Brewery Guide Northern Colorado
2015-16
BEST OF
BEER
2015
CONTENTS 8 THE LIFECYCLE OF OUR LOCAL BREWS
A look at the path a bottle of local craft brew takes, from inception to your fridge.
12 SUPPORT SYSTEMS
A unique community and culture has grown out of the Northern Colorado brewery scene.
16 WHAT MAKES AN AWARD-WINNING BEER? The craft beer world is competitive, with many brewers competing on a local, national and global scale.
19 BEST OF BEER
We polled the community to learn who and what Northern Colorado considered the best of the best.
22 NORTHERN COLORADO BREWERIES & DISTILLERIES ON THE COVER: Photo by Chancey Bush/The Coloradoan. Illustration by Erika Moore.
Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015 5
President/Publisher Kathy Jack-Romero kathyjackromero@coloradoan.com Advertising Director Tyler Kidd tylerkidd@coloradoan.com Editor Kristin Deily kristindeily@coloradoan.com Art Director Erika Moore erikamoore@coloradoan.com Ad Services Manager Matt Varns mattvarns@coloradoan.com
1300 Riverside Ave., Fort Collins, CO 80524 Call (970) 416-3991 | Fax (970) 224-7726 Š2013 Coloradoan Media Group.
6 Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015
Craft beer and Northern Colorado go together like peanut butter and jelly. Like peas and carrots. Like bacon and eggs. Sure, there might be other options out there, but when a pairing is this perfect there is no need to go looking for something else. And it is safe to say that craft beer and NoCo are a match made in heaven. Now that we know craft beer and brewing is firmly a part of the culture in this corner of the world, it is time to take a look at the impact this industry is having on the environment around it. In this year’s issue of Northern Colorado Brewery Guide, we take a look not just at who the players are in the brewery scene in the area, but how they are shaping the region. First, we explore what makes a good beer an award winning beer, and what all of those medals attached to your favorites really mean. We dive into the “lifecycle” of beer from a hop on the vine to an empty bottle. With this much production around our love of beer, our local breweries are in a position to make a huge impact on the environment, economy, and the community of people around them. Most of us know that breweries draw lots of tourists from all over the country, but it turns out that the same holds true for the people who make their living in the industry. We take a look at some of their stories and how they came to be a part of the Northern Colorado brewery scene.
Photo by: Erin Hull/The Coloradoan
Finally, and definitely not least, we bring you the results of our voting for the Best of Brew 2015. We tallied thousands of votes from the community on different categories to find out what people love in our local beer industry. Northern Colorado has spoken, and you can find our winners on Page 19. Congratulations to all of our winners and thank you to everyone who took the time to vote in our polls. Cheers to another year, Northern Colorado!
Black Bottle Brewery’s seasonal Count Chocula beer, released in the fall of 2014.
Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015 7
Bottles proceed along a conveyor belt after being rinsed at Odell Brewing Company. Odell Brewing reuses their water in the bottling process, using it once to cool the pump, a second time to rinse the inside of the bottle, and a third time to rinse the outside of the bottle once it is filled and capped.
The Lifecycle of Our Local Brews BY KYLE EUSTICE
Colorado has become known for the quality of the brews it produces, and the beer industry has a huge impact on the economy of the state. The raw materials, waste products, and final output of the brewing process all contribute to the
The proliferation of breweries in Northern Colorado is not surprising. The Rocky Mountain region has some of the best water sources in the country. “The biggest ingredient we have is water,” says Bryan Simpson, PR Director at New Belgium. “[The water is] why you have a good proliferation of brewers here. Water comes to us by a combination of Poudre River and Big Thompson Project so our water is all 8 Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015
Colorado water, which is a great place to start.” The brewing process is intricate and tedious, but yields an incredible product if done correctly and with the highest quality ingredients. While each brewery model is unique, looking at the example of some of the largest craft brewers in the region demonstrates the scope of the industry.
Photo by Erin Hull/The Coloradoan
integrated economy of beer across the region.
