Thinking about a weekend trip to CO - help me plan?

[John Beere]

We are thinking about a weekend trip (this weekend) to CO.. would fly into Denver, rent a car, and just drive. I've done this before and had a blast. I for sure want to get up around Estes Park, but I want to know other places to go.. microbreweries, bars, awesome restaurants, you name it!

 

[John Beere]

Tommyknocker's brewery looks like it's in..
http://www.tommyknocker.com/

 

[John Beere]

Boulder Beer Company looks like it's in..
http://www.boulderbeer.com/

 

[Marsdude]

Estes Park had a brew pub that has just OK beer.

I would suggest a visit to the Fort Collins area where you could visit:

New Belgium: http://www.newbelgium.com/

Odells: http://www.odells.com/

Equinox Brewing: http://www.equinoxbrewing.com/

Fort Collins Brewery: http://www.fortcollinsbrewery.com/

CooperSmith's BrewPub: http://www.coopersmithspub.com/

CB Potts BrewPub: http://www.cbpotts.com/

Some good beer to be had.

 

[John Beere]

Thanks.. I was just looking at the Fort Collins area and think we could swing through there on Sunday.

 

[Airborneguy]

Ft. Collins is a must. It is one of Beer's Meccas in all honesty. Another one just opened like last week but the name escapes me right now. I have been to almost 40 breweries/brewpubs, and New Belgium had the best tour by far. DO NOT SKIP FT. COLLINS!

 

[John Beere]

I would love to see New Begium's brewery.. It is just a shame that every beer of theirs i've tried made me horribly sick. :-/

 

[Buffman]

Check out Oskar Blues in Lyons, on the way to Estes Park. http://www.oskarblues.com/

Also, don't miss Boulder: Avery is a decent brewery.

My favorite statewide, however, has to be Coopersmith's, in Ft. Collins.

 

[John Beere]

Thanks guys! Keep em coming! What about restaurants (which serve beer obviously..)??

 

[Wayne1]

In Denver

http://www.fallingrocktaphouse.com/

http://rackhousepub.com/

http://www.thecheekymonk.com/

http://www.mountainsunpub.com/

Mountain Sun has the VINE St. Pub in Denver along with two brewpubs in Boulder.

In Longmont

http://www.oskarblues.com/restaurant/liquids-solids

 

[Marsdude]

Thanks.. I was just looking at the Fort Collins area and think we could swing through there on Sunday.

You might want to rethink the Sunday visit - New Belgium, Odell,s, and Equinox will be closed on Sunday.

To go on a New Belgium tour requires that you sign up in advance on their website. If they are booked up you can show up in their tasting room and ask to go on the tour if someone doesn't show - that happens frequently.

 

[John Beere]

We stretched out the trip through Monday.. We will drive into Fort Collins Sunday night and hit up all the breweries Monday AM.. Have to back in Denver at the airport by 3ish..

I think we will head out I-70 Saturday morning, then up highway 40 through Estes Park. Any must-sees or must-dos out that way?

 

[mattmcl]

Don't forget Twisted Pine in Boulder. They're small, but they always have some amazing experimental stuff in their tap room.

 

[Wayne1]

While the scenery is great taking 40 up, Trail Ridge Road is still closed. They usually don't get it cleared until Memorial Day weekend.

The best bet is to take 36 up through Boulder. Have lunch and tour some breweries. Then up to Lyons and finally into Estes Park.

You may also want to check out the Colorado Beer Drinker's Map.

http://www.beerdrinkersguidetocolorado.com/beermap.html

 

[uwjester]

When you get to Fort Collins on Sunday, have lunch or dinner at Choice City deli. They have an amazing tap and bottle selection and some great meats. If you need another meal, try Coopersmiths downtown or Cafe Vino on College Ave. Coopersmiths brews their own. Cafe Vino is another place with an insane selection.

I personally like the O'Dells tour more than the New Belgium, but both are worth it for sure. I don't know if Equinox brewery is doing tours yet, but they have some pretty good taps. They may be closed Monday though, I know the LHBS attached to it is.

For Denver, I would not want to miss Great Divide or Falling Rock (lunch maybe?).
Oskar Blues is awesome.
Left Hand in Longmont is pretty cool.
Avery has great beer, but the last time I went, they didn't have anything I couldn't just get in a bottle at the local store.

The Silver Grill in Fort Collins is a pretty good breakfast.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

When you get to Fort Collins on Sunday, have lunch or dinner at Choice City deli. They have an amazing tap and bottle selection and some great meats. If you need another meal, try Coopersmiths downtown or Cafe Vino on College Ave. Coopersmiths brews their own. Cafe Vino is another place with an insane selection.

