Freshcraft

GilGarp

Colorado

4.65/5  rDev +11%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$

Fresh craft is just off the beaten path of 16th street mall and only a short walk from Coors Field. It appears very small from the street because of it's narrow front but you find it goes a long ways back. The bar is up front so it gets good natural light but the rest of the place consists of dimly lit booths.

Lots of great taps and a big bottle list make this a fantastic place to stop for a beer before or after a ball game. However, what really sets Freshcraft appart from the other place on Blake St. is the food. Two of the best sandwiches from recent memory were here - the BAR which is an outstandingly good ruben and the Big Kahuna. I consider myself a ruben afficiando and this one was one of the best I've ever had. The Big Kahuna was a daily special but I think they should make it a full-time menu item. Thin-sliced ham, grilled pineapple, and a bacon/beer battered onion ring. Both were divine.

Overall a fantastic place for lunch in Denver. A great beer list and some of the best pub grub you'll find anywhere.

I first went to Freshcraft about two months ago but have been back twice since then, which says a lot.

05-19-2011 20:33:17 | More by GilGarp

BigbROB

Illinois

4.67/5  rDev +11.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 5 | $$

Was here a couple times. Once during GABF and was amazing. The tap list and bottle list had some very rare desirable beers. The second trip back still had a great selection, but not nearly as rare. That is what is expected during GABF though. OVerall a great experience. If you can not get a seat though it can be a little annoying. Not a ton of room to just hang out and drink without a table. Not a problem usually except during GABF.

05-17-2013 14:21:51 | More by BigbROB

carteravebrew

Colorado

4.2/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Ah Freshcraft, one of my favorite joints to take people from out of town. Exposed brick, a great menu with modern/eclectic food, and an impressive beer selection. I like it because there seems to be something for everyone: the food menu is diverse; they have a lot of different beers, wines, and liquor; they've got televisions with sports if you're interested but they don't deter from the rest of the atmosphere. I wish there was more standing room as it can get pretty crowded. The bartenders seem to be more informative and friendly than the table waitstaff, but that's almost typical nowadays. Reasonable pricing for downtown. Always one of my favorite stops.

07-06-2012 17:24:35 | More by carteravebrew

denver10

Colorado

4.45/5  rDev +6.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5 | $$

A very chill place to eat and drink. Laid back, to the bones, casual. A nice large bottle selection but its the rotating tap line up that is most impressive. The food is solid...they take casual food and prepare it with a little more attention and care than typical. My biggest complaint is their limited appetizer list, which is small and doesn't really offer anything of much appeal. I end up buying a salad instead which is good but I come here to eat and drink and I generally prefer to heat something a little heavier when I drink. Service is okay, they have a decent handle of the beers and food they serve. Value is in line with what you'd expect...affordable but sometimes I feel as though the price and portion size could be a little more balanced. Probably the result of their choice of ingredients they use to prepare these meals.

02-21-2012 16:55:25 | More by denver10

SalukiAlum

Colorado

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

This is one of my favorite beer bars! Nice simple tap selection, maybe 20 beers on tap, but always amazing selections! Then they have a cooler of bottled and canned beers that is on par with their tap selections. Went in for lunch this past Saturday and enjoyed a Great Divide Espresso Yeti with a very good breakfast burrito! Then my wife an I split a few barleywines from Lagunitas and Sierra Nevada. The service here is always excellent and the staff is very friendly and knowledgable. It goes to show you don't need 50+ taps to be a great beer bar. Service also goes a long way! Also a good place to watch sporting events, with some midwest influence definitely apparent. We will return!!! Great food and beer, they also ave great daily specials and happy hour specials.

01-30-2012 03:47:49 | More by SalukiAlum

ArrogantB

Colorado

4.18/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

I recently went to this place after wanting to visit for several months. Its kind of long and narrow but on a Saturday afternoon it was roomy, plus they had happy hour from 3-7 which is unheard of on a Saturday. Craft selection is excellent, both bottles and taps. They had several beers on draft I had not seen elsewhere and the best part is they offer your choice of 16oz pints or 10oz glasses of all the drafts. This is very nice since I prefer to have several smaller beers. The menu was fairly priced and I ordered some garlic chile chicken wings which were delicious. I liked this place and will definitely return soon.

10-16-2011 22:56:42 | More by ArrogantB

JustEarl

Massachusetts

3.89/5  rDev -7.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2 | selection: 5 | $$

Great selection and well thought out. Did not eat here, we just stopped in for pint while in town. They had many signs around the bar and in the front windows advertising beer events during GABF week, but times and dates were unclear. Great Craft Spirit selection as well. Bartender seemed overwhelmed with having 6 patrons at the bar and had little time to show her hospitality. I will return next year when back in town, and encourage you to also stop in. There might just be too many events scheduled in the most popular places during GABF that overwhelm owners, servers, and Bartenders. Anything Negative with my review is probably atributed to the week's madness.

10-09-2011 02:18:06 | More by JustEarl

SeattleBeerBlog

Washington

3.95/5  rDev -5.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$$

Checked this out during GABF as well as a few others around town.

Overall it is a great beer bar with a great beer list, hands down if you want something different they will have it. Had a great Crooked Stave beer here, fantastic Fort Collins Brewery start up.

Food was good but not great. Basically exactly what I expected a great beer bar with good food (mac and cheese was pretty good). I had high expectations and they were met but not exceeded. Service was ok, and I played which way do I go with Sam from Dogfishhead down the bar, which at least gave me some indication of the quality of this place. Worth a try for sure.

10-08-2011 00:14:38 | More by SeattleBeerBlog

coreyfmcdonald

Georgia

3.8/5  rDev -9.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

A: Small bar area in the front of the bar with very casual restaurant area in the back. The front looks nice, but the back of the restaurant leaves something to be desired.

Q: Beers were served in correct glassware at appropriate temperatures.

S: Bartender seemed fairly knowledgeable about the beers on tap, but the waitress that served us was not.

S: They had a pretty good selection on tap and a decent bottle selection from what I remember. I had Odells Bourbon Barrel Stout on cask - impressive. They had a few other interesting selections.

10-04-2011 01:36:20 | More by coreyfmcdonald

Yetiman420

Ohio

4.18/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

My buddy and I stopped in for Dinner around 6 pm after the GABF Saturday afternoon session. Our goal was to avoid any Denver uber beer bars to chill and watch some college football and have a beer or two. We found Freshcraft on Urbanspoon as a sports bar and I had no idea it was an uber beer bar. No big deal as we had a solid experience.

It's a long, narrow place with 2-3 small TV's upfront in the bar and one (that I could see) huge projection TV in the back. The beer list is a good as you will find outside Falling Rock. The food is what really shines here. We had the Herb Crusted Cheese Dippers as an appetizer and split the Steak Au Poivre in a Roll and Cheese Crusted Iowa Style Pork Tenderloin (having once lived in Indiana, I miss pork tenderloin sandwiches).

The service was a bit hit and miss but considering how crowded they were, I'll let it slide. Most of the beers on tap were above 7% and it would have been nice to have a good pale ale or lower IPA for post GABF cool down.

A place I will certainly come back to in Denver for good beer and even better food.

10-03-2011 19:36:33 | More by Yetiman420