While breweries might argue over whether bottles or cans are better for packaging beer, two of the companies that make rival packaging equipment are joining forces. Meheen Manufacturing, a well-respected, two-decade-old Washington-based maker of craft-beer bottling lines, and Wild Goose Canning, the Boulder canning-line upstart, have merged into one business…
Sure, Denver is the Napa Valley of beers, but a town can only handle so many suds. So, take a break from brews and explore the world of urban wine this Labor Day weekend? Although Colorado isn’t the wine capital of the U.S., quite a few decent bottles have been…
A few breweries are making a point this year of not brewing pumpkin beers. It’s not that they want to squash the pumpkin craze, it’s just that they want to do something different. Alaskan Brewing, for example, which distributes in Colorado, chose to forego its traditional pumpkin offerings this year…
My dog loves going to the bar. As summer draws to a close, it seems like a good idea to let my him go out with his friends a time or two before the cold and the Denver health inspectors limit his options when it comes to nightlife. The recent…
Imagine this scenario: You’re on the brewery bus tour, hopping from taproom to taproom, trying out new beers and getting a nice buzz on without worrying about driving — and then you notice that the bus driver is drinking, too. In fact, he’s been matching you pint for pint. Would…
Colorado may be the “Napa Valley of craft beer,” but our three major sports venues have always been more like the Death Valley of craft beer: although you can find a can or a cup of something from a local independent brewer if you look hard enough at Mile High…
For longtime Coloradans, late summer means the beginning of the harvest bounty — in particular Western Slope peaches, Olathe corn, Pueblo chile peppers and Rocky Ford cantaloupe. While you can get these gifts of the earth from anywhere, our local versions are particular sweet and delicious. Rocky Ford’s cantaloupe growers,…
The cheery husband-and-wife team that runs Kingman Estates Winery can’t stop smiling; after all, they just won two gold metals during the third annual Governor’s Cup Colorado Wine Competition in July. To add to the glory, their 2013 cabernet sauvignon was also chosen as one of the twelve wines to grace…
Jefferson Park Pub is a small neighborhood bar in one of the tiniest neighborhoods in Denver. Jefferson Park itself is a roughly 45-square-block residential enclave bordered by Speer to the north and Federal to the west. The Platte River cuts along its eastern border, and the southern border of the…
It’s easy to like Todd Usry, Garrett Wales and Meg Gill. All three are smart, approachable and passionate about beer. They all have a good sense of humor and firm handshakes. It’s even easier for some people to dislike their decisions, however. All three sold their breweries — Breckenridge Brewery…
Denver Beer Company, which helped kick off the city’s brewery surge when it opened on Platte Street in 2011, is taking its beer and its successful formula on the road: the company plans to open a third brewery and tasting room in a former car dealership in Olde Town Arvada…
Colorado Springs whiskey maker Distillery 291 recently released a new spirit that was created — literally — by accident. An unexpected doubling of the amount of rye in the process of making the distillery’s flagship Colorado Bourbon Whiskey resulted in a whiskey with a spicier flavor than originally planned. Owner…
Halloween night, that creepiest of holidays, is full of pumpkins and horrors. But those horrors don’t compare to the ones that beer drinkers face every August when breweries in Colorado and nationwide begin releasing pumpkin beers while it’s still 95 degrees outside. Ah, yes, #firstworldproblems. Still, it’s a little rough…
Ah, to be a tourist on the 16th Street Mall. The lights, the music, the… smells. Perhaps you’ll grab a sandwich from Acme Delicatessen in Union Station as you gawk at the high ceilings. Or you’ll be entranced, as so many others are, by The Cheesecake Factory and its fiesta-colored…
The majority of Denver’s public schools opened their doors this week, ringing in tens of thousands of students with the first bell. And although the teachers who give their all would love a few apples, it’s likely that they’d prefer a beer — or two. That’s why Spangalang Brewery is offering…
The Dive Inn is a relatively new spot in Denver as neighborhood bars go, but since opening in 2012, it has become a staple in the Platt Park neighborhood along South Broadway. No matter what you’re into, you can probably find it at the Dive Inn. Most of my familiarity…
Natural beauty, a Wild West history and some of the nation’s best breweries: “These are the three things about Colorado that I love the most,” says Denver Business Journal reporter Ed Sealover. And he proves it with a series of ten three-day Colorado treks that he created for his new…
Boulder kombucha brewer Rowdy Mermaid joined the ranks of Colorado’s craft-beer brewers with the release of two kombucha beers on Saturday, August 13. The two brews are wild, sour kombucha ales — one flavored with cherries and the other with notes of apple. The Wild Sour Cherry beer is a…
Former Future Brewing is a thing of the past. The present lies with Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales. James and Sarah Howat, who founded Former Future on South Broadway in 2014, have decided to refocus and rebrand their brewery — changing the name, the decor and, most importantly, the…
The Germans have been brewing lagers the same way for hundreds of years. So when Ashleigh Carter and Bill Eye open Bierstadt Lagerhaus on Saturday inside the building that also houses the Rackhouse, they have no intention of changing things up. “No flair, no twist, no added things,” says Carter…
Opened and crewed by service industry experts, The Way Back is a polished, accomplished bar that stands out on well-trod 38th Avenue. Given the talent behind the place — alumni of Williams & Graham, Linger and twelve, for starters — little wonder that it landed with feet firmly planted. The…
John Carlson, who has led the Colorado Brewers Guild for two decades, has taken a “leave of absence” from the organization while the state’s craft breweries try to sort out what direction they are heading next. The move comes two months after fourteen craft breweries — including the state’s four…
