Craft Beer, Colorado John Roberts Craft Beer, Colorado John Roberts

Colorado Craft Brewery Guide

Being craft beer fans, we love being located in Colorado, and we've taken it upon ourselves to start building you a Colorado Craft Beer Guide to help you find some of the places we've discovered.

The guide represents spots where we have knocked back a few new beers that we've found especially delicious in environments that we think you will enjoy, too.

Whether playing or staying in Colorado, craft beer lovers and craft-curious drinkers will find a spectacular selection of breweries.

When you're in and around Denver or venturing into the Rocky Mountains to take advantage of the state's uniquely wonderful outdoors activities, you can find all kinds of creative flavors brewed up in friendly atmospheres. In short, there is always an amazing place to drink with your friends right around the corner.

Satire Brewing Company in Thornton, Colorado

Satire Brewing in Thornton, Colorado.

Being craft beer fans, we love being located in Colorado, and we've taken it upon ourselves to start building you a Colorado Craft Beer Guide to help you find some of the places we've discovered.

The guide represents spots where we have knocked back a few new beers that we've found especially delicious in environments that we think you will enjoy, too.

We start the guide with Denver and the surrounding region.

Scroll toward the bottom to find the very best beer bars in Colorado's beautiful mountain towns.​

This list will continue to grow as we make our way around the state.

Got a suggestion of a craft brewery in Colorado that we should review? Please leave a comment below, and we'll get to it ASAP.

Cheers,

JR

Exploring Colorado's Craft Beers, One Pour at a Time ...

Denver Area Spots

4 Noses Brewing

4 Noses Brewing Company in Broomfield, Colorado

This craft brewer has earned a sterling reputation for its great-tasting beers — there is an amazingly satisfying variety on the menu — since it opened in 2014.

The brewery and taproom is located in Broomfield at 8855 W. 116th Circle in a commercial plaza. 4 Noses features 20 rotating brews, with a mix of core varieties and experimental beers.

Food trucks provide the grub at this spot, and we grabbed a lunch from among the excellent Mexican specialties offered by La Estrella de Colima, which was set up during our Sunday afternoon stop by the brewery.  

Dogs are allowed, and you can find an assortment of games to play at your tables at indoor or outdoor seating while savoring beers and food. We had a great three-hour tasting session with our friends Darrell and Cathy during our first trip there.

We were able to down a good number of the beers offered, and all were pretty damn tasty. We had the 'Bout Damn Time IPA, Dreamtime Ascension lager, Maximum Volume and Flatiron Fog (IPAs) and Spacey Casey (NEIPA). We also had a flight that included Creamsicle Velvet (milkshake IPA) and Perfect Drift (pilsner). They also sell cans and bottle and do growler fills.

Avery Brewing

Avery Brewing Company in Boulder, Colorado

This is a big, boisterous brewery and restaurant located at 4910 Nautilus Court in Boulder. We have loved their great variety of beers since becoming acquainted after moving back to Colorado in 2020. They are widely distributed throughout the state, but a visit to the brewery itself was in order when our friends Matt and Tammy came out for a visit.

You can sit outside at the picnic tables and order food and play games like cornhole. Dozens of dogs frolic around as their humans dine and drink in the sunshine. You can also head to the bar area inside, where you can also explore the gift shop. 
Our favorite beers include Avery IPA, Ellie Brown’s American brown ale and Double Digit Hazy IPA.

Breckenridge Brewery

Breckenridge Brewery in Littleton, Colorado

This is one of the big craft brewers in Colorado. Breckenridge Brewery has several locations around the state, but we went to the Farm House at Breckenridge Brewery, a sprawling restaurant and brewing facility located at 2990 Brewery Lane in Littleton.

This location is aptly named because you feel like you are on the property of a nice old rustic farmhouse. There is a massive patio area, and all the seats were filled when we arrived by bike on a sunny Saturday in the early fall. It's a great destination for bikers, as the brewery is located right along a well-traveled route for cyclists, following the South Platte River trails and other routes in and around Denver.