I personally like the O'Dells tour more than the New Belgium, but both are worth it for sure. I don't know if Equinox brewery is doing tours yet, but they have some pretty good taps. They may be closed Monday though, I know the LHBS attached to it is.

For Denver, I would not want to miss Great Divide or Falling Rock (lunch maybe?).
Oskar Blues is awesome.
Left Hand in Longmont is pretty cool.
Avery has great beer, but the last time I went, they didn't have anything I couldn't just get in a bottle at the local store.

The Silver Grill in Fort Collins is a pretty good breakfast.

Though I've never eaten there, Russ, the owner, is a long time friend of my wife. We got together a few times when he came back to Mansfield about a month ago.

He's set to receive a couple of bombers of my bourbon barrel aged smoked porter tomorrow. If you do go to Choice City, ask for Russ. He's a really good guy and am sure would treat you kindly.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[John Beere]

OK.. This is coming together nicely!

We will be going to the Falling Rock Taphouse on Friday night for a late dinner and drinks.. Then we'll end up at Tommy Knockers in Idaho Springs by lunch on Saturday. We'll then mosey up to Granby, then over to Estes Park, and end up at Choice City Deli for dinner on Sunday. Monday we'll hit up a tour of O'Dells or New Belgium, then make our way back to Denver for a late lunch, then catch our flight.

Anyone know where to go up around Grandy on h-way 40/34?

 

[steinsato]

I was just in Denver a few weeks ago and some friends of ours took us to a restaurant called Steuben's. It is not really a beer place but they have great food and fantastic cocktails. I highly recommend their St. Gingermaine. It is a few blocks from the Fillmore on Pearl St. if I remember correctly.

 

[ColoradoXJ13]

BOULDER! I don't know why you are skipping it, and whoever said Coopersmiths is better than Avery doesn't know beer. Tommyknocker isn't very good in my opinion either. If you skip Boulder, I think you are missing out. Avery, Mountain Sun, Oskar Blues (they have restaurants in Lyons and Longmont, and a tap room/brewery in Longmont as well) Twisted Pine, and a new small place called Asher Brewing are the places to hit. I think you can skip Upslope, and Boulder Beer is ok but nothing out of this world.

 

[steinsato]

+1 to Mountain Sun in Boulder. They have great beers, especially if your a hop head!

 

[John Beere]

Well, Tommy Knockers was just on our way..

So we could do Boulder for lunch, then head out 119 to 72 south for our quick trip throughout the mountains.. So, Where for lunch in Boulder??

 

[John Beere]

Ok, that's the plan.. We'll hit Boulder by lunch, the end up in winter park by Saturday evening. So, now all that's left is 1) best brew pub for lunch in Boulder and 2) best brew pub / restaurant in Winter Park for dinner?

Thank you guys!!

 

[mattmcl]

Mountain Sun has food, but I haven't eaten there in years- not sure how good it is.

 

[jmkratt]

Hmm, I believe Winter Park Brewing Company is open, though I haven't been there in a couple years. Nothing fancy but I kinda liked it, a from college worked there for a while and would take us there.

It's too bad Trail Ridge is closed as it would take you right through Grand Lake, which is beautiful and has a brewery as well.

As for Boulder I can't help you there.

I will second Coopersmith's in Fort Collins. 2nd oldest brewpub in the state (or something like that).

 

[KellyK]

Boulder Beer serves food and is a great stop for lunch. Right close to Boulder Beer is Redstone Meadery, which if you have any interest in Mead shouldn't be missed. Avery is awesome, they just redesigned their tap room and have a ton of offerings. If I could only go to one brewery in Colorado it would be Avery, hands down.

 

[jmkratt]

Boulder Beer serves food and is a great stop for lunch. Right close to Boulder Beer is Redstone Meadery, which if you have any interest in Mead shouldn't be missed. Avery is awesome, they just redesigned their tap room and have a ton of offerings. If I could only go to one brewery in Colorado it would be Avery, hands down.

Maharaja is :rockin:

I respectfully disagree however and wouldn't miss Odell's if I had to only go to one brewery. They also just finished their remodel and produce, in my opinion, the best beer in the state. Great atmosphere too.

 

[John Beere]

It's too bad Trail Ridge is closed as it would take you right through Grand Lake, which is beautiful and has a brewery as well.

As for Boulder I can't help you there.

It's closed? There is no way up to Grand Lake??

