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Colorado breweries we've visited in the rest of the state: 2020 update
One more roundup before we leave, alas. Regions are still super approximate. I updated some previous rankings as well. Tallies: 137 in the Denver metro; 66 in the rest of the Front Range; 33 in the rest of the state. We've visited a total of 236 breweries, cideries, and meaderies in Colorado.
The Rest of the Front Range
300 Suns (Longmont): This brewery served me both a smoked cherry sour (YES) and a red ale with a distinct barf aroma, so I'm really split here. Overall, I'm not excited.
Avery (Boulder): Say what you will about their distributed lineup, but their taproom has some of the cooler small-batch brews out there. We got to attend their invitational twice; it's one of the best beer fests around.
Berthoud Brewing (Berthoud): The better of two options in this tiny town. That's not saying much.
Black Bottle (Fort Collins): Big tap list with lots of variety, usually good, sometimes uneven. I once found a lichtenhainer on tap here. I may have squealed.
Black Forest (Black Forest): Surprisingly good brewery in a tiny forest town just outside the Springs. Better-than-expected beers, sizeable lineup, nice people.
Brues Alehouse (Pueblo): I guess they're the best thing I've found in Pueblo, but that's a backhanded compliment if ever I gave one.
Buckhorn (Loveland, RIP): A brewery the size of a small living room with 4-5 beers on tap. The brewer came and chatted with us for a while and seemed like a super nice guy. They made some really cool stuff, including a no-boil, no-hop lacto stout that blew my mind. They shut down not long after we went.
Cerberus (Colorado Springs): A highlight in the Springs with very good food, too.
City Star (Berthoud): Nice tap list on their website seems to be months old. Neither of us cared for their actual lineup much.
Cogstone (Colorado Springs): Friends told us to go to try their chips 'n' salsa beer, which, yes, does taste like chips 'n' salsa. We didn't love anything here.
DC Oakes (Fort Collins): Standard-issue brewpub with its own beer. Nothing to write home about.
Dostal Alley Casino & Brewpub (Central City): Central City is a gorgeous Old West mountain town where the soulless casinos now seem to outnumber any sort of non-sleazy business. Naturally, when we found a casino with a built-in brewpub boasting GABF medals for their dry stout, we went. Unsurprisingly, the place was sleazy and crappy, with a few phoning-it-in beers and slot machines built into the bar.
Dratz (Loveland): They were brand new when we visited, and very nice. The beer was... not good. Hope they work out their initial difficulties.
Echo Brewing (Frederick): Just three weeks after visiting, I remember nothing at all about this brewery, but my Untappd ratings of their handful of run-of-the-mill styles were low. Evidently I wasn't impressed.
Elevation (Poncha Springs): Does this still qualify as the Front Range? I flippin' adore Elevation, makers of the single best pilsner I've ever had. One of the very best middle-of-nowhere, small-town breweries I've been to.
Elizabeth Brewing (Elizabeth): Small-town brewery in conservative Douglas County. Pretty meh throughout.
Goat Patch (Colorado Springs): We finally visited when we were stuck in the Springs after a blizzard closed all roads back to Denver. Pretty good, not amazing brewery in what looks like a former high school converted to gentrified hipster mall space.
Gold Camp (Colorado Springs, apparently no website): We felt a bit guilty because we got to meet their fabulously nice brewer, but just didn't care for their beers. They seemed closer to homebrew quality at the moment.
Great Storm (Colorado Springs, RIP): Really nice with some unusual styles and creative ideas. Friendly people. Closed soon after our visit; now Atrevida Brewing.
Grimm Brothers (Loveland): Cool taproom, some really nice beers.
Grossen Bart (Longmont): I was kind of disappointed. A lot of beers seemed really off style or just unremarkable.
Gunbarrel (Boulder): Good IPAs and a nice rosemary beer.
High Hops (Windsor): Gorgeous patio with view of hop field and gardening center, with a small distillery attached. The beer isdecent, not remarkable.
Industrial Revolution (Erie): I wanted to like them, based on their shtick. I think we left all of our beers unfinished. Nope.
Intersect (Fort Collins): Unabashed hipster taproom with piles of old records. Nice folks. Beer generally good, nothing great.
Iron Bird (Colorado Springs): Nice, but largely unremarkable.
Jessup Farm Barrel House (Fort Collins): My surprise favorite find on our second CO vacation and one of the very best wild/sour breweries around.
Kettle & Spoke (Boulder): We kind of just wound up here because they're down the street from Redstone. We found a tiny taproom inside a bike shop with some of the best IPAs in recent memory, and a fantastically nice brewer who offered us an impromptu tour of the production space.