My friend Darrell and I put in more than 30 miles before we settled in for a lunch and brews. The restaurant has a well-rounded menu serving all kinds of appetizers, salads and main courses, with comfort foods galore.

Breckenridge Brewery has been in business for more than 30 years, and you can find its beers all over Colorado at liquor stores and grocery chains. It features dozens of varieties, and a few of our favorites include the Vanilla Porter (maybe Colleen's fave porter), Hop Peak IPA and Juice Drop Session (a hazy IPA).

The brewery also offers variety packs and wonderful seasonal flavors. 

Frolic Brewing

Frolic Brewing Company in Westminster, Colorado

We dropped by this brewery because we were interested in a spot with a good menu and one that shows NFL games. Frolic is located in a plaza at 12910 Zuni Street in Westminster, and it was exactly what we were looking for on a Sunday afternoon outing.  
The menu features a huge variety of specialty artisan pizzas: frito pie, creamy buffalo chicken, breakfast pizzas and many more styles, including "build your own," of course.

They also offer salads, flatbreads and other appetizers like wings and nachos. All this comfort food is accompanied with friendly service and craft beers with simple names that pair well. Frolic has an Amber, Brown, Saison, as well as a range of IPAs (American IPA, New England IPA, Brut IPA and Blood Orange IPA). They also make a flavorful Passion Fruit Blonde and Cherry Coco Porter.
Frolic has tons of indoor seating, a big patio and walls filled with TVs showing sports.

Kokopelli Beer Company

Kokopelli Beer Company in Westminster, Colorado

We found this spot while spending a week in Westminster while awaiting our possessions to arrive after our cross-country move from New Jersey. We stayed at the Residence Inn and found Kokopelli within walking distance as we looked for a craft beer spot that would could enjoy for a date-night meal.

Kokopelli Beer Company is the first women-owned craft brewpub in Colorado, and it is building a good a reputation for its food and beer. We settled into one of the ample patio seating spots to enjoy the warm summer breezes on a Saturday night. There are tables for two and four, as well as several picnic tables available outside. The seating space inside is large, too. 
The brewery has a deep roster of beers, with 30 taps featuring at least 27 varieties made in-house. You can find almost any style you are looking for — even ciders and sours.

Check out the beer list: Kokopelli Beer Company Craft Brews

We enjoyed the Mister Rebel Kolsch, Pancho Villa Lager, Colorado Strong Pale Ale and East of the Mississippi IPA during our visit.

The food menu is loaded with good grub, and we noticed pizzas at almost every table as well as pizza boxes flying out the door for takeout orders.

This dog-friendly brewpub also features games and TVs and welcomes families with kids.

Monolith Brewing 

Monolith Brewing in Denver, Colorado

We stumbled upon this fairly unassuming spot, located through a green door on a beautifully muraled building at 1290 S. Broadway Avenue in Denver’s eclectic SoBo neighborhood.  

Colleen and I had arrived a little early for our dinner date with friends at Joy Hill, which is located right across the street, so we popped into Monolith for a beer. The brewery has an inviting feel, with a large open area and plenty of high-tops, tables, booths and bar seating.  

Monolith Brewing in Denver, Colorado

The large bar space at Monolith Brewing.

We settled on the cozy couch by the large window at the front of the facility, though. There is a large bookshelf packed with cards and board games nearby, and we could see ourselves coming back for a fun hang with friends. The beer list includes guest taps and a nice selection of those brewed on-site — the brewmaster works right at the back of the facility, and patrons can see the whole production process and shiny tanks in plain sight. 

The menu includes a Club Juve Czech pilsner, the Glissade Escapade coffee blonde ale and Capsaicin Elation, a roasted jalapeno/serrano ale. I snapped up the Quasar Storm hazy IPA, and Colleen picked the Rocky Ascent, a sour Berliner weisse infused with lychee and mandarin. This sour is a collab with Denver’s FlyteCo Brewing.  

We were satisfied with the flavor in both of our beers and are excited that we found this gem in the city. We expect to return again. 

