Great Divide Brewing Company

BigbROB

Illinois

4.38/5  rDev +5.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Great Divide Tap Room is exactly that. A small room, little bigger than before, with taps on the wall. But the beer is good and the service is good. On a nice day make sure to sit out front and watch all the cool kids on their fixed gear bikes. I took a tour there awhile ago, and it was quite personal. Small group got up close and personal with all the people and equipment. Good times. A must stop if you are in Denver.

05-17-2013 14:11:58 | More by BigbROB

Hibernator

Massachusetts

4.4/5  rDev +5.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This was my first stop on Saturday for a mini beer bar tour in Denver. Great Divide Tap Room was about a six block walk from the 16th Street Mall and was pretty easy to locate.

The actual Tap Room itself was smaller than I imagined and things were pretty busy when I got there. They have a small patio area out front, which was pretty nice to sit down in the sun with a breeze and appreciate a Yeti Stout directly from the source. I also noticed they had some good music playing like Led Zeppelin & The Doors, while I was there which added greatly to the overall vibe.

They offered about 8 or so taps when I was there. Options included Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Stout (delicious!), Grand Cru, Colette, Wild Raspberry Ale, Titan Ale, Samurai Ale, Hercules Double IPA and Claymore Scotch Ale.

I had a good time while I was there and all of the beers here were extremely fresh. Gotta love Great Divide, they make some killer beers.

03-28-2011 22:45:23 | More by Hibernator

yaegerje

Minnesota

4.44/5  rDev +6.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

They had a nice selection of tap and bottled poured beer available, really nice prices too, 3 or 4 dollars for most of the beers during happy hour, beer at its freshest for that price is great.

We showed up at 230 for the 3PM tour, got on just fine, tour was fine, nothing exceptional, I would have expected some samples or something, pretty standard for the industry but that's ok. Showed us all the fermenting towers, grain room, mash and lauter tun, and bottling facility, the hostess/tour guide was very knowledgeable and was open to questions during the tour. My suggestion is grab a beer or two before the tour and carry them around with you, the tour lasted approx. 1/2 hour.

The bartender was also very helpful and attentive, it's a pretty small tap-room, it could probably only fit about 20 people comfortably but that's ok, really cool industrial type setting fits the style of the brewery and the people working their, I really enjoyed my time spent at the brewery. If I wasn't taking a flight back home I would have bought a bunch of GD beer to take home.

03-11-2011 16:11:33 | More by yaegerje

ferrari29

Illinois

4.45/5  rDev +7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $

Walking into Great Divide I was not immediately impressed with the overall setup of the place. It's kind of small, and the bar takes up a lot of the space in the front room. We had a chance to take a took of the facility, which is again, pretty small compared to some of the other breweries I have visited in the past. But the staff was extremely knowledgeable, and at the time they were very excited about the million dollar bottling machine they purchased. Having that bottling machine meant they could increase production and meet the growing demand in US & Japan. With all that work I find it hard to believe that every GD brew comes out of that facility, but it does. For that I applaud the owners and workers on a job well done. Another thing sparked my interest is the fact that everyone strolls into work on a bike. I'm floored by the fact that people do that, since I work in downtown Chicago and deal with traffic all day. They also had a sincere appreciation for what they did and you can tell from the looks on their faces that they loved their job quite a bit. Great stuff.

After taking the tour, the bartender shared with my wife and I a wide selection of beers they had on tap for the weekend, Hoss, Titan IPA, Hades, Yeti, Hercules Double IPA, and Wild Raspberry Ale (one of my favorites). As you can tell we had quite a few brews but it made for a great occasion, especially when we got our tab. It was only $16.00. I also bought a bottle of 15th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA. It was a a great beer!

It's also located in a great area, down the street from Coors Field. We made our way over to watch a really good game between the Rockies and the Pirates. So that made for quite a pleasurable experience. Overall good town, good facility and great beer!

11-05-2010 22:14:56 | More by ferrari29

bditty187

Nebraska

4.46/5  rDev +7.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $

Recently I had my second visit to Great Divide. We stopped in on a Monday afternoon about 2:30. There was 10 people around the bar area... many drinking pints/goblets while some had samplers. Most, as it turned out, were waiting for the 3pm tour (which we had no interest in taking as I've been on many brewery tours including GD).

Service was great. The bartender was busy and she kept up with everybody. She was cool and knew enough about their beer. I couldn't say she was a beer geek but she got the job done. Over the course of the hour we were there I had a Hercules and Espresso Yeti... my fiancée had a Hades (via bottle) and a Claymore (tap). Unlike our last visit (during a GABF weekend) there was nothing overly unique or funky (aka, no brewery-only stuff) which was to be expected but a bummer nevertheless.

The vibe is chill, cool... but still a brewery with a taproom. No TV. No food besides chips. I like GD but it isn't much more than a place to grab a fresh GD beer or two and move on. The place, as mentioned, is awfully small.

Prices are very good... if you factor in the free samples it is quite the bargain.