Left Hand (Longmont): They're exceptionally solid, and I wish they'd strut their stuff a little more. Their Juju series of ginger brews has a special place in my heart.
Local Relic (Colorado Springs): An experimental brewery in a gorgeous old church that prides itself on never making the same beer twice. They blew our minds the first time we went, and we were in their expensive-ass beer club for a while. Their "no repeats" philosophy unfortunately means that they frequently have several super similar batches on tap at once, a lot of their beers could really use a trial run, and they often bottle things before they're ready. After a few too many bottle bombs and undrinkable yeast shakes, we pretty much stopped going.
Locust Cider (Boulder): The standard cidery model where everything's inoffensive and the business model is "bring that friend who doesn't do gluten." I just don't care about this form of cider at this point, but they do it just as well as everyone else.
Loveland Aleworks (Loveland): We like Verboten more, but these guys are another fabulous Loveland spot.
McClellan's (Fort Collins): I don't care much for British styles, but we enjoyed the beer, food, and a great conversation with a member of the brewing family here.
Nano 108 (Colorado Springs): Tiny taproom that we really liked in 2015. We went back in 2018 and found some stellar options (their rauchbier omggggggg) and several brews with off-flavor issues. Come for the German styles here; I'm not crazy about their IPAs.
New Belgium (Fort Collins): Did the tour, visited the taproom. They seem like a good company that just embraces inoffensiveness a bit too hard. Then they sold out, and now I haven't bought anything from them in years.
The Old Mine (Erie): Good cidery in a gorgeous old brick building in a tiny town.
Open Door (Longmont): Had good lagers and saisons here. Super nice people in a chill spot.
Periodic (Leadville): At 11k+ feet, this must be the highest craft brewery we've visited. OK beer, spotty service.
Phantom Canyon (Colorado Springs): Great beer and service the first time we came, mediocre at best the second time, and only OK ever since. Food is pretty good.
Redstone (Boulder): Likely the biggest of the tiny handful of meaderies currently in CO. Their stuff trends sweeter than I like, but they have some cool varieties (sunflower mead = yes) and wonderful taproom staff.
Rocky Mountain (Colorado Springs): Long-running brewery on the outskirts of the Springs. Some sugary sours and hard lemonades that weren't up my alley, along with a very good barleywine. We chatted with the brewmaster for a while, who was a super nice guy.
Royal Gorge (Cañon City): The only brewery in town and one of few places to grab a bite. They only had one or two of their own beers, which were homebrew quality. Keep driving.
Shamrock (Pueblo): Like everything about Pueblo, this place was a total disappointment.
Soulcraft (Salida): Another pretty good small-town brewery a few miles from Elevation.
St. Vrain (Longmont): Really excellent cidery with multiple ginger ciders and great guest taps.
Timnath Beerwerks (Timnath): Extremely solid, nice people. They're also more or less down the street from the Swetsville Zoo, one of my favorite roadside attractions in the state.
Tommyknocker (Idaho Springs): Gimmicky and never better than all right. Two blocks from Westbound & Down, which is the indisputably better option.
Trinity (Colorado Springs): I've no idea how it took me several years to get to the only brett-focused brewery I've ever found. Huge, consistently good tap and bottle list, great food with good veg options, nice staff. My best brewery find in the Springs to date. They sold in 2020, and we haven't been back since.
Twisted Pine (Boulder): Solid with some interesting ideas, including a good basil beer.
Uhl (Boulder): They took over Wild Woods' space in 2020 and opened during the shutdown. They had a few promising weird options, including an unexpectedly lovely peanut butter beer.
Verboten (Loveland): Our absolute favorite in town. Creative, irreverent, and spot-on.
WeldWerks (Greeley): I fussed for so long about wanting to come here that it was inevitably kind of a letdown when we finally went. Their beers are good, make no mistake, but definitely not "drive an hour and a half to get it" good.
Westbound & Down (Idaho Springs): Another hypey place. The beer, food, and service were all good on our first visit but sorta uneven on subsequent trips.
Wild Cider (Longmont): Standard-issue, above-average cider. Lovely outdoor seating with a gorgeous mountain view.
Wild Woods (Boulder, RIP): We stumbled in during their anniversary party and loved them. Their smoked yam beer rocked my world. They sadly closed in 2019.