Mother Tucker Brewery

This is our hometown brewery, located at 2360 120th Avenue in Thornton. You've got to love a craft brewery within walking distance of your house.

On our first visit, we dropped in with friends on a Friday night, with plans to have a couple beers and takeout pizza from Godfather's, which is located conveniently next door. We take people there regularly now. It's a cozy bar with a friendly vibe. 
This place says that it always features around a dozen varieties on draft, and some of our favorite flavors include Summertime and the Livin's Easy lime kolsch and Dread Pirate Roberts black ale.

Mother Tucker also has a Louisville location, and both are pet friendly and open seven days a week. You can stop by for Music Bingo and live music events.

Periodic Brewing

UPDATE: This brewery has PERMANENTLY CLOSED

This brewery began in Leadville in 2015, and we found its Northglenn location during our first couple of weeks back in residency in Colorado.

This family-owned brewery filled a void in the high mountain town of Leadville when it opened. Its tap room in Northglenn joins the crowded and fast-growing field of Denver area craft brewery spots.

Periodic has a nice beer selection, with the board updated frequently. We stopped for a few flights, pints and a late-afternoon meal with friends.

The brewery is located in a sort of non-descript building in an industrial area of the city. Located at 2100 E. 112th Ave., Periodic Brewing offers a large inviting indoor space and plenty of outdoor seating at picnic tables.

The space is bright and features TVs showing sporting events. A lineup of food trucks set up on-site regularly, so you can usually count on some tasty food options to accompany your beers.

Our group settled in in the late afternoon just after the brewery opened and was greeted by a friendly server. She helped us find seating for our group of seven and asked whether we wanted to order flights. That quickly became the popular option, and we filled out our choices and enjoyed some conversation over the beers while also pondering the menu. Food is provided in partnership with a nearby restaurant or the food trucks. There we no food trucks when we visited, so we snagged some salads and burgers from the restaurant. I would definitely recommend trying to plan your visit when the food trucks will be around.  

We'll be back to try those out. I expect it to be more convenient and a better dining experience overall. Trucks on the recent rotation: El Taco Social, 5280 Burger Bar, Cyndy’s Food-Lish-Us, Colorado Meat Pie Co., Donatella’s Pizza and Laziz Ya Lebanese.

The beer variety offered a lot to try. There are a selection nice IPAs, including DIPAs, a Kolsch, imperial stout and pale and amber ales. The Tourmaline Black Ale is especially flavorful, and the Maple Bacon Amber got either "love it" or "hate it" reviews among our group. They also offer hard seltzers, wine, kombucha and sodas.

Satire Brewing

Satire Brewing Company in Thornton, Colorado

The small craft brewer in Thornton touts its "highly hand-crafted" style as a result of its "no rules brewing" techniques making small batches using three barrels and a wide variety of ingredients.

We stopped by for a post-dinner drinking session with friends during a winter weekend and were stunned by the number of varieties offered at the brewery. The facility has a fairly modest footprint, tucked in behind another business at the end of a small business park.

Satire also offers a food menu with items made from locally sourced ingredients. The brewery's Loaded Squirrel Eatery features tasty items like fresh-baked bread stuffed with ground beef and cabbage, ham and cheese and bacon, jalapeno and cream cheese.

But the stars of the show are the beers. With more than 20 offered on the menu when we settled in, we were overwhelmed with the creative variety. Colleen and Darrell grabbed flights to try as many as possible, and I chose a pint of Monkey Spank Wheat, a banana-forward hefeweizen.

Satire's brewers craft beers with edgy and cheeky names and matching menu descriptions like Summer Whiz ("Yellow, clean, smooth and easy. Looks like pee in a glass but normally will taste less warm and salty"), Transgenital IPA ("Whether you are a man, woman, or somewhere in between, you are going to like this beer. Light and juicy with citrus hops and mounds of orange and lemon zest") and Dilldo ("For your pleasure we bring you a DILL loaded pickle beer. Perfect for when you’re not in the mood for the same old thing").

