percent)
Brew-haha: Located in a Victorian
house, Riff Raff scored a bronze medal
in the World Beer Cup competition
last year.
Location: Denver; rivernorthbrewery.com
Beer: White (whitbier; ABV: 5 percent)
Brew-haha: Focusing on Belgian-style
and American ales with a Belgian
twist, look for rare new barrel-aged or
specialty brews released each month.
Location: Carbondale;
roaringforkbeerco.com
Beer: Trippel (Belgian golden ale;
ABV: 8.5 percent)
Brew-haha: Each season, owner/
brewer Chase Engel (who has worked
for Ska, Oskar Blues and Aspen Brewing) rolls out two to three new beers.
Location: various locations;
rockbottom.com
Beer: Red Rocks Red; Englewood location (red ale; ABV: 5.4 percent)
Brew-haha: One of the country’s first
brewery restaurants and started in
Denver, Rock Bottom brewers have won
more than 200 national awards.
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Location: Castle Rock;
rockyardbrewing.com
Beer: New Memphis Gold Chili Beer
(golden ale; ABV: 5 percent)
Brew-haha: Hungry? Rockyard American
Grill has a full menu with great beer and
food pairing ideas (lobster ravioli with
Wildcat Wheat Ale, anyone?).
Location: Alamosa; slvbrewco.com
Beer: Valle Caliente (green chile lager;
ABV: 4.2 percent)
Brew-haha: Family owned with an
ample menu, the brewery/restaurant
is kid-friendly, serving homemade root
beer and black cherry cream soda.
Location: Boulder; sanitasbrewing.com
Beer: Saison Ale (farmhouse saison;
ABV: 5.8 percent)
Brew-haha: The six-pointed brewer’s
star icon on the company’s logo represents the ingredients of great beer:
malted barley, grain, hops, water, yeast
and the brewer.
Location: Boulder; shineboulder.com
Beer: Ahimsa (gluten-free ale;
ABV: 5.8 percent)
Brew-haha: One of the country’s few
women-owned breweries, Shine was
founded by triplet sisters, Jill, Jessica
and Jennifer Emich.
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ska brewing co.
steamworks brewing co.
storm peak brewing co.
strange craft beer co.
Location: Durango; skabrewing.com
Beer: Modus Hoperandi (IPA;
ABV: 6.8 percent)
Brew-haha: Grab a beer and head to
The Container Restaurant, repurposed
from shipping containers and located in
Ska’s beer garden, for pizza and snacks.
Location: Durango;
steamworksbrewing.com
Beer: Colorado Kolsch Ale (kolsch ale;
ABV: 4.8 percent)
Brew-haha: This local fave won a bronze
at the 2014 GABF for its Backside Stout, on
tap since the brewery opened in 1996.
Location: Steamboat Springs;
stormpeakbrewing.com
Beer: 4 Wire (pale ale; ABV: 6 percent)
Brew-haha: Take in stunning views of
Howelsen Hill and Sleeping Giant as
you grab a beer and some popcorn at
this brother-owned brewery.
Location: Denver; strangecraft.com
Beer: Cherry Kriek (wheat ale with
cherries; ABV: 5 percent)
Brew-haha: Strange partners with local
growers, spice shops, beer equipment
suppliers and other vendors to support
area businesses.
riff raff brewing
$1.15
billion
Overall economic impact
from the Colorado craft
beer industry in 2014,
according to a recent
study conducted by the
University of Colorado
Leeds School of Business
for the Colorado
Brewers Guild
1,673,686
Barrels of craft beer
produced per year in
Colorado (third in
the nation)
rockyard brewing co.
river north brewery
san luis valley brewing co.
roaring fork beer co.
sanitas brewing co.
rock bottom
shine brewing co.
Source: Brewers Association
24,395
Number of beer industry
jobs in Colorado in 2014
$19.6
BILLION
U.S. craft beer sales in
2014 (overall beer sales:
$101.5 billion)
Source: Brewers Association
september 2015 / DenverLifeMagazine.com
74
annette slade
Source: Beer Serves America report
PURSUIT OF HOPPYNESS
The beery background: It’s a tale as old as time—Seattle boy meets Denver girl, realizes how much
sunnier it is in Denver, moves here and starts a brewery in 2011. Now Scott Witsoe’s wife, Heather, helps out wherever she can, along with Pat McNerney, an avid homebrewer who worked at
several area pioneering breweries before signing on with Wit’s End for the long haul.
So small at its onset that it was at first considered a nanobrewery—brewing only one barrel
(31 gallons) at a time—the operation has since added on so that it now has a seven-barrel system,
located in an industrial park worth seeking out to taste at the source.
“We still use the one-barrel system to make smaller beers that don’t sell as much or try new
things,” Witsoe says. “But the larger one has allowed us to expand a bit, making sure that we can
keep our regular accounts offering our beers in heavy rotation.”
Those would be the ones listed on their website as “Super Friends,” and they offer the brewery’s core roster of five: Green Man Ale, Jean-Claude Van Blond, Super FL i.p.a., Kitchen Sink
Porter and Wilford, with two or three others that rotate seasonally.
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wit’s end brewing co.
Owner/founder/brewmaster:
Scott Witsoe
Head brewer: Pat McNerney
Beer: Jean-Claude Van Blond (Belgianstyle pale ale; ABV: 4.8 percent)
Brew-haha: Wit’s End offers the coolest
to-go “growlers” we’ve seen—40-ounce
metal canteen versions in stainless steel,
black or bright blue.