Wiley Roots (Greeley): ... and now I'm going to contradict the above statement re: WeldWerks directly. Wiley Roots, just around the corner from the above, is worth that drive. Their wild ales are lovely, and while their adjunct stouts can be hit and miss, they're immensely solid overall. Massive pluses include an unusually nice taproom crew, a fluffy brew cat with her own Instagram account (@midnightbrewcat), and the lovely Syntax Distillery next door.
Zwei (Fort Collins): Kicks the crap out of Denver's Prost as far as I'm concerned. Good beer, great people.
The Rest of Colorado (South, West, Central)
Current category tally: 33
Angry James (Silverthorne): Pretty much anywhere I go on the way home from the stellar Outer Range isn't really going to get my heart rate up, but we enjoyed our stop here.
BierWerks (Woodland Park): Most of their taps were other people's beers, and the couple of in-house brews we managed to try ranged from so-so to not good. Oh, and they have a Nazi map on the wall for some damn reason!? Ute Pass across the street is an all-around better option.
Breckenridge (Breckenridge): Macro brewery in the "guess you have to go once" category. The beer was exceedingly mediocre, food was so-so.
BREW Pub & Kitchen (Durango): My favorite in Durango tbh. Oh, and their food is good, too.
Broken Compass (Breckenridge): Solid.
Carver (Durango): Nice people, good brunch. Their beer won't blow your mind, but it's usually solid.
Casey Brewing and Blending (Glenwood Springs): We bought tour tickets and made a weekend trip out just to go to Casey. My affection for sours is on a steep downward slope, but Casey is stellar, and the tour was delightful and totally worth doing.
Colorado Vineyards/Rocky Mountain Winery (Palisade): Including them here because they make a lot of mead, which I like, but don't love.
Eddyline (Buena Vista): Middlin', IPA-focused place in the horrifically named Byoona Vista.
Glenwood Canyon (Glenwood Springs): One of those breweries that only seem to stay in business because they have a central spot in a tourist town. Nothing interesting here.
Guanella Pass (Georgetown): Most of the beers we tried were yeasty af. No love from me.
High Alpine (Gunnison): We stopped here after a trip to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, out of our minds with natural beauty. The beer was, unsurprisingly, nothing to write home about, but the food was outstanding and the staff was delightful.
Highside (Frisco): It's hard to look good when you share a ZIP code with Outer Range. Run-of-the-mill small-town brewery with food, nothing to write home about.
Mad Jack's Mountain Brewing (Bailey): We pulled off 285 here one afternoon to get out of the rain. Small tap list and tiny tap room, but pretty good beer and a killer food truck out back.
Main Street (Cortez): Another small-town brewery with not much going.
Meadery of the Rockies (Palisade): The better Palisade meadery. Again, they like their mead sweeter and gloopier than I do, but it's lovely in small quantities.
Mr. Grumpy Pants/Ourayle House (Ouray): I like the guy and his shtick a bit more than the beer, but it's definitely the better brewery in town.
Ouray Brewery (Ouray): The douchey tourist trap option in beautiful Ouray.
Outer Range (Frisco): The hype is real. ORB makes hands down the best NEIPAs I've ever had, and a stunning range of them. "Downside:" NEIPAs are basically all they do. They have a couple of Belgians, but if you're not into hazy IPAs, this place really isn't for you.
Palisade Brewing (Palisade): Solid, unexciting.
Paradox (Divide): One of the best sour-focused breweries around. They may have the most stunning mountain view of any brewery I've been in this state, and that's saying a lot.
Riff Raff (Pagosa Springs): One of those breweries where they put your pint down in front of you, you take one sip, and you're ready to head out.
San Luis Valley (Alamosa): We stopped here on our way back from my birthday trip in 2019, which coincided with a blizzard that shut down the entire Denver metro. Their beer and food were forgettable, but the fact that I was worried sick about getting home to our pets (we didn't until 24 hours later) the whole time we were there didn't help matters.
South Park (Fairplay): We stopped here to escape a crazy cloudburst. Beer was OK, food was OK, neither was anything I really need again.
Steamworks (Durango): Ranges from really good to barely decent. Decent food.
Telluride Brewing (you guessed it - Telluride): Quite good brewery with nice people in one of the more picturesque mountain towns out there.
Three Barrel (Del Norte): Ah, Colorado. Where else do towns of 1,700 in the middle of nowhere have breweries with sahtis and sours on the menu?
Two Rascals (Montrose): Unremarkable.
Ute Pass (Woodland Park, RIP): This brewery had four different wits on tap, including two black wits.
Vino Salida (Salida): Yes, tiny Salida and Poncha Springs have two good breweries, a distillery, and a meadery. Dayum.