Satire features new beer flavors every month. It's an incredible operation that keeps things fresh. The ones were tried were all good to excellent, and we also were impressed that the company donates 10 percent of all sales to various charities.

Something Brewery

Something Brewery in Brighton, Colorado

This hip brewery is right in historic downtown Brighton at 117 N. Main Street. Sit inside, or enjoy the patio areas when the weather is nice. Something hosts a rotating variety of food trucks, and we enjoyed one of the best food truck meals we've ever had from El Chuletazo Grill, which serves up a full menu of Colombian specialties.

We had two rounds of brews for a Saturday lunchtime outing. Colleen had been wanting to try the Cats With Jetpacks strawberry, blackberry, cotton candy sour ale. I go for the super-popular Haze You Guys hazy IPA. It ends up being the favorite beer of the day for both of us. Colleen likes the sour but says it's maybe a little extra sweet for her.

We also dig the Maximum Effort blood orange IPA and Black Tie Affair black lager before our flight of Mint Monsta (mint chocolate Oreo milk stout) Samoa Monsta (toasted coconut caramel oatmeal milk stout), Peanut-Mellow Monsta (peanut butter marshmellow Oreo milk stout) and Vanilla Choca La-Ta Ya-Ya (vanilla cream coffee ale).

Then, we capped it off with our flight of the dessert-y varieties. The Monstas are all incredibly flavorful!  
Something is a really fun spot with delicious beers, and we also enjoyed the friendly and fun attitude of the staffers. 

Spice Trade Brewing

Spice Trade Brewery & Kitchen in Greenwood Village, Colorado

This is a fantastic restaurant and craft brew bar, and the menu offers pairing suggestions for its delish food.

Spice Trade is located at 8775 E. Orchard Road, Suite 811 in Greenwood Village, and we joined friends for a Saturday afternoon lunch and a couple beers. We had a hard time choosing a meal among the various options. The menu features appetizers like caesar brussel sprouts and sweet potato truffle fries, small plates like pork dumplings and charcuterie boards and main dishes like shrimp and grits and barbecue pork sandwiches. I chose the "Spice Trade Chicken and Dumplings," and Colleen had the hearty pork ramen entree.

You can get beer tasters, flights and 12- or 16-ounces glasses of craft brews. The nice selection included a jalapeno pilsner (nice and spicy), That Amber Beer, Sun Temple IPA (a very flavorful hazy and juicy beer), Louisiana Praline lager and Chai Milk Stout, among several others.

Twenty Brew TapHouse

Twenty Brew TapHouse in Westminster, Colorado

Open for more than seven years, Twenty Brew TapHouse sits in a rather modest location at the end of a plaza at 11187 Sheridan Boulevard in Westminster. The bar grew its reputation for stocking hard-to-find varieties from all over the country. We stopped in and found beers that aren't available anywhere else in Colorado.

Twenty Brew is run by Dave and his son Saxon, and in addition to the axe-throwing lanes, it also features a bank of pinball machines in the back games room where you throw axes, as well as a Ms. Pac Man game and a TV and gaming system for video game tourneys. 
We love the decor showing off dozens (maybe hundreds?) of cans of the exclusive craft beers that they have stocked over the years.

You get two beers and an hour of tossing axes for $30. We brought our own sandwiches for a casual dinner, settled in with a couple rounds of beers for a fun night of throwing. They always have a rotating lineup of brews and host trivia nights.

VisionQuest Brewery

VisionQuest Brewery in Boulder, Colorado

This nanobrewery turned out to be a pleasant surprise. We had a little time to kill before heading over to Twenty Brew Bar to throw hatchets and toss back some of their beers. So, we looked for an intermediary craft brew joint in Boulder to kill a little time.

A Google search delivered us to this tiny spot in the back of a gravel parking lot in an industrial area of the city. VisionQuest is located at 2510 47th Street, Suite A2.

They throw open the garage door here for fresh air, and the place offers a cool vibe and a nice roster of creative brews. The walls and space feature fun artwork and murals, and entertainment includes open mic and comedy nights.