With nearly $200 million dollars in sales every year, New Belgium Brewing Company is Fort Collins’ largest craft brewer. Founded in 1991, it has grown into the third-largest craft brewer in the United States, and the footprint of this production has had a large impact on the industry of the region. The basic ingredients of beer are water, a starch source such as malted barley, a brewer’s yeast to produce fermentation, and a flavoring such as hops. New Belgium’s grains and malt bills come predominately from the Midwest. Much of the barley is shipped from Wisconsin. The hops are generally grown in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Oregon and Washington. With Belgian beers, there are all kinds of spicing, fruits and exotics that add flavor, and these special ingredients can come from all over the world. One of the most impressive aspects about Northern Colorado’s local breweries is the diversion rate. A diversion rate refers to how much waste is diverted from a landfill to subsequent uses. Most of the local breweries boast a 99 percent diversion rate, meaning the vast majority of waste products are repurposed, recycled or reused in some way. Amanda King, Marketing and Branding Manager at Odell Brewing
“We try to downstream
things in a really sustainable way. We have three people that are full-time focused on that. We want to lessen the footprint at every turn.
Company, says that pretty much all of their packaging materials are recycled from local sources as well. Boxes and cardboard come from Denver, and their bottles come from Windsor. The biggest bulk of waste by volume from any brewery is spent grain. In most cases, this grain will be sold to the dairy or cattle industry to be used as a food source for livestock. There is a huge emphasis on creating partnerships to both reduce the overall footprint of the brewery, while
New Belgium Brewing Co. employees in Fort Collins raise their beer glasses to toast the ground breaking of New Belgium’s Asheville, N.C., brewery in 2014
”
supporting local business. “We have a partnership with the City of Fort Collins for the waste water,” King says. “A lot of the water used for cleaning is reclaimed for irrigation. Anything else that goes down the drain is treated and we work with the city to maintain the pH balance there before it goes back into the city waste water. Any of our spent grain or spent hops go to a local farm. We have a dairy farmer, Lugene, who has been taking our spent grains for well over 16 years for his cattle. All of the solid waste is used as feed.” Dedicated fans of the local craft beer scene may recognize the name Lugene. Odell named one of their beers, a milk stout, after their longtime partner, as an obvious nod to the use of their spent grain fueling his dairy cattle over the years. This beer is a testament to the importance of relationships with other industries that have been intrinsic to the success of the craft brewing industry in Northern Colorado. Another big waste product is brown glass. New Belgium takes its used bottles to a large facility at Coors Brewing Company in Golden, Colorado. “We take it to Coors so we know it’s truly being recycled,” Simpson says. “A lot of times when you mix glass, it’s used as layers in road work. It’s not really recycled. So we send that downstream to be recycled.”
Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015 9
There is a great effort put forward to ensure other material waste products coming out of the taproom and brewery are recycled as well. “If you walk around the building, there’s all kinds of cardboard bins, the kitchen has six different bins for various recycling and we have onsite recycling for our co-workers, where you can recycle computers and stuff like that. We try to downstream things in a really sustainable way. We have three people that are full-time focused on that. We want to lessen the footprint at every turn,” says Simpson. The end product of all of the brewing effort and production is a high quality craft beer. Anyone living in the region knows impact of these beers, but the reach has expanded beyond this corner of the world. As one of the biggest breweries in the region, New Belgium beers are now distributed in 40 states, including the District of Columbia, while Odell beers are distributed in 11 states. While they are expanding their distribution, over 60 percent of Odell’s sales remain in Colorado. As an example of more explosive growth, New Belgium is inching towards capacity, with a capacity over a million barrels in the Fort Collins facility. Their new Asheville facility will have approximately half a million barrels, which will allow them to supply beer up and down the Eastern seaboard and into the Midwest. The various craft breweries in the region have wildly different models of distribution of beer to the masses, like Fort Collins Brewery’s focus on out-of-state distribution versus Equinox Brewing’s exclusive list of locations within biking distance of the brewery that their beers can be found, for example. The different distribution models create a different kind of footprint that is unique for each brewery. As each brewery continues to expand and newer breweries pop up all over Colorado, including Echo Brewing Company in Frederick, Big Choice Brewing in Broomfield and Bootstrap Brewing in Niwot, Colorado remains a major player in the brewing industry. Northern Colorado has established a complete brewing ecosystem — from brewing methods and pure Rocky Mountain ingredients to sustainable, local business practices — that has allowed for continued growth and prosperity for craft brewing on the Front Range. 10 Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015
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Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015 11
SUPPORT SYSTEMS BY CORY PALENCIA
Fort Collins draws floods of people looking to enjoy our local beer industry every year. The region has become a beer ecosystem as rich as the Amazon, where the evolution and interplay of the drinks and the drink-makers keeps people coming from around the world. This popularity is occurring on both the consumer and producer levels. 12 Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015
“If it is 50 degrees in Tom Packard dances with his granddaughter, Ella Kensley, 12, as the Young Ancients perform at Odell Brewing Company during the first day of FoCoMX 2015.