Wolfe (Pagosa Springs): Pleasant small-town brewery.
Colorado Breweries We've Visited vol. 2: Rest of the State
The prior posts are now archived, so I'm starting a pair of new threads. We're still finding new breweries, cideries, and meaderies to try in the Denver metro area and all over the state. Note: Regions are for convenience only. I reserve the right to be wrong about categorizing some out-of-the-way spots.
The Rest of the Front Range
Current category tally: 56
300 Suns (Longmont): This brewery served me both a smoked cherry sour (YES) and a red ale with a distinct barf aroma, so I'm really split here. Overall, I'm not excited.
Avery (Boulder): Say what you will about their distributed lineup, but their taproom has some of the cooler small-batch brews out there.
Berthoud Brewing (Berthoud): The better of two options in this tiny town.
Black Bottle (Fort Collins): Big tap list with lots of variety and some unusual styles. On my last visit, I found a lichtenhainer on tap here. I may have squealed.
Black Forest (Black Forest): Surprisingly good brewery in a tiny forest town just outside the Springs. Better-than-expected beers, sizeable lineup, nice people.
Cerberus (Colorado Springs): A highlight in the Springs with very good food, too.
City Star (Berthoud): Great tap list on their website seems to be months old. Neither of us cared for their actual lineup much.
Colorado Mountain Brewery at the Roundhouse (Colorado Springs): Bland gastropub with blah beer. Note: Years later, I was at another location of theirs for an event. Decent food, beer definitely not worth buying.
Dostal Alley Casino & Brewpub (Central City): Central City is a gorgeous Old West mountain town where the soulless casinos now seem to outnumber any sort of non-sleazy business. Naturally, when we found a casino with a built-in brewpub boasting GABF medals for their dry stout, we went. Unsurprisingly, the place was sleazy and crappy, with a few phoning-it-in beers and slot machines built into the bar.
Dratz (Loveland): They were brand new when we visited, and very nice. The beer was... not good. I'll come back in a few years.
Echo Brewing (Frederick): Just three weeks after visiting, I remember nothing at all about this brewery, but my Untappd ratings of their handful of run-of-the-mill styles were low. Evidently I wasn't impressed.
Elevation (Poncha Springs): Does this still qualify as the Front Range? I flippin' adore Elevation, makers of the single best pils I've ever had. One of the very best middle-of-nowhere, small-town breweries I've been to.
Goat Patch (Colorado Springs): We finally visited when we were stuck in the Springs after a blizzard closed all roads back to Denver. Pretty good, not amazing brewery in what looks like a former high school converted to gentrified hipster mall space.
Gold Camp (Colorado Springs, apparently no website): We felt a bit guilty because we got to meet their fabulously nice brewer, but just didn't care for their beers. They seemed closer to homebrew quality at the moment.
Great Storm (Colorado Springs): Really nice with some unusual styles and creative ideas. Friendly people. Closed soon after our visit; now Atrevida Brewing.
Grimm Brothers (Loveland): Cool taproom, some really nice beers.
Grossen Bart (Longmont): I was kind of disappointed. A lot of beers seemed really off style or just unremarkable.
Gunbarrel (Boulder): Good IPAs and a nice rosemary beer.
High Hops (Windsor): Gorgeous patio with view of hop field and gardening center. The beer was decent, not remarkable.
Industrial Revolution (Erie): I wanted to like them, based on their shtick. I think we left all of our beers unfinished. Nope.
Intersect (Fort Collins): Unabashed hipster taproom with piles of old records. Nice folks. Beer generally good, nothing great.
Iron Bird (Colorado Springs): Nice, but largely unremarkable.
Jessup Farm Barrel House (Fort Collins): My surprise favorite find on our second CO vacation and one of the very best wild/farmhouse breweries I've found to date.
Kettle & Spoke (Boulder): We kind of just wound up here because they're down the street from Redstone. We found a tiny taproom inside a bike shop with some of the best IPAs in recent memory, and a fantastically nice brewer who offered us an impromptu tour of the production space.
Left Hand (Longmont): Another brewery that could do more with what they've got. Their Juju series of ginger brews has a special place in my heart.
Local Relic (Colorado Springs): One of my absolute favorite finds in recent years. With a taproom in a 120-year-old church building, this brewery churns out 200+ original batches a year of the kinds of experimental stuff I constantly wish more brewers would tackle. Ridiculously nice and knowledgeable people, and good food on site, too. Yeah, we signed up for an expensive-ass beer club that’s an hour away.
Loveland Aleworks (Loveland): We like Verboten more, but these guys are another fabulous Loveland spot.