We tried beers of the menu like Essentially Essential IPA, Space with Cherries (dark sour) and Rogue Planet Stout.

Wonderland Brewing Co.

Wonderland Brewing Co. in Broomfield, Colorado

This craft brewery is also a family and friends playland. Yes, Wonderland plays on the classic Lewis Carroll story "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland," and the beer menu has varieties such as Alice Belgian Blonde and Rabbit Hole Black IPA (my favorite from the 12-plus beers we tried during our first visit).

We sampled the various beers with flights. The brewery also features 10-, 13-, 16- and 20-ounce pours (based on the alcohol content of each style). A small restaurant operation, WonderGrill, is situated as a sort of permanent food truck inside the large building located at 5450 W. 120th Avenue in Broomfield (near Sheridan Avenue), and this eatery is a separate business that has a fantastic menu. We met friends for an afternoon outing, and the orders included a big soft pretzel with tasty dipping mustard, the When Pigs Fly pizza (topped with beer cheese, mozzarella, cheddar jack cheese, grilled chicken, Applewood smoked bacon, ranch dressing and green onions), crispy chicken sandwich and a juicy cheeseburger (The Wonder Burger) with whirly fries.

You can also order rice bowls and salads. Wonderland has TVs showing sports, arcade games and outdoor areas filled with great seating and games like basketball, a mini golf course and cornhole. It's a fab spot to hang out for group get-togethers. 

The beers were OK, not outstanding, in my opinion. They offer all styles on tap, though, so you can try for yourselves. They have a Belgian Trippel, Blood Orange Shandy, Blackberry Red Sour and a Barrel Aged Wet Hop IPA, plus several others. 

Woods Boss Brewing Co. 

Woods Boss Brewing Company in Denver, Colorado

This airy and fun craft brewery is located at 2210 California Street in Denver’s Five Points Neighborhood right in middle of downtown. 

Woods Boss was founded in 2017 by owners Chad Moore and Jordan Fink, and the brewery is located in a large warehouse-style building with a beautiful centerpiece: the massive ethically sourced live-edge redwood bar. 

This is a bustling spot with indoor and outdoor seating, making it a social gathering space meeting the owners’ goal of creating a community. We gathered for a few beers before heading to a concert down the road at The Roxy.  

Outside food is welcome, with a variety of eateries delivering from nearby.  

The diverse menu of craft brews offers more than two dozen varieties that rotate throughout the year. We enjoyed tasty flavors like the Fruity Flash Cranberry Orange sour, Coastal Companion IPA, Tree Beer West Coast-style IPA and Czech Dam Pilsner.  

The board also offered intriguing beers like the Imperial Oswald and the Holy Hiop Grenade, a triple New England-style IPA, Foothills Fire Red red ale, Pulaski Pecan Brown brown ale and Dark Hedges, an Irish dry stout. 

They offer bottles and cans for purchase and host a series of events, such as live music, trivia and fundraising activities. 

Get Listed In Our Colorado Craft Beer Guide

Would you like to be listed here? We can come review your craft brewery for inclusion in our fast-growing guide. Drop us an email: John@InTheLoopTravel.com, and we'll make it happen.

Happy drinking,

JR

Mountain Towns and Beyond

Barrels & Bottles Brewery 

Barrels & Bottles Brewery in Golden, Colorado

Our beer selections at Barrels & Bottles in Golden. (Photo by Colleen McDaniel)

This was our first craft brewery stop during a fun weekend getaway in Golden. You can read all about our trip to this historic Colorado mountain town and the best hotel in Golden for your visit. 

Barrels & Bottles has two locations in Golden, and we went to the spot at 600 12th Street, just off Washington Avenue downtown. This location was set to close on May 4, 2024, though, so you’ll have to visit the great new space at Camp George West, 1055 Orchard Street. 

We stopped in for a happy hour and noticed a decent mix of beers. The brewery offers a full range of varieties, with pilsners, amber and dark lagers, blonde and pale ales, a wheat beer, five IPAs, a Belgian dubbel and five porters and stouts.  

