Bars & Breweries

Steuben’s 523 East 17th Avenue 303-830-1001 www.steubens.com…

Theme parties serve many essential purposes, adding an element of the theatrical to drinking in your backyard, allowing your inner creativity and Cher wig to flow, and providing an excuse to wear spandex pants (or no pants’ no one judges at a theme party). Looking to go beyond the Ugly…

The Boston Beer Company, maker of Sam Adams, was the big winner at the first annual Denver International Beer Competition last weekend, winning fifteen of the 33 awards. Several Colorado brewers took home prizes as well, including Oskar Blues, which won three awards, and Odell and Silverton Brewing companies, which…

I found out about TAG’s new ice program through the Facebook status update of bar manager Mike Henderson: “Kold-Draft, you had me at hello…” It’s hard to explain to non-cocktail geeks why mixologists find Kold-Draft ice so exciting. Kold-Draft is the slowest melting ice available, and it’s a much harder…

As the weather finally starts to warm up, invitations to springtime parties are sure to arrive in your mailbox (or inbox, as it were). A thoughtful guest will always inquire as to what they might bring as a thank-you for being invited; a lovely bottle of wine is a no-fail…

I haven’t had the chance to visit Crabtree Brewing, which started four years ago as Greeley’s first microbrewery, so I was happy last week when I saw a six-pack of their Boxcar Brown at Argonaut (their beer isn’t widely available outside of northern Colorado). Any excuse to drink a new…

Vine Street Pub 1700 Vine Street 303-388-2337 www.mountainsunpub.com…

Last week, GQ magazine released a bucket list of fifty beers to drink before you die. It was a decent compilation, but a little short on Colorado offerings. So we decided to come up with our own list of fifty Colorado-made beers to drink before you die. We have tried…

Pablo’s Coffee 630 East Sixth Avenue 303-744-3323 www.pabloscoffee.com…

Tryst is gone, but one of its traditions lives on at its replacement at 1512 Larimer Street, now known as Dive on Fifteenth: the Everyone-Drinks-Free event. From 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 30, the bar promises: “Everyone drinks free. Women drink free. Guys drink free. You drink free. We…

The Place: Watercourse Foods, 837 East Seventeenth Avenue, 303-832-7313. The Hours: Monday through Friday from 4 until 6:30 p.m. The Deal: Draft beers are $2.50; red and white wines by the glass are $4; select appetizers are $5…

As if a trip to St. Maarten wasn’t enough of a prize, Sean Kenyon, bar manager of Steuben’s, just brought home top honors in the Domaine de Canton Bartender of the Year competition. And, as foam on the cocktail, he also brought home a check for a cool $10,000. “I’m…

Angelo’s Pizza Parlor 620 East 6th Avenue 303-744-3366…

There are very few times when I don’t care what I’m drinking. Fact is, I’m usually the annoying person asking the bartender what brand of bitters he’s using and the ounce measurements of the martini glasses. I love and respect cocktails, their history and the people who craft these spectacular…

The traffic of I-70 is just a few hundred feet away, but this watering hole is a tiny oasis of serenity — on weekday afternoons, at least. On most weekends, though, that parking lot will be filled with cars, classic and otherwise. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus:…

Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery 1001 16th Street 303-534-7616 rockbottom.com…

When Breckenridge Brewery’s newest restaurant opens on March 1, 2011 in what is now Amato of Denver, at the corner of 16th and Central streets, it will feature forty Colorado craft beers on tap, along with small plates, seasonal menus, beer dinners, a private events room, a rooftop patio overlooking…

Q: My husband and I were given a bottle of moscato as a gift about six years ago. Is it still drinkable, or should I toss it? Swirl Girl Answers: This is an eternal question in wine: How long should I/can I hold onto a wine before I drink it?…

Denver’s Del Norte Brewing will release its fifth beer in bottles in May, appropriately labeled Cinco. And since the brewery only produces Mexican-style lagers, the name also brings to mind Cinco de Mayo, an American holiday when beer is de rigueur. “It’s a lighter, more carbonated version of Orale [one…

Coming up with new beer names, let alone great beer names, isn’t easy, especially in the state with 115 breweries, each cooking anywhere from five to 65 different beers a year. But brewers are nothing if not creative – and occasionally, um, irreverent. Listed below are ten fantastic beer names…

The Fainting Goat 846 Broadway 303-945-2323 thefaintinggoatpub.com…

Bones Restaurant 701 Grant Street 303-860-2929 bonesdenver.com…