McClellan's (Fort Collins): I don't care much for British styles, but we enjoyed the beer, food, and a great conversation with a member of the brewing family here.
Nano 108 (Colorado Springs): Tiny taproom that we really liked in 2015. We went back in 2018 and found some stellar options (their rauchbier omggggggg) and several brews with off-flavor issues. Come for the German styles here; I'm not crazy about their IPAs.
New Belgium (Fort Collins): Did the tour, visited the taproom. They seem like a great company that just embraces inoffensiveness a bit too hard. Live a little, New Belgium.
The Old Mine (Erie): Good cidery in a gorgeous old brick building in a tiny town.
Open Door (Longmont): Had outstanding lagers and saisons here. Super nice people in a chill spot.
Periodic (Leadville): At 11k+ feet, this must be the highest craft brewery we've visited. OK beer, crappy service.
Phantom Canyon (Colorado Springs): Great beer and service the first time we came, mediocre at best the second time, and only OK ever since. Food is pretty good.
Redstone (Boulder): Likely the biggest of the tiny handful of meaderies currently in CO. Their stuff trends sweeter than I like, but they have some cool varieties (sunflower mead = yes) and wonderful taproom staff.
Rocky Mountain (Colorado Springs): Long-running brewery on the outskirts of the Springs. Some sugary sours and hard lemonades that weren't really up my alley, along with a very good barleywine. We chatted with the brewmaster for a while, who was a super nice guy.
Royal Gorge (Cañon City): The only brewery in town and one of few places to grab a bite. They only had one or two of their own beers, which were homebrew quality. Keep driving.
Shamrock (Pueblo): Like everything about Pueblo, this place was a total disappointment.
Soulcraft (Salida): Another pretty good small-town brewery a few miles from Elevation.
St. Vrain (Longmont): Really excellent cidery with multiple ginger ciders and great guest taps.
Tommyknocker (Idaho Springs): Heavy tendency toward the gimmicky with no real stand-outs for me. Two blocks from Westbound & Down, which is the indisputably better option.
Trinity (Colorado Springs): I've no idea how it took me several years to get to the only brett-focused brewery I've ever found. Huge, consistently excellent tap and bottle list, great food with good veg options, nice staff. My best brewery find in the Springs to date.
Twisted Pine (Boulder): Solid with some interesting ideas, including a good basil beer.
Verboten (Loveland): Our absolute favorite in town. Creative, irreverent, and spot-on.
WeldWerks (Greeley): I fussed for so long about wanting to come here that it was inevitably kind of a letdown when we finally went. Their beers are good, make no mistake, but definitely not "drive an hour and a half to get it" good.
Westbound & Down (Idaho Springs): We came here at enthusiastic recommendations from several friends and strangers. The beer, food, and service were all good on our first visit, straight-up disappointing on our second.
Wild Woods (Boulder): We stumbled in during their anniversary party and loved them. Their smoked yam beer rocks my world.
Wiley Roots (Greeley): ... and now I'm going to contradict the above statement re: WeldWerks directly. Wiley Roots, just around the corner from the above, is worth that drive. Their wild ales aren't as good as, say, TRVE's to me, and their adjunct stouts can be hit and miss, but they're immensely solid overall. Massive pluses include an unusually nice taproom crew, a fluffy brew cat with her own Instagram account (@midnightbrewcat), and the lovely Syntax Distillery next door.
Zwei (Fort Collins): Kicks the crap out of Denver's Prost as far as I'm concerned. Great beer, great people.
The Rest of Colorado (South, West, Central)
Current category tally: 29
Angry James (Silverthorne): Pretty much anywhere I go on the way home from the stellar Outer Range isn't really going to get my heart rate up, but we enjoyed our stop here.
BierWerks (Woodland Park): Most of their taps were other people's beers, and the couple of in-house brews we managed to try ranged from so-so to not good. Oh, and they have a Nazi map on the wall for some damn reason!? Ute Pass across the street is an all-around better option.
BREW Pub & Kitchen (Durango): My favorite in Durango tbh. Oh, and their food is good, too.
Carver (Durango): Nice people, good brunch. Their beer won't blow your mind, but it's usually solid.
Casey Brewing and Blending (Glenwood Springs): We bought tour tickets and made a weekend trip out just to go to Casey. My affection for sours is on a steep downward slope, but Casey is stellar, and the tour was delightful and totally worth doing.
Colorado Vineyards/Rocky Mountain Winery (Palisade): Including them here because they make a lot of mead, which I like, but don't love.