Barrels & Bottles Brewery in Golden, Colorado

I enjoyed a nice hazy 6.6 percent IPA called Who Called the Hops?, and Colleen savored the Oba Pot’a porter that had a smooth coffee-forward flavor.  

At the Camp George West Barrels & Bottles, patrons can get a full menu of food, with appetizers, sandwiches and dishes like a Kalua pork plate, poke bowls and chicken rice bowl.  

Batch Slapped Brewery and Cidery

Batch Slapped Brewery and Cidery in Colorado Springs, Colorado

This one we found during a weekend in Colorado Springs. Batch Slapped is located at 5859 Palmer Park Boulevard, and we went in on a Saturday evening for a couple of beers and some grub before a concert. 

We found a few nice beers and some delicious bites on the menu. First up, I tried the Resting Batch Face hazy IPA, and Colleen chose the Late to the Party Roasted Chili Ale. The IPA was nice, but Colleen said her beer wasn’t quite as spicy as she had expected.  

Batch Slapped Brewery and Cidery in Colorado Springs, Colorado

We grabbed two more varieties to have alongside our meal: a pretzel knot flight (salted, parmesan garlic and jalapeno cheddar) and a buffalo chicken flatbread. The food was outstanding, and we washed down our bites with by sharing the Kiwi Ninja hazy IPA (a much more robust and flavorful IPA) and the McCallender’s Revenge, a coconut vanilla porter that was a nice choice as our “dessert.” 

Batch Slapped Brewery and Cidery in Colorado Springs, Colorado

The bar has a simple layout, with many of the regulars lining up at the bar. There is a selection of tables scattered around, an open window to the busy kitchen and a hustling staff serving the beers and food. The brewery also offers a mug club and a big lineup of ciders. 

Other beers that intrigued us on the menu: the Lemons In the Chain, a lemon coke sour, and a selection available from the brewery’s Experimental Lab tap, the Rauchbier, a smoked lager in the Bamberg, Germany, tradition. 

Cannonball Creek Brewing Co.

Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. in Golden, Colorado

Tucked into a small lot behind a mega gas station at 393 N. Washington Ave. in Golden, Cannonball Creek is an unassuming spot with fantastically fresh IPAs among its menu of craft brews.

The brewery was started in 2013 by friends Jason Stengl and Brian Hutchinson, who bonded over a love for craft beer and their home town of Golden.

Cannonball Creek has tons of seating indoors, and it makes use of a corner of the parking lot for outdoors patio-style seating. It's delightful to sit outdoors among all your new doggie friends while sipping cold flavorful brews under blue skies, as we did after our hike on the nearby Mayhem Trail.

We downed a couple Mindbender IPAs, a refreshing 6.8 percent ABV beer with just the right blend of grapefruit and pine notes. The rotating list of beers also offered an American pale ale, Russian imperial stout, Belgian blonde, Vienna lager, session IPA, Italian pilsner, porter and Mexican lager. So, the brewers offer a well-rounded menu of beers good enough to suit all kinds of palates.

Food trucks set up on the curb in the parking lot just outside the brewery, and the calendar is filled with vendors rolling in with a variety of delish foods, like pho, burgers, barbecue and tacos. We had a great lunch from Pho King Rapidos during our Saturday visit.

Clear Creek Cidery

Clear Creek Cidery in Idaho Springs, Colorado

This is a charming restaurant located in historic downtown Idaho Springs. I found this spot (1446 Miner Street) from a Google search asking for the best burgers, as I was hungry and craving a nice cheeseburger after my hike at St. Mary's Glacier.

I sat at the bar and chatted with Joseph, a friendly bartender who offered me a sample of cider as I built my flight. There is seating inside and at the patio, with sports on the TVs. The place filled up nicely during lunchtime on a Tuesday.

Clear Creek Cidery features about 10 ciders on tap, with a variety of cans, too. You can also enjoy a range of Colorado craft brew varieties, like Helles Lager from Tivoli, Bout Damn Time IPA from 4 Noses and Blood Orange IPA from next door neighbor Tommyknocker Brewery (1401 Miner Street).