Culture
Photo by Erin Hull/The Coloradaon
Carol Cochran, co-owner of Horse and Dragon, remembers the hiring process when searching for her head brewer. Of the fifty resumes her husband, Tim, had selected from the stack of applicants, he pushed forward fifteen. Linsey Cornish, their eventual selection, was the only Coloradan of the group. Everyone else who applied was from out of state or, even in some cases, out of country. Running a brewery does not require a large team of employees, from one as intimate as Horse and Dragon and those even as big as a New Belgium. Taking care of employees is as important as maintaining the high quality of their products. Carol noted that employers in the beer industry are great at retaining
winter, people will be out on patios.
”
their employees and employees often stay working for the companies which treat them so well. As a result, many of the preferred positions remain filled, leaving prospective employees to look for opportunities to grow in other breweries. The promise of employment in a growing industry with a reputation of companies that employees never want to leave, it is no wonder that so many from outside state lines come to Fort Collins to look for work.
Community Craig and Lori Schiffer moved from New Jersey to Fort Collins 2 years ago. The retirees were looking for something different from what they had grown used to in the 55 years they’d spent in New Jersey. They read about Fort Collins as “the place to be” from Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015 13
From left, Bruce Peters, Taryn Davids and Lisa Summers enjoy the evening at Equinox Brewing.
Family friendly Children, blessing though they are, greatly affect the social lives of their parents. Parents with children often find it is difficult to remain social and enjoy activities like they used to. To help with this transition, a group of mothers have found support amongst each other and — as odd as it may seem — in the breweries around town. Nicole Kiah, a mother of one, likes to go out and socialize, the same as she did before having children. Breastfeeding in public receives such mixed reactions that she and other mothers would find themselves stuck at home more often than they wanted. She formed a group of mothers who started meeting at various places around town in support of one another. They call it Beers with Babes, but it’s less about the drinks and more about the friendships, moms joining together to trade tips and pointers, and socializing as part of the community. The husbands are a big part of the group too. Nicole says it’s easy
14 Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015
convincing the fathers to meet up with the group at a taproom after work. They started with a group of 20, going out every Friday to various establishments around town. All establishments have been very welcoming to the Beers with Babes ladies. It is a recurring event, so those that want to can join when they want. The group has ballooned to about 70 members due to their open arms policy of greeting and inviting any mothers to join the fun. The draw of our local beer culture has already expanded beyond the traditional local community across borders and demographics, and will continue to do so in the future. The Northern Colorado beer community has drawn both professionals and patrons from all walks of life and from out of the state and country to enjoy the bounty of the region’s trademark craft. Breweries have shaped the community as it has grown, and will continue to impact the trajectory of the region for the foreseeable future
Photo by Erin Hull/The Coloradoan
news coverage, and experienced the sunshine and year-round activities offered in town from their visits with their children. Moving in as strangers, Craig and Lori met people by going to breweries. Whether it was the person behind the bar, beer reps or the patrons sitting next to them, they were encouraged by the friendliness of everyone. They would run into the same people from the breweries at the various beer related events they attended, whether it was Beer and Bach or dinner pairings at Choice City Butcher. Over time, they built rapport with this community of beer-lovers. Life back in New Jersey, they say, is a strong contrast to life now. Back home, it was lots of family, where they would fall into the same old boring habits. They didn’t know their neighbors, and spent much less time socializing. Here there are distinct changes. There is constant activity year-round, even in winter. Lori says, “If it is 50 degrees in winter, people will be out on patios.”
Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2014 15
Attendees mill around the entrance to the 2014 Great American Beer Festival at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
What makes an award-winning beer? BY STACEY MCKENNA
As of late 2014, the United States was home to over 3,200 brewers and over 4,500 brewery licenses. With so many breweries offering an increasingly varied assortment of beers, entering the world of brews, or finding a new favorite, can be daunting. After all, while the Brewers Association observes “craft beer appreciators are becoming as diverse as craft beer itself,” many of us still don’t know what makes great beer. 16 Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015
One fun way to wade into the growing marketplace is to sample the latest award-winning beers, those representing the best of each style. But what on earth do these prizes actually mean? And how can they help the average beer-drinker navigate the bounty? Though there are numerous beer awards and festivals worldwide, competitions follow consistent guidelines. In general, beers are separated into categories, or styles, and
WORLD BEER AWARDS
and/or have minor deviations in taste, aroma or appearance.” The 2015 GABF will be held September 24-26 at the Colorado Convention Center. In 2016, the event will take place October 6-8.
www.worldbeerawards.com/
The World Beer Awards
NORTH AMERICAN BREWERS ASSOCIATION
The World Beer Awards is an international annual tasting event. Judges consider a variety of beer styles in several “regional style heats held in Asia, Europe and the Americas.” Primary style groups that are compared include: dark beer, flavored beer, lager, pale beer, sour beer, specialty beer, wheat beer, and stout and porter. These eight categories are further divided into sub-classes. Once regional style winners are selected, the competition continues. Judges taste the premier regional
GREAT AMERICAN BEER FESTIVAL greatamericanbeerfestival.com
northamericanbrewers.org
GLOBAL CRAFT BEER AWARDS craftbeeraward.org judged according to their adherence to the style’s particular criteria. Additional guidelines may include more subjective factors such as innovation or quality of flavor.
brews against one another, choosing the World’s Best Style categories and, eventually, the World’s Best Beer. Brewers, agents, importers, wholesalers and retailers worldwide may submit entries, but all submissions must be commercially available. Several rounds of judging have already been completed. Final winners will be announced on September 24th, 2015.
The North American Beer Awards Each year, the North American Brewers Association and the Mountain Brewers Beer Fest come together to host a special event. Since 1997, the North American Beer Awards have honored the best beers in the country. In this prestigious competition, hundreds of breweries submit their beers to a blind sample test by an experienced panel
Great American Beer Festival The Great American Beer Festival, based in Denver, is an internationally recognized beer festival and competition, representing “the largest collection of U.S. beer ever served.” This public tasting event, founded in 1982, offers attendees the opportunity to sample some of the best beer from across the country. In addition to being a fun place for enthusiasts to try new beers, breweries may submit select brews to the competition. The Professional Judge Panel composed of industry professionals awards medals for the top beers in each of 90 categories. Through a series of blind tastings, the panel awards up to three beers in each category, but may not award a medal if beers fail to meet the competition criteria. A first place, or gold, beer is considered “a world-class beer that accurately exemplifies the specified style, displaying the proper balance of taste, aroma and appearance.” A second place, or silver, beer is “an excellent beer that may vary slightly from style parameters while maintaining close adherence to the style and displaying excellent taste, aroma and appearance.” And a third place, or bronze, beer is “a fine example of the style that may vary slightly from style parameters
High Hops of Windsor beer is sampled at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015 17
Owner Wynne Odell of Odell Brewing pours beer at the 2014Great American Beer Festival at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
Thirsty?