Glenwood Canyon (Glenwood Springs): One of those breweries that only seem to stay in business because they have a central spot in a tourist town. Nothing interesting here.
Guanella Pass (Georgetown): Most of the beers we tried were yeasty af. No love from me.
High Alpine (Gunnison): We stopped here after a trip to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, out of our minds with natural beauty. The beer was, unsurprisingly, nothing to write home about, but the food was outstanding and the staff was delightful.
Highside (Frisco): It's hard to look good when you share a ZIP code with Outer Range. Run-of-the-mill small-town brewery with food, nothing to write home about.
Mad Jack's Mountain Brewing (Bailey): We pulled off 285 here one afternoon to get out of the rain. Small tap list and tiny tap room, but pretty good beer and a killer food truck out back.
Main Street (Cortez): Another small-town brewery with not much going.
Meadery of the Rockies (Palisade): The better Palisade meadery. Again, they like their mead sweeter and gloopier than I do, but it's lovely in small quantities.
Mr. Grumpy Pants/Ourayle House (Ouray): I like the guy and his shtick a bit more than the beer, but it's definitely the better brewery in town.
Ouray Brewery (Ouray): The douchey tourist trap option in beautiful Ouray.
Outer Range (Frisco): The hype is real. ORB makes hands down the best NEIPAs I've ever had, and a stunning range of them. "Downside:" NEIPAs are basically all they do. They have a couple of Belgians, but if you're not into hazy IPAs, this place really isn't for you.
Palisade Brewing (Palisade): Solid, unexciting.
Riff Raff (Pagosa Springs): One of those breweries where they put your pint down in front of you, you take one sip, and you're ready to head out.
San Luis Valley (Alamosa): We stopped here on our way back from my birthday trip in 2019, which coincided with a blizzard that shut down the entire Denver metro. I think their beer and food were forgettable, but the fact that I was worried sick about getting home to our pets (we didn't until 24 hours later) the whole time we were there didn't help matters one bit.
South Park Brewing (Fairplay): We stopped here to escape a crazy cloudburst. Beer was OK, food was OK, neither was anything I really need again.
Steamworks (Durango): Ranges from really good to barely decent. Decent food.
Telluride Brewing (you guessed it - Telluride): Quite good brewery with nice people in one of the more picturesque mountain towns out there.
Three Barrel (Del Norte): Ah, Colorado. Where else do towns of 1,700 in the middle of nowhere have breweries with sahtis and sours on the menu?
Two Rascals (Montrose): Unremarkable.
Ute Pass (Woodland Park): This brewery had four different wits on tap, including two black wits.
Vino Salida (Salida): Yes, tiny Salida and Poncha Springs have two good breweries, a distillery, and a meadery. Dayum.
Wolfe (Pagosa Springs): Pleasant small-town brewery.
The Great Colorado Beer Jamboree 2: Breweries we’ve visited outside the Denver area
In addition to our ongoing explorations in the Denver area, we also continue to explore craft breweries in the rest of the state. This, too, shall be an ongoing list. Note: Regions are for convenience only. I reserve the right to be wrong about categorizing some out-of-the-way spots.
The Rest of the Front Range
Current category tally: 42
300 Suns (Longmont): This brewery served me both a smoked cherry sour (YES) and a red ale with a distinct barf aroma, so I'm really split here. Overall, I'm not excited about 'em.
Avery (Boulder): Say what you will about their distributed lineup, but their taproom has some of the cooler small-batch brews out there.
Black Bottle (Fort Collins): Big tap list with lots of variety and some unusual styles. On my last visit, I found a lichtenhainer on tap here. I may have squealed.
Cerberus (Colorado Springs): Absolute highlight in CO Springs with very good food, too.
Colorado Mountain Brewery at the Roundhouse (Colorado Springs): Bland gastropub with blah beer. Note: Years later, I was at another location of theirs for an event. Decent food, beer definitely not worth buying.
Dostal Alley Casino & Brewpub (Central City): Central City is a gorgeous Old West mountain town where the soulless casinos now seem to outnumber any sort of non-sleazy business. Naturally, when we found a casino with a built-in brewpub boasting GABF medals for their dry stout, we went. Unsurprisingly, the place was sleazy and crappy, with a few phoning-it-in beers and slot machines built into the bar.
Elevation (Poncha Springs): Does this still qualify as the Front Range? I flippin' adore Elevation, makers of the best pils I've ever had. One of the very best middle-of-nowhere, small-town breweries I've been to.