I ordered the CCC Burger, which was nice and juicy and comes with two slices of cheese and house-cut fries. It hit the spot nicely, and I paired my lunch with a flight of four ciders — Lavender Lemonade, Agave Peach, Cherry Glider and Alma (apples and honey). Fantastic overall, and I can't wait to come back with Colleen and friends.

Golden City Brewery 

Golden City Brewery in Golden, Colorado

Golden City Brewery’s beer garden. (Photo by John Roberts)

We stopped in on a Saturday right after a snowstorm had covered the city of Golden two days earlier. The sun was shining, and we joined dozens of people who were outside at the brewery’s sprawling beer garden. There were piles of snow in the yard surrounding the pavilion and picnic tables, and Colleen and I took a seat at a picnic table to sip our beers while playing a game of cribbage. 

Colleen declared that this brewery has her favorite beers of the three spots we tried during our weekend getaway to Golden. (We also went to Barrels & Bottles and Mountain Toad.) 

Golden City Brewery in Golden, Colorado

Golden City Brewery is located at 920 12th Street, set up in an old machine shop and tucked into the neighborhood behind an old Victorian home. The brewery serves tasty snacks to pair with your beers. You can get brats, hot dogs, charcuterie board, jalapeno artichoke dip, kettle corn and gourmet pretzels. 

Golden City Brewery in Golden, Colorado

We fell in love with the chill vibe as we played our games and sipped on delicious brews. Colleen was wowed by the Pink Guava Bomber, a super sour. I enjoyed a refreshing Clear Creek Kolsch. The lineup of beers also includes intriguing offerings such as Evolution IPA, Legendary Red Ale, Churro Lager, Lookout Oatmeal Stout and Eyes Wide Shut (an Imperial barrel-aged milk stout).  

Mountain Toad Brewery 

Mountain Toad Brewery in Golden, Colorado

This craft brewery on the main strip in Golden (900 Washington Avenue) features both indoor and outdoor seating spaces and an inviting vibe. We slipped in for a couple beers on a Saturday afternoon and saw locals enjoying the sunny day. Some were there for après ski from one of the nearby slopes, and others were gathered outside to indulge in lunch from Chuey Fu’s, the Latin-Asian food truck on site for the day.  

Mountain Toad Brewery in Golden, Colorado

Mountain Toad has a food truck calendar with a lineup of many styles of cuisine to pair with the beers.  

You can get flights, 5-ounce samplers and 10-ounce and 16-ounce glasses. I tried the Space Toad Hazy IPA, and Colleen started with the Blueberry Kolsch. They were fine, but the better beers were the darks we finished with, the flavorful Black Canyon IPA (it has a juicy, coffee and chocolate profile) and Pandan Porter with a smooth bland of chocolate, vanilla and coconut flavors. 

Westbound & Down Brewing Co.

Westbound & Down Brewing Company in Idaho Springs, Colorado

This popular spot in the mountain town of Idaho Springs is located in the heart of the action downtown at 1617 Miner Street.  
This is a large and stylish restaurant that features sports on big-screen TVs, two rooms, one with a huge bar with seating in the middle of the space that also is filled with long tables. It makes for a vibrant setting to enjoy artisan food and tasty aromatic brews.

The menu is filled with great options, such as the huge Buffalo chicken nachos and jumbo pretzel -- both great to share as starters. You also can choose from delicious-looking sandwiches and wraps. We saw people getting fried chicken sandwiches, Philly cheesesteaks and seared ahi tuna.

The beer is the star, though, led by the signature award-winning Westbound Double IPA. We also savored the Sightseer NEIPA and Double Juice Caboose IPA.

Plenty of people were washing down their meals with big glasses of the Italian pilsner (0.5L), too. Prices at Westbound are a little bit steep compared with what we're used to, however.

 

Have a suggestion for a brewery that we should visit and review? Let us know at John@InTheLoopTravel.com.

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