UNIQUE BREWPOINT: Witsoe says he
doesn’t want to come off sounding corny, but “brewing is something that I am deeply passionate
about. I love the process. I love
beer and the creative expression
of it.” He and McNerney try to
encourage the Wit’s End staff to
be artists, looking at the pint glass
as the canvas and the hops and
other ingredients as the paint.
“From a brewing philosophy
standpoint, I love all brewing
styles, and I respect pure styles,
but I’m also a huge fan of mixing
things up,” Witsoe says. After a
recent trip to Germany, where he
was impressed by the tiny craft
brewing scene slowly making
headway in a country with such
time-honored brewing traditions, he found himself nostalgic
for the U.S. brewing days of yore.
“Over there now, it’s what
America was like in 1990,” he
says. “It’s very cool. I want to
retain that in some way, integrating the technical ability and
exploring new styles, but also
remembering the history, paying
homage to the old ways.”
“I love all brewing styles, but I’m also a huge
fan of mixing things up.” —Scott Witsoe
Scott says: “One of my favorite quotes is by Isaac Newton, ‘If I have seen further than others, it is
zac henderson
by standing upon the shoulders of giants.’ I just try to embrace that in what I do, because there
have been some amazing people in this industry doing amazing things. I appreciate them.”
Drink this: Jean Claude Van Blond, the 2014 gold medal winner at the GABF for Belgian-style
Blonde or Pale Ale, is light on dough, with a fresh pineapple scent and hints of banana, lemon
and spice. Dry but satiny-textured, it has a fierce boldness worthy of its namesake.
Find them here: 2505 W. 2nd Ave., 303.459.4379, witsendbrewing.com
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Location: Telluride;
telluridebrewingco.com
Beer: Face Down Brown Ale (brown ale;
ABV: 5.7 percent)
Brew-haha: Since 2011, the
brewery has been in biz, earning
awards for beers made with Rocky
Mountain snowmelt.
Location: Lafayette; postbrewing.com
Beer: Howdy (American pilsner;
ABV: 4.5 percent)
Brew-haha: The brewery and chicken
joint’s name pays homage to its building’s former resident—VFW Post 1771.
Location: Del Norte; threebarrelbrew.com
Beer: Thurday Special (coconut brown
lager; ABV: 4.9 percent)
Brew-haha: Founded in 2005 as one
of the state’s smallest microbreweries,
this San Luis Valley spot uses locally
grown malt, hops and honey.
Location: Idaho Springs;
tommyknocker.com
Beer: Imperial Nut Brown (brown ale;
ABV: 9 percent)
Brew-haha: Should you ever find yourself in Finland, be sure to schedule a stop
at Tommyknocker’s Helsinki location.
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telluride brewing co.
BEER FEST
In its 34th year, the Great
American Beer Festival
(GABF) takes place
September 24-26 at the
Colorado Convention
Center. Featuring more
than 3,500 beers from
more than 800 breweries, the event, organized
by the Boulder-based
Brewers Association, is
the United States’
premier beer festival
and competition.
•
Think you might like to
attend? Sorry to break
it to you, but this year’s
60,000 tickets sold out
in one hour, 17 minutes.
Yes, there’s a tear in our
beer, too.
•
The first GABF was held
at Boulder’s Harvest
House Hotel in 1982,
with 22 breweries,
40 beers and 800
attendees.
trinity brewing
the post brewing co.
three barrel brewing
trve brewing co.
twisted pine brewing co.
Location: Colorado Springs;
trinitybrew.com
Beer: Red Swingline (IPA Primitif;
ABV: 4.1 percent)
Brew-haha: Work off the free bacon
you score with each beer on Tuesdays
by joining Trinity’s running group that
meets Mondays.
Location: Denver; trvebrewing.com
Beer: Life’s Trade (farmhouse ale;
ABV: 4.7 percent)
Brew-haha: Enjoy a little head-banging
with your beer? TRVE, a heavy
metal-themed brewery, may be your
new go-to spot.
Location: Boulder;
twistedpinebrewing.com
Beer: Ghost Face Killah (chili wheat
beer; ABV: 5.2 percent)
Brew-haha: The brewery’s Big Shot
Espresso Stout has won three GABF
medals (in 2012, 2010 and 2008).
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tommyknocker brewery
upslope brewing co.
Location: Boulder; upslopebrewing.com
Beer: Thai Style White IPA (ale brewed
with Asian-inspired spices;
ABV: 6.5 percent)
Brew-haha: Upslope runs two
taprooms—and should you choose to
perform at the Lee Hill location’s open mic
night on Mondays, you’ll get a free beer.
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verboten brewing
walnut brewery
wynkoop brewing co.
yak & yeti
Location: Loveland;
verbotenbrewing.com
Beer: Killer Boots (caramel porter;
ABV: 6 percent)
Brew-haha: Verboten uses fruits and
spices and barrel aging, plus seasonal and local ingredients, to make its
distinct beers.
Location: Boulder; walnutbrewery.com
Beer: St. James (Irish red ale;
ABV: 4.8 percent)
Brew-haha: A block off Boulder’s historic Pearl Street, this spot, open since
1990, serves tasty pub grub, too.
Location: Denver; wynkoop.com
Beer: Colorojo (imperial red ale;
ABV: 8.2 percent)
Brew-haha: Colorado’s oldest brewpub,
founded by Gov. John Hickenlooper in
1988, Wynkoop makes more than 40
styles of beer.
Location: Arvada; theyakandyeti.com
Beer: Chai Milk Stout (milk stout with
spices; ABV: 5.1 percent)
Brew-haha: In addition to serving
award-winning beer, this place also is a
full restaurant serving delicious
Indian-Nepalese food.
september 2015 / DenverLifeMagazine.com
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