 

[John Beere]

I just called the Colorado DOT Hotline and they are saying that it is open but reduced to a single lane.. Do you know a way to find out for sure? That would greatly impacts our plan..

 

[ColoradoXJ13]

Roads like Trail Ridge are sketchy at best out here this time of year....they are surely still getting snow up there...No other good way to get to Granby/Winter Park from FoCo. i.e. it might be open now, but might not be open this weekend...

Lunch in Boulder - go mountain sun...kill two birds. Just don't get pissy...it is run by hippies, real hippies, food may take a while, they may forget stuff...just go into it all with a good attitude and enjoy the beer. As tempting as the Pollo Asada burrito (and all their burritos are) don't do it...one of those and a couple beers leads to gastric disasters. Stick to a burger (SOB and Basil Blue are my faves). Or, you could eat at Oskar Blues either in Lyons or Longmont...food is amazing, great bbq, and great beer...in fact, I'd go to Avery, then have lunch at Oskar Blues.

Oh, and if you are driving to Estes from Longmont/Lyons, take 52 west to Lyons, then go up St. Vrain canyon to peak-to-peak highway north to Estes (instead of 36), much nicer route.

 

[John Beere]

Thanks much.. leaning towards lunch at Oskar Blues.

If we did this and could stick to our plan of ending up in Winter Park by Saturday night, can you make it through St Vrain Canyon, down 72, and then over to Winter Park in 4~5 hours?

What I'm hearing is that 34 might be closed due, or might by one lane due to construction on two bridges..

*EDIT* - just looked it up on Google Maps and it is stating only about 2h 20m from Lyons to Winter Park on that route..

 

[John Beere]

Looks like Avery only does tours at 4 PM.. that's out. :-/

 

[John Beere]

The Colorado DOT just emailed me.. Highway 34 from Granby to Estes Park is definitely open this weekend. Woot!

 

[Buffman]

Mountain Sun has food, but I haven't eaten there in years- not sure how good it is.

The food is really average; nothing special. The beer and the Boulder atmosphere, however, are the reasons to go. Plus, its just off the end of the Pearl Street Mall - an outdoor mall, good for walking off the beer buzz before getting back in the car. We were there last fall. The strong smell of brewing beer had my four-year-old plugging her nose the whole time! (I don't think she's related to me.)

 

[jamesnsw]

It's hard to combine with all the other breweries, but if you can, make it to Dry Dock. They make some great beers. Fridays they tap a firkin of some variation of one of their beers, which range from strange to delicious.

Also, it may be worth checking out Strange Brewing- they just opened this week.

 

[jmkratt]

The Colorado DOT just emailed me.. Highway 34 from Granby to Estes Park is definitely open this weekend. Woot!

Sorry to get you concerned with my previous post, I am glad it's open! You should enjoy that drive, very pretty

 

[RDWHAHB]

Cheeky Monk in Denver for good food and truly great beers. Couple blocks East of the capital on Colfax.

 

[Marsdude]

OK.. This is coming together nicely!

We will be going to the Falling Rock Taphouse on Friday night for a late dinner and drinks.. Then we'll end up at Tommy Knockers in Idaho Springs by lunch on Saturday. We'll then mosey up to Granby, then over to Estes Park, and end up at Choice City Deli for dinner on Sunday. Monday we'll hit up a tour of O'Dells or New Belgium, then make our way back to Denver for a late lunch, then catch our flight.

Anyone know where to go up around Grandy on h-way 40/34?

I don't think that schedule will work for Fort Collins. Odell's opens at 11 AM. The first tour is at 1 PM. New Belgium is closed to the public on Monday.

+1 on Choice City Deli. Lots of great beers and the food is great. I love their burgers.

 

[ndsgr]

This thread is perfect timing. I'll be out in Broomfield next month for work and was just looking to see what beers I am going to drink. Thanks guys!

 

[John Beere]

OK, so Monday we'll have to switch it up. We can try to catch the first tour of O'Dells at 1, but we have to be at the Denver Airport at 3:30 latest..

So, all I need now is one more place to eat in Fort Collins? Should we do the Choice City Deli for dinner or lunch?

We are heading out now, but I'll check this thread sometime later today.

Thank you guys very much!

 

[uwjester]

So I think you are eating dinner Sunday and lunch Monday in Fort Collins, correct? If so, I'd go to Cafe Vino for dinner and Choice City for lunch.

I chose Cafe Vino over Coopersmiths because it has Pliny the Elder on tap and you might not get that in GA. Of course, you may have already had it at Falling Rock.

http://www.cafevino.com/beer.php