Dry Dock Brewing Co.

FightingEntropy

Minnesota

4.35/5  rDev +4.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25 | $$

07/06/12

Dry Dock Brewing from the back looking
towards the taps near the front door

First round with one of my favorite views
Gloria and I are in town for GALA, but we got a hotel in Aurora to have an evening at Dry Dock Brewing before the singing started. Brewing TV did an episode on Dry Dock before Northern Brewer came out with their Dry Dock brew kits. Between that and hearing about the start of the pub on Basic Brewing Radio, having a pint here was at the top of my drinking list for a trip to Denver.

Today, Dry Dock is the fully expanded version of a tap room of original business on site: The Brew Hut. From the bar, it looks like a pretty cool brew shop, but closed at the moment. Great idea to have the two side by side to support the making and drinking of very local craft beer. Dry Dock is still very much a tap room with limited hours and free popcorn is your only sustenance. Eat ahead of time, bring it along (saw a group with Chinese take-out) and come for the company and the beer. My favorite feature of the pub was a self serve water station to stay hydrated without bothering the bartenders. JL Beers needs to take a lesson from Dry Dock.

I started with the Double IPA, which was very solid. The Urca Vanilla Porter was a strong, extremely sweet porter full of vanilla, like a beer milkshake. My favorite of the night was the U.S.S. Enterprise IPA that reminds me a bit of Masala Mama from my home pub Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery. These and a couple of other drafts made for a mellow start to an exciting week in Denver.

Pictures at http://pintsizedrevelations.blogspot.com/2013/05/dry-dock-brewing-aurora-co.html

05-27-2013 16:32:34 | More by FightingEntropy

MilwaukeeCrusher

Wisconsin

3.44/5  rDev -17.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | $$

I had stopped here with a friend a few years back and what a difference... then it was a homebrew shop first it seemed and the brewery an afterthought (although I know they had awards already). Now a nice big brew pub with open ceilings. I did a sampler and found their lineup to be quite solid, although I was hoping that I could try their barleywine. Maybe because of that I don't feel over the top about this place, but I do intend to stop there again someday.

03-16-2013 00:12:39 | More by MilwaukeeCrusher

aeibrean

Nevada

4.58/5  rDev +9.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Went in on a Monday evening, yet the crowd was decent. The folks in the place ranged from a 3 year old boy to an 80 yr old hippie & his wife. I liked this. The place is decorated in a loose nautical theme, which I find interesting in land locked Colorado.
The beer was very good, I tried the bounty old ale, which was great. Excellent texture, flavour & taste. The colour was outstanding as well. I also tried the naked porter which was on hand pull. It was very good, the colour was a bit weak, as was the taste. Overall, for a porter it was a touch watery. I would try it again though. as I said it was just a touch watery for my taste. not bad, just not outstanding. My uncle had an apricot brew, he raved about it.
The service was good, but not great. I am from Manhattan, so I am used to exemplary service as standard.
I will be going back, I had a wonderful time.

03-12-2013 15:58:17 | More by aeibrean

bditty187

Nebraska

3.3/5  rDev -20.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 2 | selection: 3.75 | $$

We visited Dry Dock on a Thursday night, it was busy. I was happy we found a parking spot as close as we did. The reviews on beeradvocate and yelp were both so overly positive it was stupid of us (the wife and I) not to stop since our hotel was only a few blocks away.

Nearly every table was full when we arrived. We ending up finding a little table towards the back of the building near the shuffleboard table (sweet!). Once we sat down we could not tell if there was table service as there was so many people milling about. I went to the bar, nice selection of taps. Based on what I read online we ordered the Apricot Ale and Wee Heavy. I thought both were duds. The Wee Heavy was thin and weak and while the Apricot Ale had a great nose it did not deliver on the palate.

Since we were here we might as well have another beer before going to dinner. (A side note: As mentioned in many reviews, no food here. Just popcorn and a binder full of nearby restaurants that deliver.) I walked back to the bar and ordered two more beers, Vanilla Porter and Double IPA (which I read nothing but good things about). When I got back to our table my wife informed me she was chewed out by our “waitress” (who knew we had one) that she should be getting our beers. Hello! We had been there over 20 minutes already and nobody stopped by our table. This attitude was a bit off-putting. The Vanilla Porter was solid, very good. The Double IPA was a joke. It was “IPA-ish” at best.

So after two beers each we decided not to order food in and left for Wing Hut across the street. I failed to see what the hype was about this place. Obviously people like it here as it was busy as hell. Me… meh.

01-20-2013 14:20:55 | More by bditty187

puboflyons

New Hampshire

4.3/5  rDev +3.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Don't expect to see a dinner menu when yoiu walk into this place because they do not cook and serve their own food. They do however give you the option to order from the delivery menus of several local restaurants while you order a glass of beer brewed on the premises. A wooden rustic look on the inside although the outside looks like something out of a strip mall. There were 6 or 7 beers available on tap or for sale in bottles. I was on a business trip to Colorado because otherwise I was not aware of this place. But I was pleased to find it.