Experience the Northern Colorado Food and Drink Scene in a new way.
Learn more at eatdrink.coloradoan.com New from the
18 Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015
of judges. 2014 saw 1,400 separate brews—including beers, ciders, meads and sodas—in the competition. Judges include brew masters from national as well as craft breweries, beer journalists and certified judges. Teams of at least four judges taste the beers in “style flights,” ranking the top three in each category. Beers are judged by “determining how closely the entry meets the style definition for the category in which it is entered.” The first, second and third place beers of each style are awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze medals respectively; when warranted, honorable mentions are given as well. These awards are offered to further the non-profit North American Brewers Association’s mission of securing “beer’s role in our culture through the advancement of brewing quality and consumer education.” The 2015 North American Beer Awards were presented at the 21st Annual Mountain Brewers Beer Fest in Idaho Falls, Idaho in June.
Global Craft Beer Award The Global Craft Beer Award, given by the Global Association of Craft Beer Brewers, is the world’s first competition to be judged solely by brewers themselves. This award honors the premier independent brews from around the world. Entries are judged according to beer style—lager, ale, and hybrid or mixed beers—as well as design, innovation and outstanding achievements. The top three beers in each category are ranked Gold, Silver and Bronze. Winners of the 2014 awards have been announced and information will soon be available for 2015.
For the 2015 edition of the Northern Colorado Brewery Guide, we invited you — the local craft beer snobs, the aficionados, the connoisseurs, and the casual weekenders — to tell us what you think about the best beers, taprooms, brewers and bars in the region.
Northern Colorado
Brewery Guide
BEST OF
Photo by Austin Humphreys
BEER Brett Thomas sips a beer from Horse & Dragon Brewing Company at the 26th Annual Colorado Brewers’ Festival Saturday, June 2015.
2015
BEST OF BEER 2015
BEST NATIONAL/ REGIONAL BREWERY (FROM NOCO) Odell 65% New Belgium 29% Other 4% Odell Brewing wins Best Brewery for the second year in a row. The packed taproom and popular beers attest to the popularity of this Fort Collins staple.
Employees work on the bottling line at Odell Brewing Company in Fort Collins, CO.
Best of Type: IPA
Best of Type: Lager
Best of Type: Sour
Best of Type: Belgian Style
Odell 62% Other 15% Horse and Dragon 9%
Zwei 63% Grimm Brothers 22% CB&Potts 8%
Funkwerks 45% New Belgium 42% Big Beaver 9%
Odell IPA topped the list of local IPAs, with a host of other selections selected and written in as favorites. Northern Colorado is awash in excellent IPAs!
Our local German-style breweries made a strong case for their lagers, with Zwei Brewing coming in as our landslide favorite.
New Belgium 52% Odell 13% Funkwerks 12% Loveland Aleworks 12% New Belgium’s La Folie is a perennial favorite in Northern Colorado, and it is no surprise that it was overwhelmingly voted as the favorite in the sour category.
The two local Belgianstyle breweries top this list, with Funkwerks narrowly beating out New Belgium for top honors.
BEST LOCAL BREWERY (FROM NOCO) Horse and Dragon 16% High Hops 14% The competition was fierce, but Horse and Dragon was able to edge out the competition to win the Best Local Brewery. Their flagship Sad Panda stout and their fun, intimate taproom has gained them a foothold in our beer-centric town.
20 Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015
Odell Brewing photo by Erin Hull/The Coloradoan
Black Bottle 10%
BEST OF BEER 2015
BEST LOCAL FLAGSHIP BEER Horse and Dragon Sad Panda 19% High Hops Golden One 15% Funkwerks Tropic King 11% In our Local Flagship category, Horse and Dragon’s Sad Panda is the best in another close race. Fort Collins shows their taste ranges beyond type, with vastly different beers from Horse and Dragon, High Hops, and Funkwerks making the list.
