Bars & Breweries

Izakaya Den 1518 South Pearl Street 303-777-0691 www.izakayaden.net…

I’ve never been a fan of soccer, but seeing everyone get all fired up for the start of the World Cup this past weekend gave me a great excuse to revisit the other cool thing you’ve probably never realized about South Africa, and that’s the fact that some rockin’ good…

With cocktail culture exploding in this town, it’s only a matter of time before a crop of speakeasies infiltrates the drinking scene, using storefronts and mundane delis to disguise hidden, dimly lit caverns of revelers imbibing pre-Prohibition libations long into the wee hours. Hush Denver, the not-so-secret supper club that…

Asylum.com has declared Fat Tire Amber Ale America’s Next Top Beer. The web page – a New York City-based AOL men’s interest site – had held a voter-driven contest to determine what beer should be in coolers from coast to coast. Fat Tire won in a landslide, beating out second…

Pearl Street Grill 1477 South Pearl Street 303-778-6475 www.pearlstreetgrill.com…

It’s almost happy hour on hump day. Don’t feel like drinking? How about a slice of cake? Kim and Jake’s Cakes, which opened last month in Boulder’s Table Mesa shopping center, offers a hump day happy hour from 5 to 6 p.m. every Wednesday. During that hour, the shop offers…

The Bull & Bush Brewery will host an unusual vertical beer tasting on Wednesday to celebrate a gold medal it won in April at the World Beer Cup in Chicago. Guests will be able to sample five different versions of its winning beer, The Legend of the Liquid Brain Imperial…

Cafe Europa 76 South Pennsylvania Street 303-722-1024 www.cafeeuropadenver.com‎…

They know each other by their blogs: The Beer Wench, 2 Beer Guys, Fermentally Challenged, Beer Goggins, and many, many others. Maybe they’ve run into each other a beer conference or tasting on one side of the country or another. But for the most part, these beer bloggers have never…

For whatever reasons, Napa Valley is still viewed as the Holy Grail of wine destinations for a majority of American wine lovers. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve been to Napa many times and there’s no denying that some of the most fantastic juice in the world is produced there. But…

Charlie Brown’s Bar & Grill 980 Grant Street 303-860-1655…

Kaos Pizzeria 1439 South Pearl Street 303-733-5267…

Le Central 112 East 8th Avenue 303-863-8094 www.lecentral.com…

Last night, Sailor Jerry’s rum hosted a different kind of cocktail contest. These events normally take place in quiet rooms of trendy restaurants, where participating bartenders explain each move and ingredient of their libation while intensely scrutinized for technique by a panel of judges…

Denver will get its second new brewery later this summer when the Caution: Brewing Company opens in a warehouse near I-70 and Peoria Street. Caution owners Danny and Betty Wang will be using Odell Brewing’s original five-barrel brewing system (and the namesake of its 5 Barrel Pale Ale), which they…

The Place: Vita, 1575 Boulder Street, 303-477-4600 The Hours: Daily from 3 to 6:30 p.m. The Deals: 2 for 1 wines by the glass; $3 Mirror Pond Pale Ale drafts; $4 well drinks; small plates range from $3-$5…

Pub On Pearl 1101 South Pearl Street 303-777-6768 www.thepubonpearl.com…

The Highland Tavern is an enigma. Wrapped in a mystery. Covered in pork. The food sounds like quintessential tavern-type fare, but it’s so much better-tasting than typical tavern food that I feel like I should dub the place a “gastrotavern.” I’m pretty sure the owners would sneer at such snobbery,…

I have a standard response when people ask whether I’m any good at golf. I tell them, “I’m good enough to not embarrass myself, but not good enough to keep score.” I’m happy with this reality. Sure, I could hand down the hand-me-down clubs I’ve had for a decade, splurge…

Boulderites have been going to the West End Tavern for years to sample its distinguished selection of craft brews, including some hard to find specialties. But beginning on June 20, the West End will be taking its customers to the beer…

Fat Sully’s Pizza 3237 East Colfax Avenue 303-333-4440 www.fatsullyspizza.com Atomic Cowboy 3237 East Colfax Avenue 303-377-7900 www.atomiccowboy.net…

Summer in Colorado means beer and, even better, beer festivals — from the Chili Pepper & Brew Fest in Snowmass to the Rails & Ales Brewfest outside Alamosa to the Summer Brew Fest in Denver — bringing together the sloppy drunk and the snobbiest, cultured beer connoisseurs in disharmonious consumption…