Colorado beers

Have a step son going snowboarding in Colorado. Want him to bring back sine beers only available in Colorado. Anyone know some good ones

 

Crooked Stave, Denver/Front Range only.

 

Coors Light!

 

Bristol only distributes in Colorado, I believe. I really like their Laughing Lab Scottish Ale and Compass IPA.

 

This isn't only available in Colorado, but Odell is fantastic. If you're a fan of IPAs, see if your son can track down any of those.

 

Trinity in CO Springs. Not sure if they bottle though.

 

tough question, but all the answers are going to be great. odell, bristol, boulder beer company, dry dock (personal favorite since i live about 5 minutes away from it now), avery, durango, left hand, ska brewing (i think they are from here....), great divide. not sure if all of those breweries are "colorado only", but they are a great selection of this states best micros, but by far, this list in not all inclusive. though i would laugh if he shows up with a fat tire, and a half drank 40oz of coors light.

 

Dry Dock is a really good choice that won't kill your wallet (except for Bligh's). You could get 4 or 5 bombers for the price of one bomber of Trinity. I'd go for the vanilla porter or the Wee Heavy myself. Also, Epic (from Salt Lake, but whatever) has a great imperial stout that's around called Big Bad Baptist. That is well worth trying.

 

Funkwerks.

They've only distributed in CO for the better part of the 3 years they've been open, although I think they may be distributing in Boston now (that was their plan). They won best small brewery of the year at GABF this year. Dry Dock won it in 2009, so as said above, that's another good choice.

 

And Crooked Stave, also mentioned above, is another great choice, especially if you think he may like sour or funky beers. They are tiny, but will likely be huge within a relatively short time. Chad Yakobson, their founder, is a bit of an expert on brettanomyces, and has become a valuable resource for both home- and professional brewers, and makes a range of crazy-good all-brett or brett/bacteria beers.

 

Lots of good suggestions. Here are a few more of my favorites. Wynkoop, Upslope, river north, steamworks, boulder beer, Oskar blues. Some of these might be pretty hard to get bottles at the liquor store and a few of them I know are distributed outside Colorado but maybe not to your neck of the woods.

 

They bottle and distribute in house but they are really proud of their product and charge accordingly. If you are up for that and they have bottles available, the merle is awesome and if they still have bottles, they did a collaboration brew with black fox brewing for 12/21 called little death ride that was quite unique and in my opinion worth the bottle price.

 

If you want to blow 25 bucks on an imperial ipa that's been sitting for months out on the shelves, got to Hazel's in Boulder. I guess they're following the Mikkeller pricing model on that beer.

 

Thanks. sadly if left to his own devices he would come back with fat tire and coors light.

 

Ah, I think I misread your original post and that you were looking for beers for him to try. So, I should have said if YOU like funky and/or sour beers, have him pick up some Crooked Stave.

 

Mountain Standard might be my favorite beer. I have to haul it to Chicago from Minneapolis.

 

Upslope IPA for sure. If he's traveling in such a way that he can bring back a growler (or two), Strange Brewing Company is my favorite in Colorado. Last I knew, they still weren't bottling though.

 

While not a beer, you can only get Stranahan's whiskey in CO. I took a tour of the distillery while in Denver. Man, it is fantastic. Kind of a hybrid of scotch and bourbon. I wish I had more.

 

If you are talking Steamworks in Durango there are much better choices like Ska (Pinstripe) or Carvers (Old Oak Amber).

TS where in Colorado is he going?

 

I do agree that ska is better than steamworks but it had already been mentioned before my post. Carvers, I know the name but don't think I have ever had any of their beer and I am very seldom in Durango.

 

Renegade makes a rye ipa in cans that's super tasty. Also I'd second funkwerks.their tropic king is a killer saison.

 

My bad, I didn't see the Ska post. Carvers is a brew pub/bakery that you can only get the beer on site. They do sell growlers and kegs though. It is better than Ska imo....

 

Where will your step son be? Many of the breweries mentioned are in house sales. Will he have an opportunity to visit a bottle shop? If he'll only be in the mountains, not sure of the distribution up there. I would look at Funkwerks and Crooked Stave to start. I believe Crooked Stave is still only in the Denver Metro Area. Bristol and Trinity are good suggestions. Dry Dock is good as well. Really there are so many, he probably can't go wrong.

 

I'm from out of state and am in Colorado right now and I am enjoying O'dell's 90 Shilling, Ske Modus Hoperandi IPA (2 thimbs up!!!) and some other non Colorado beers that I can't get in my home state. Ska makes some great stuff. If you can find Euphoria Pale Ale from Ska I highly recommend it, it is a Simcoe Pale Ale.....great stuff.

 

You read it right beers are for me. Like me some Bret beers. He's an idiot and drinks bright blue vodka and thinks corona is a great beer

 

Grimm Brothers in Loveland. Their Red Cap won gold at GABF. Can be found in bombers at a few liquor stores in the ares or go to their taproom. It is worth the drive plus it puts you within 30 min. Of Fort Collins and their 11 breweries. Truly a Mecca for craft beer.

 

if you are around Eagle colorado there is a small brewery called Bonfire brewing, great beer cool place. My daughter and I stopped there on our way through last summer, had so much fun we stayed an extra day.

 

ohhh and another one that i thought of, Eddyline brewery, they make a great IPA.

 

don't let him come home with out........I REPEAT, DO NOT LET HIM THROUGH THE DOOR UNLESS HE HAS O'DELLS IPA IN HAND!!!!!! O'dell also has an amazing APA called 5 barrel pale ale, 90 shillings is also great! IMO Odell makes the best IPA

 

Great Divide Old Ruffian Barleywine.

 

Dry docks vanilla porter is on of my all time favs!