Tatum Cochran is pictured with the Almost Summer Ale, L3 IPA and Sad Panda Coffee Stout at Horse and Dragon Brewing Company.
Best Tasting Room Odell 28% High Hops 14% New Belgium 8% Best Tasting Room goes to Odell, whose awesome patio space makes visiting the brewery at the top of the priorities list. High Hops’ excellent patio overlooking their hops fields with a fantastic view of the Front Range is worth the short trip to Windsor.
Best Bar: Other (William Oliver’s) 44% Mayor of Old Town 24% Tap’n’Handle 10% The Forge Publick House 10% In the Best Bar category this year, a write in candidate was able to take the first place spot. William Oliver’s Publick House was the overwhelming favorite in this category.
BEST NATIONAL/REGIONAL FLAGSHIP BEER 90 Shilling 56% Fat Tire 25% Other (Odell IPA) 14% Odell Brewing boasts major favorites, with their 90 Shilling claiming the favorite spot easily. Their IPA was also able to make our list as a write in from the community. Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015 21
Northern Colorado
Breweries and Distilleries
40 Fort Collins 25
27
287
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40 5 18 32 17 25 25 48 Loveland
34
Estes Park
34
Fort Collins
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12 vine drive 11 33 42 30 41 21 23 laporte avenue 37 35 22 lincoln street 28 13 19 mulberr y street laurel st.
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31 38 Longmont
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1. 1933 Brewing Company
1933brewing.com 4025 S Mason St, Fort Collins (970) 377-4107 Hours: Tues-Thurs 3-8; Fri 3-9; Sat 12-9; Sun 12-6
3
budweisertours.com 2351 Busch Drive, Fort Collins (970) 221-0922
3. Aspen Brewing Company
aspenbrewingcompany.com 304 E Hopkins Ave, Aspen (970) 920-2739 22 Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015
36
50 45
70
Denver
8
4. Avery Brewing
2. Anheuser Busch
76 70
averybrewing.com 5763 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder (303) 440-4324
5. BIG BEAVER BREWING bigbeaverbrew.com 2707 Eisenhower Blvd, Unit 9 Loveland (970) 818-6064 Hours: Sun-Thurs 2-9; Fri 2-10; Sat 12-10 Number of Taps: 16
6. BLACK BOTTLE BREWERY blackbottlebrewery.com 1611 South College Ave, Suite 1609, Fort Collins (970) 493-BEER Hours: Sun-Thurs 11-10; Fri-Sat 11-12 Number of Taps: 41 Flagship Beer: Hipster 7. Breckenridge Distillery
breckenridgedistillery.com 137 S Main St, Breckenridge (970) 457-9759
8. Breckenridge Brewery & Pub breckbrew.com 600 S Main St., Breckenridge (970) 453-1550
14. Coors
coors.com 13th and Ford St, Golden (303) 277-2337
15. Crabtree Brewing
9. CB & POTTS – CAMPUS WEST cbpotts.com 1415 W Elizabeth St, Fort Collins CO Hours: Monday – Sunday, 11am – 2am 10. CB & POTTS – COLLINDALE cbpotts.com 1441 East Horsetooth Rd, Fort Collins CO 80525 Hours: Sunday – Wednesday, 9am – 10pm; Thursday – Saturday, 9am – 12am Flagship Beer: Big Horn Blonde Ale