Gold Camp (Colorado Springs, apparently no website): We felt a bit guilty because we got to meet their fabulously nice brewer, but just didn't care for their beers. They seemed closer to homebrew quality at the moment.
Great Storm (Colorado Springs): Really nice with some unusual styles and creative ideas. Friendly people.
Grimm Brothers (Loveland): Cool taproom, some really nice beers
Gunbarrel (Boulder): Good IPAs and a nice rosemary beer.
Iron Bird (Colorado Springs): Nice, but largely unremarkable.
Jessup Farm Barrel House (Fort Collins): My surprise favorite find on our second CO vacation and one of the very best wild/farmhouse breweries I've found to date.
Kettle & Spoke (Boulder): We kind of just wound up here because they're down the street from Redstone. We found a tiny taproom inside a bike shop with some of the best IPAs in recent memory, and a fantastically nice brewer who offered us an impromptu tour of the production space.
Left Hand (Longmont): Another brewery that could do more with what they've got. Their Juju series of ginger brews has a special place in my heart.
Local Relic (Colorado Springs): One of my absolute favorite finds in recent years. With a taproom in a 120-year-old church building, this brewery churns out 200+ original batches a year of the kinds of experimental stuff I constantly wish more brewers would tackle. Often flawless execution, ridiculously nice and knowledgeable people, and good food on site, too. Yeah, we signed up for an expensive-ass beer club that’s an hour away.
Loveland Aleworks (Loveland): We like Verboten more, but these guys are another fabulous Loveland spot.
McClellan's (Fort Collins): I don't care much for British styles, but we enjoyed the beer, food, and a great conversation with a member of the brewing family here.
Nano 108 (Colorado Springs): Tiny taproom that we really liked in 2015. We went back in 2018 and found some stellar options (their rauchbier omggggggg) and several brews with off-flavor issues. Come for the German styles here; I'm not crazy about their IPAs.
New Belgium (Fort Collins): Did the tour, visited the taproom. They seem like a great company that just embraces inoffensiveness a bit too hard. Live a little, New Belgium.
The Old Mine (Erie): Good cidery in a gorgeous old brick building in a tiny town.
Open Door (Longmont): Had outstanding lagers and saisons here. Super nice people in a chill spot.
Periodic (Leadville): At 11k+ feet, this must be the highest craft brewery we've visited. OK beer, crappy service.
Phantom Canyon (Colorado Springs): Great beer and service the first time we came and mediocre at best the second time. Food is pretty good.
Redstone (Boulder): Likely the biggest of the tiny handful of meaderies currently in CO. Their stuff trends sweeter than I like, but they have some cool varieties (sunflower mead = yes) and wonderful taproom staff.
Royal Gorge (Cañon City): The only brewery in town and one of few places to grab a bite. They only had one or two of their own beers, which were homebrew quality. Keep driving.
Shamrock (Pueblo): Like everything about Pueblo, this place was a total disappointment.
Soulcraft (Salida): Another pretty good small-town brewery a few miles from Elevation.
St. Vrain (Longmont): Really excellent cidery with multiple ginger ciders and great guest taps.
Tommyknocker (Idaho Springs): Heavy tendency toward the gimmicky with no real stand-outs for me. Two blocks from Westbound & Down, which is the indisputably better option.
Twisted Pine (Boulder): Solid with some interesting ideas, including a good basil beer.
Verboten (Loveland): Our absolute favorite in town. Creative, irreverent, and spot-on.
WeldWerks (Greeley): I fussed for so long about wanting to come here that it was inevitably kind of a letdown when we finally went. Their beers are good, make no mistake, but definitely not "drive an hour and a half to get it" good.
Westbound & Down (Idaho Springs): We came here at enthusiastic recommendations from several friends and strangers. The beer, food, and service were all good on our first visit, straight-up disappointing on our second.
Wiley Roots (Greeley): ... and now I'm going to contradict the above statement re: WeldWerks directly. Wiley Roots, just around the corner from the above, is worth that drive. Their wild ales aren't as good as, say, TRVE's to me, and their adjunct stouts can be hit and miss, but they're immensely solid overall. Massive pluses include an unusually nice taproom crew, a fluffy brew cat with her own Instagram account (@midnightbrewcat), and the lovely Syntax Distillery next door.
Zwei (Fort Collins): Kicks the crap out of Denver's Prost as far as I'm concerned. Great beer, great people.
The Rest of Colorado (South, West, Central)
Current category tally: 24
Angry James (Silverthorne): Pretty much anywhere I go on the way home from the stellar Outer Range isn't really going to get my heart rate up, but we enjoyed our stop here.