09-06-2012 02:34:03 | More by puboflyons

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4.3/5  rDev +3.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $

the value here is awesome. great prices for excellent beers. much larger than i expected, with all bottling being done on site. smallish bar with lots of seat yourself tables, free popcorn, and open atmosphere with lots of loud conversation and barrels just hanging out. maybe ten or twelve beers on tap, and it was firkin friday with a roasted pecan old ale. YUM! all the beers we had were great, some even world class. service wasnt bad for a friday night, real busy, but people were knowledgeable and chatty. a really great place to get the growlers filled up and meet your neighbors. i loved this place and might start frequenting it, only drawback in my eyes is that its in aurora. definitely hit this one up

04-28-2012 23:25:43 | More by StonedTrippin

AmberC

5/5  rDev +19.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

My husband and I frequent this brewery often and have yet to be let down. The staff and owners are extremely friendly and helpful and the beer is excellent.
They recently had a Poppy stout on tap which I can honestly say has been my favorite so far.
Their heffeweizen has a great, unique banana-esque flavoring that I've never experienced before.
Their Vanilla Porter has a great vanilla flavoring that isn't overwhelming and a nice, thick consistency with a smooth finish.
The Apricot blonde is a great beer for anyone who is not necessarily a beer drinker because of its easy drinkability and great apricot taste.
Their Double IPA is also easily one of the best in Colorado.
Every person we have referred to Dry Dock has come away a new fan.
Highly recommended!

02-28-2012 00:28:43 | More by AmberC

Flounder57

Massachusetts

4.44/5  rDev +6.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

We stopped here the other day based on recommendations from our bartenders at the Falling Rock. Cool find and not to far from Denver if you catch every green light or take the highway.

The atmosphere of this place is good. A decent size bar, a bunch of tables inside up front, more outside in a fenced in area, and more tables around the corner right before the entrance to the homebrew store. Yes folks, a homebrew store is attached to the brewery. Wicked cool. They even had a bunch of whiskey barrels available for sale. Plenty of people talking and no music. You also get a view into the brewery in the middle of the bar. Different type of setup, but it worked for us.

The quality of the beer is good since they make everything on site and barrel age some of their beers from a local distillery Stranahans close to the brewery. We actually had the chance to try out a special barrel aged brew and it was deliciously smooth.

Service was great. Once again we found two employees from MA and NH, but I think they found us, so we got over the top hospitality service due to them being big Pats fans and the fact that we all share a common bond that we call New England. We got to try out extra beers that they pulled from out back and got some beer to take home also.

The selection was good for a brewpub given that they only offered their own beers. There were around 12 or so beers to choose from, growlers were available for filling, bombers were ready to go in the fridge, and logs and 1/2 barrels were available for sale.

Just to let other people know, they don't serve food. So eat up and fill your bellies up like we did before we went here.

We would like to thank our bartenders about this place and very happy we hit it up.

12-19-2011 17:42:54 | More by Flounder57

mactrail

California

4.08/5  rDev -2.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Remarkable range of beers, all well described on the boards and printed menu. The five seasonal styles tend toward German with some fruit beers and a selection of "normal" styles for the standard house brews. But there is a lot to choose from and they seem to keep several new seasonals coming all the time.

Service was attentive and responsive when you wanted something. One of the bartenders stopped to check on us and gave a dissertation on the style of our beer and the philosophy of the place while he took a breather. And the well-used brewery is right there through the window.

Free popcorn. A group was having a potluck dinner in the big back room, which seems like a great idea for a place like this to promote. I think this is a really interesting variation on how beer businesses are making a go of it these days. Intimacy? no, but it's very jolly and unpretentious, and the noise level is bearable since they skip the all-too-common blare of music-like noise.

Way the hell out in darkest Aurora, so not likely for a quick downtown Denver visit. But totally worth seeking out if you have the time and transportation. Among the most interesting brewpubs in Denver. I'd skip Wynkoop and go here if for some reason you had to choose one.

12-18-2011 04:47:18 | More by mactrail

Dogbrick

Ohio

4/5  rDev -4.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

(Visited 07/2011): Dry Dock is situated on the southeast side of Aurora on East Hampden Ave at the end of a plaza within a larger plaza. Parking spots are abundant in both but were scarce on my visit.

The building is segmented to a tap room on the left and a homebrew shop on the right. On the tap room side the wavy bar is along the left, looking directly into the brewery. Opposite that are long tables with high chairs. More seating is available on picnic benches between. There is a patio outside as well. The right side is a shop which happened to be packed on my visit as it looked like they were doing some kind of tasting. As such I was not able to do more than poke my head in.

Dry Dock has around 9-10 of their beers on tap, including a couple seasonals. Many have a maritime theme such as HMS Bounty Old Ale or USS Enterprise IPA. They are pretty much all above average with no real standouts. Sampler paddles area available too.

Service on a weekday afternoon was good. I was served by multiple bartenders and they were all friendly and well-versed in their selection.

No food here aside from popcorn, although there is a pretty good rib joint (Revned) a couple doors down.

Overall this is a solid brewery/tap room to visit in the Denver/Aurora area.

12-07-2011 18:51:25 | More by Dogbrick