crabtreebrewing.com 2961 29th St , Greeley (970) 356-0516
16. Crazy Mountain Brewing Co.
crazymountainbrewery.com 439 Edwards Access Rd., Edwards (970) 926-3009
17. CROW HOP BREWING crowhopbrewing.com 217 E. 3rd St., Loveland (970) 633-0643 Hours: Mon-Thurs 3-8; Fri 3-11; Sat 12-11; Sun 12-8 Number of Taps: 12 Flagship Beer: Rado’s Red
18. Dancing Pines Distillery 11. Compass Cider
compasscider.com 216 N College Ave, Fort Collins (970) 372-1350
12. CopperMuse Distillery
coppermuse.com 244 N College Ave, Fort Collins (970) 999-6016
13. COOPERSMITH’S PUB AND BREWING coopersmithspub.com 5 Old Town Square, Fort Collins (970) 498-0483 Hours: Sunday-Thurs 11-11; Fri-Sat 11-12 Number of Taps: 15 Cause: Random Acts of Kindness; Donations of $5200 in gift certificates, beer, soda for events for 501c3 organizations Flagship Beer: Punjabi Pale Ale
dancingpinesdistillery.com 1527 Taurus Court, Loveland (970) 635-3426
22. FORT COLLINS BREWERY fortcollinsbrewery.com 1020 E Lincoln Ave, Fort Collins (970) 472-1499 Hours: Brewers Breakroom Wed-Sun Noon-Close Number of Taps: 23 Cause: Climate Wise Gold Partner; Commitment to sustainable brewery and operation Flagship Beer: Red Banshee
23. FUNKWERKS funkwerks.com 1900 E Lincoln Ave, Unit B, Fort Collins (970) 482-FUNK Hours: Sun 11-8; Mon-Thurs 12-8; Fri 12-9; Sat 11-9 Number of Taps: 12 Flagship Beer: Tropic King 24. Grand Lake Brewing
19. EQUINOX BREWING COMPANY equinoxbrewing.com 133 Remington St, Fort Collins (970) 484-1368 Hours: Mon-Wed 12-8; Thurs 12-9; Fri 11-10; Sat 11-10; Sun 12-7 Number of Taps: 16 Flagship Beer: Space Ghost IPA
20. Estes Park Brewery
epbrewery.com 470 Prospect Village Drive, Estes Park (970) 586-5421
21. Fiesty Spirits
grandlakebrewing.com 9921 U.S. 34, Grand Lake (970) 627-9404
25. GRIMM BROTHERS BREWHOUSE grimmbrosbrewhouse.com 623 Denver Ave, Loveland (970) 624-6045 Hours: Mon-Thurs 1-9; FriSat 12-9; Sun 1-7 Number of Taps: 10 Cause: Widespread involvement across many local charity organizations Flagship Beer: Little Red Cap 26. Golden City Brewery
feistyspirits.com gcbrewery.com 1708 E Lincoln Ave #1, Fort Collins 920 12th St, Golden (970) 444-2386 (303) 279-8092 Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015 23
36. Oskar Blues
27. HIGH HOPS highhopsbrewery.com 6461 State Highway 392, Windsor (970) 674-2841 Hours: Monday, 12pm – 5:30pm, Tuesday – Thursday, 12pm – 8pm, Friday – Saturday, 12pm – 9pm, Sunday, 12pm – 7pm Flagship Beer: Golden One
33. NEW BELGIUM BREWERY newbelgium.com 500 Linden St, Fort Collins (970) 221-0524 Hours: Monday – Sunday, 11am – 8pm Cause: Before New Belgium even sold a single bottle of beer, the co-founders went on a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park to establish the core values of sustainability for the company. Since, New Belgium has always been heavily focused on clean industry. Flagship Beer: Fat Tire
28. Hops and Berries
hopsandberries.com 130 W Olive St, Unit B, Fort Collins (970) 493-2484
29. Hops and Berries South
oskarblues.com 1800 Pike Road #B, Longmont (303) 776-1914
37. PATEROS CREEK BREWING COMPANY pateroscreekbrewing.com 242 N. College Ave, Fort Collins (970) 484-7222 Hours: M-W 2-9; Th-F 1210; Sat 11-10; Sun 12-7 Number of Taps: 9 Flagship Beer: Cache La Porter 38. Pumphouse Brewery