BREW Pub & Kitchen (Durango): My favorite in Durango tbh. Oh, and their food is good, too.
Carver (Durango): Nice people, good brunch. Their beer won't blow your mind, but it's usually solid.
Casey Brewing and Blending (Glenwood Springs): We bought tour tickets and made a weekend trip out just to go to Casey. My affection for sours is on a steep downward slope, but Casey is stellar, and the tour was delightful and totally worth doing.
Colorado Vineyards/Rocky Mountain Winery (Palisade): Including them here because they make a lot of mead, which I like, but don't love.
Glenwood Canyon (Glenwood Springs): One of those breweries that only seem to stay in business because they have a central spot in a tourist town. Nothing interesting here.
High Alpine (Gunnison): We stopped here after a trip to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, out of our minds with natural beauty. The beer was, unsurprisingly, nothing to write home about, but the food was outstanding and the staff was delightful.
Mad Jack's Mountain Brewing (Bailey): We pulled off 285 here one afternoon to get out of the rain. Small tap list and tiny tap room, but pretty good beer and a killer food truck out back.
Main Street (Cortez): Another small-town brewery with not much going.
Meadery of the Rockies (Palisade): The better Palisade meadery. Again, they like their mead sweeter and gloopier than I do, but it's lovely in small quantities.
Mr. Grumpy Pants/Ourayle House (Ouray): I like the guy and his shtick a bit more than the beer, but it's definitely the better brewery in town.
Ouray Brewery (Ouray): The douchey tourist trap option in beautiful Ouray.
Outer Range (Frisco): The hype is real. ORB makes hands down the best NEIPAs I've ever had, and a stunning range of them. "Downside:" NEIPAs are basically all they do. They have a couple of Belgians, but if you're not into hazy IPAs, this place really isn't for you.
Palisade Brewing (Palisade): Solid, unexciting.
Riff Raff (Pagosa Springs): One of those breweries where they put your pint down in front of you, you take one sip, and you're ready to head out.
Things to Do in Leadville, Colorado: See Tripadvisor's 10,840 traveler reviews and photos of Leadville tourist attractions. Find what to do today, this weekend, or in February. We have reviews of the best places to see in Leadville. Visit top-rated & must-see attractions. It does have pretty good access to Woodland Park, Manitou Springs, Colorado Springs, and Canon City, though. Leadville seems like more of an alive town, to me, but I like Cripple Creek's location. Cripple Creek is at 9494 feet, so not much lower than Leadville's 10152 feet. “ The staff has done a tremendous job to ensure that everyone stays safe while, at the same time, ensuring you have a wonderful experience. Beautiful resort, incredible rooms and amenities. Very responsive staff. ” “ Grand Colorado on Peak 8 is wonderful for your ski in- ski out vacation. Hot Tubs are awesome - great way to end your day. Rocky Mountain National Park At the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Lake is the deepest natural lake in Colorado, dipping to 265 feet. Fed by high mountain runoff, the lake is clear and pristine. In the summer, you can rent a boat, bring your own or simply enjoy the gentle lapping of the waves from the sandy shore. Ever since the gold rush days of the 1800s, folks have come to Colorado to strike it rich. Today, people can test their luck at nearly 40 casinos in Colorado, where you can play slots, poker, craps and roulette. Many Colorado casinos are open 24 hours a day and also offer lodging, dining and entertainment. Casinos in Leadville on YP.com. See reviews, photos, directions, phone numbers and more for the best Casinos in Leadville, CO. Casinos and More in Vail - Beaver Creek. Vail - Beaver Creek may not be well known for its casinos, but you can find plenty more to do here. Tourists speak highly of the majestic mountain views, scenic riverfront, and skiing. You might want to visit top attractions like Vail Ski Resort and Betty Ford Alpine Gardens. Colorado does have a state lottery, which can indicate an openness to other forms of betting. The nearest state to Colorado with online casinos happens to be Nevada. Nevada offers some great poker through the World Series of Poker (WSOP) website and downloadable app. But, you can still register with a legal online casino while you're in Colorado. Answer 1 of 11: Hi, Just looking for some clarity as to how to plan first-come camping as many of the sites in CO don't offer reservations. I am travelling with my wife and two little ones. For instance, I am planning on getting to the First-Come... These casinos don't have to follow the Colorado gaming code exactly but only vary in the fact that the Colorado Indian casinos are open 24 hours a day where as the casinos in the three gambling towns have to shut the doors at 2:00 a.m. every morning.
Walking HIstory of the Matchless Mine.mov - YouTube
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