Top 4 Taprooms to Visit in/around the Denver Area

Odell is great...take her up to Fort Collins, go for a nice hike, and then treat your self to some nice refreshments at Odell. Funkwerks is right down the street from Odell and definitely worth a visit too. And fill up either before or after at Choice City.

As for Denver, I would add TRVE to the taproom list, a metal themed brewery that has only been around a year but is putting out some really solid stuff.

 

You already hit my #1 with Crooked Stave, Dry Dock has a nice taproom and amazing beer. Other than those

Renegade - one of my favorites from my last visit. Loved the taprooms vibe
Great Divide - Duh, and very close to Falling Rock

Places easy to trick into for a meal
Yak &Yeti - I loved this place. Indian food and very unigue killer beer
Bull & Bush- awesome food and beer. American style food

 

Luckily there are lots of options, so you can cherry pick 4 great spots.
Do you like German beers? If so, I'd put Prost on there. If not (or if you're not sure), maybe not.
Dry Dock for sure. They'll probably still have their Barrel Aged Sour, Ambassador, too.
While you're in the 'burbs, the Bull & Bush is a must stop. Good food and some of the best beers you'll have anywhere. Their ESB is one of the most awarded on the planet and they tend to have a lot of crazy barrel-based beers.
Downtown, I'd say it's a toss up between Great Divide and the Wynkoop. GD's got a ton of awesome big beers, although it's a little crowded. The 'Koop has a ton of history and a nice tour, plus if they have their Chancellor BA Barleywine - you'll be blown away.
Crooked Stave? Yes. Go there, and make sure you have room for bottles to bring back.
In Ft. Collins, that's a whole other can of worms. It's borderline painful to go up there and only stop at 1-2 places. If you do, I'd suggest at least New Belgium, Odell, and Funkwerks although I've grown just as fond of Grimm Brothers on your way up there in Loveland.

 

What's up Lutter? Was going to post a similar thread as I will be in Denver next month. I only have about 6 hours so definitely hitting Crooked Stave and Great Divide. Going to try to hit Dry Dock as well. Congrats on your pending nuptials and good work getting her to agree on a Colorado honeymoon. Looks like I'll be leaving right when you're showing up so I'll try to leave you some Crooked Stave if I can

 

I will plug a couple of others not mentioned. I am a big fan of River North and Hogshead brewery. Hogshead has some great cask conditioned beers. I would also hit Hops and Pie before Falling Rock, but I am biased as I live around the corner from H&P.

 

Falling Rock and a Rockies game = perfect summer night in my books.

 

Err...just to warn you, Crooked Stave is not exactly in a very "honeymoon-esque" location. Not terrible, just...you'll see Enjoy!

 

If you're trying to stay in the Denver limits, I recommend:
Renegade (usually 8-10 beers on tap) & Wits End (blue collar feel to the place but solid brews)
Crooked Stave (must stop for brett beer geeks and Colo Winery row next door if wife loves wine)
Prost (great beer and outside view) then across I-25 to Denver Brew Co. (great atmosphere)
River North (barrel aged bottles for sale and high ABV beers), Our Mutual Friend (hipster joint) and Black Shirt (all reds and cool taproom design) are all close to each other in River North area.
Caution, Dry Dock and Copper Kettle.
Bull & Bush and TRVE.
I also love Vine St. Pub (great IPAs), but it can get super packed on weekends.

 

I always forget about the Vine Street Pub...probably just because they haven't been brewing all that long.
They keep a rotation of 8-10 beers all of the time, and even when they don't have anything "special" they still keep 3 top-notch IPA's and great standard beers.

 

The recipes haven't changed though, VSP just brews the main lineup for all Mountain Sun restaurants and lets Mountain Sun & Southern Sun brew the new batches. Went there last night and had 12-14 beers on tap and 2 guest taps. Great patio and food too.

 

On a similar topic, as I will be visiting many of these places when I'm vacationing in Denver, where would you recommend staying in order to be a short walk/transit ride from many of these fine establishments. I'm looking to spend ~$150 a night on a moderate to nice room. Also, being close to "cultural" proclivities would be a bonus, museums, galleries, etc..

Thanks for any and all recommendations

 

Sheraton, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, probably ~$150 or less.

Hotel Teatro, Oxford Hotel, Brown Palace & Hotel Monaco are all really nice and a bit more historical, but may be more $.

Stay downtown, the 16th St. Mall Ride (Free) will take you to both ends of downtown to which it's a short walk to all the breweries downtown, walkable to Denver Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Clyfford Still museum, History Colorado Center, Molly Brown Museum, The State Capitol, etc.

 

I typically use priceline when I travel and my trip to Denver this weekend landed me the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel for $77/nt ($92 with taxes). Not too bad since I'll be drinking all day and just using the hotel as somewhere to pass out.

 

Try to find your way to Wit's End.

 

Sheraton is a decent spot. The Hyatt regency is nice and you can usually find cheap rates. Hotwire will usually have you in one of those two.

I'm partial to the Teatro. Great service and they have awesome drivers. They'll take you all around town in exchange for a good tip.

 

Watch out for this guy running around downtown this weekend. But also stay near him though, he has a unique proclivity for getting bottles out of bar owners' cellars.

Gig em

 

+1, before I moved here we always stayed at Teatro, awesome hotel and they'll drive you (and pick you up later) anywhere within reason