pumphousebrewery.com 540 Main St, Longmont (303) 702-0881
hopsandberries.com 1833 E. Harmony Rd., Fort Collins (970) 493-2484
34. New Planet Beer
30. HORSE AND DRAGON BREWING horseanddragonbrewing.com 124 Racquette Dr, Fort Collins (970) 631-8038 Hours: Daily 12-6 Number of Taps: 11 Flagship Beer: Sad Panda Coffee Stout
31. Left Hand Brewing
lefthandbrewing.com 1265 Boston Ave, Longmont (303) 772-0258
32. LOVELAND ALE WORKS lovelandaleworks.com 118 West 4th St, Loveland (970) 619-8726 Hours: Sun-Thurs 12-11; Fri-Sat 12-12 Number of Taps: 10 Flagship Beer: American Sour 24 Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015
newplanetbeer.com 3980 Broadway, Ste. 103, Boulder (303) 842-5656
35. ODELL BREWING COMPANY odellbrewing.com 800 E Lincoln Ave, Fort Collins (970) 498-9070 Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 11am – 7pm; Sunday – Tuesday, 11am – 6pm Cause: Odell is committed to reducing their carbon footprint. They use just under 4 gallons of water to produce one gallon of beer (national average is above 7 gallons) and are entirely solar and wind powered. Odell Outreach is the philanthropy program designed to involve and support community efforts. Flagship Beer: 90 Schilling
39. RALLY KING BREWING rallykingbrewing.com 1624 S. Lemay Ave, Unit 4 Fort Collins, CO 80525 (970) 568-8936 Hours: Mon-Thurs 2-7; Fri 2-9; Sat 12-9; Sun 12-5 Number of Taps: 8 Flagship Beer: Surfer Girl 40. Rock Bottom Brewery
rockbottom.com 6025 Sky Pond Drive, Loveland (970) 622-2077
41. Scrumpy’s
215 North College Ave, Fort Collins (970) 682-1944
42. SNOWBANK BREWING 225 N Lemay Ave, Ste 1, Fort Collins (970) 999-5658 Hours: Mon 2-6; Tue-Thurs 12-8, Fri-sat 12-9; Sun 12-6 Flagship Beer: Imperial Red
43. Snowy Mountain Brewery
snowymountainbrewery.com 601 East Pic Pike Rd Saratoga, Wyoming (307) 326-5261
44. Spring44 Distilling
spring44.com 505 W. 66TH St, Loveland (970) 414 0744
48. VERBOTEN BREWING verbotenbrewing.com 1550 Taurus Ct, Loveland (970) 988-6333 Hours: Sun 1-7; Mon Closed; Tues-Thurs 1-9; FriSat 12-9 Number of Taps: 11 Flagship Beer: Killer Boots 49. Weldwerks Brewing
45. Stranahan’s
stranahans.com 200 S Klamath St, Denver (303) 296-7440
weldwerksbrewing.com 508 8th Avenue Greeley, Colorado 80631 (970) 460-6345
50. Wynkoop Brewery
wynkoop.com 1634 18th St, Denver (303) 297-2700
46. TommyKnocker Brewery
tommyknocker.com 1401 Miner St, Idaho Springs (303) 567-2688
47. Twisted Pine
twistedpinebrewing.com 3201 Walnut St, Boulder (303) 786-9270
51. ZWEI BREWING zweibrewing.com 4612 S Mason St (970) 223-2482 Hours: Mon-Thurs 1-9; FriSat 11-10; Sun 11-7 Number of Taps: 15 Flagship Beer: Dunkel
Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015 25
Finishing note...
“Good people drink good beer.” — Hunter S. Thompson Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
26 Northern Colorado Brewery Guide 2015
We. Love. Beer. And we know you do too. That’s why Wilbur’s has one of the largest selections of craft beers in Northern Colorado. Come in and let our experts help you choose your next favorite brew.
So much more than a liquor store.
2201 South College • (970) 226-8662 | www.WilbursTotalBeverage.com | Open M-Sat 9-10 • Sun 9-7