Justin Lloyd creates a local gathering place at Star Bar

When Justin Lloyd inked the deal on Star Bar almost two years ago, he hadn’t been behind a bar for fifteen years. His bartending skills, he admits, were a little rusty. “I bought Star Bar because I wanted to be in charge of my own destiny, but without being on…

Wynkoop debuts two new versions of its flagship Rail Yard Ale

The beer-happy bunch at the Wynkoop Brewing Company has a New Year’s Resolution for 2012: put a few sacred cows out to pasture. “The goal,” says brewery spokesman Marty Jones, “is to rock the status quo and to shake up the beer list with new offerings.” To that effect, the…

Four small Denver breweries cooperate on a bigger purchase

In a show of solidarity (not to mention some penny-wise fiscal management) four small brewers are putting in an order for new brewing equipment and tanks in a move that will save them all a chunk of change and help them expand. Copper Kettle, Renegade, Strange Brewing and Caution are…

Stiff drinks and warm smiles Dazzle us at happy hour

Happy Place: Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge, 930 Lincoln Street, 303-839-5100. The Hours: Daily from 4 to 6:30 p.m. The Deals: $2 bottled beer; $3 draft beer; $4 martinis and well drinks; $5 wines by the glass, $5.75 appetizers. Were we happy? Flip the page to find out…

Wynkoop Brewing expands for the first time in thirteen years

The Wynkoop Brewing Company is in the midst of expanding its brewing capacity for the first time in thirteen years — since the days when brewery co-founder Mayor-turned-Governor John Hickenlooper was still slinging suds at the LoDo landmark. In November, the brewery moved its four original twenty-barrel fermenters to the…

The ten biggest Colorado beer stories of 2011

You could say that 2011 was the year that Denver’s men and women matched its mountains when it came to beer culture. Seven new breweries opened in the metro area and stayed so busy that all seven have already expanded — or are considering it. But good beer can also…