The lady that gave the 3pm tour, once completed, came back and had a DPA straight from the bottle which I thought was really odd. Not that drinking from the bottle is a crime but is it really the image a brewery wants of its beer?

All in all, I wouldn't consider Great Divide a must stop but if you have the time it is worth it.

01-12-2011 17:14:28 | More by bditty187

Rayek

Colorado

4.5/5  rDev +8.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I've been a regular at the GD Tap Room since last summer and wish I'd started going sooner. It's really a great place to relax and grab a beer after work.

Where to begin? I'll get one thing out of the way first. Food is limited to chips, pretzels and nuts. If you want more, come to one of the monthly beer and cheese pairings, which are a blast.

The room itself is pretty small. There's an L shaped bar that seats perhaps a dozen people. In the far corner are a couple of high tables, and along the exterior wall is a long counter with perhaps another dozen seats. There are small windows behind the bar that look out into the brewery. For special events, they bring in extra tables and set them up inside the brewery itself. On nice days, you can sit outside on the patio.

All the GD beers that are in season are available. There are eight taps, and anything that isn't on the taps that day is available in bottles. There are also occasional Tap Room only releases, and sometimes you can catch something on tap before it's bottled and hits the stores.

Being just down the street from the baseball stadium, things get busy and tight on game days. The rest of the time, it's usually pretty mellow.

One of my favorite things is being able to get up to four tasters for free. If I walk in and don't know what I'm in the mood for, it's nice to be able to line up a few beers and decide which one I want a full pint of.

Pricing is comparable to area brewpubs. Beer prices drop by a dollar during happy hour on week nights. The staff has always been friendly and efficient.

All in all, I feel pretty lucky having the Tap Room as a go to spot to grab a beer after a long day. Here's hoping they never move out of downtown.

01-31-2010 05:42:18 | More by Rayek

Hoppy-Joe

Colorado

4.5/5  rDev +8.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | $$

This place has really good brews and many different kinds to choose from. Went on a super busy Saturday and still got beers within reasonable amounts of wait times. Good price on beers as well. And you can beat the 3 oz. samplers for $1 that in which they donate the proceeds of to local nonprofits. My only bad thing to say about this place is that there were no samples giving out on the tour.

03-16-2013 18:54:00 | More by Hoppy-Joe

MilwaukeeCrusher

Wisconsin

4.6/5  rDev +10.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$

Stopped in one evening and the place was stomped. After waiting a little bit of time, and I had beer and it was exceptional, as expected. Their choices were as well, which made me think about how I would like to maybe spend more than a few hours here and the difficulties it was exert on my wallet and my orientation relative to altitude sickness. In the beer carnival that is Denver this is its shining star to me in regards to beer. The drawbacks are the diminished hours open, the relative small size of the brew pub, and its locale isn't exactly in the most ideal place (a homeless shelter is half a block away). If they build a facility on the outskirts of town that is laid out like some of the nice "experiences" I had in Michigan, this brewery would probably get a perfect score... but because of the beer, the choices, and the quality I will definitely have to go back again.

01-08-2011 20:19:52 | More by MilwaukeeCrusher

JEdmund

Kansas

4.6/5  rDev +10.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $

My wife and I had a great time visiting Great Divide's tap room while in Denver one Friday evening. Each bar tender we interacted with was genuinely friendly and helpful. We came during happy hour, so our two Titans only cost $6. Then the bar tender alerted us to the fact that everyone (new?) gets to have four free samples! And these are pretty generous pours. After lining up 8 samples, he then lines up two more of the casked Smoked Baltic Porter. After going through all the beers, we were done for--and had only spent $6. So, we purchased a number of glasses and a t-shirt (also all reasonably priced), and they tossed in a dozen free stickers and three bottle openers.

I already loved Great Divide beer, but the great time we had at the tap room ensured we will be returning each time we visit Denver, and it's a place I will encourage others to seek out while in the city.

12-06-2010 15:54:16 | More by JEdmund

ObeerwanCO

Colorado

4.6/5  rDev +10.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $

This is my favorite hometown brewery. Great Divide brews some outstanding beers and this is a great place to drink them. My favorite is the Hercules Double IPA, followed closely by the Yeti Stout. They offer three or four free samples to start and these are substantial. It's about the equivalent of a free beer. Then its $4 for a pint.

It is a simple no-frills tap room, which is part of the appeal for me. Not too much hanging on the walls other than the brewery's medals from GABF. The service here is awesome. It gets busy and the bartenders seem to take it in stride and, more importantly, keep the beers flowing.

My batchelor party started off here on a Friday afternoon and after drinking a large volume of Yeti Stout we decided to take a tour. Apparently, they knew one of my friends and instead of having us wait for a guided tour, they just opened the door and let us wander around the brewery on our own for awhile. Sweet. Its a pretty small place and is hard to believe they can produce the variety they offer.

Great Divide doesn't normally serve food, so plan accordingly. However, on the weekends they often team up with local restaurants and set up food trucks, which can have some really good stuff.

02-25-2011 05:49:38 | More by ObeerwanCO