When it comes to Denver breweries, you’ll find many traditional ales, from strong stouts to crisp pale ales or hoppy IPAs. But there’s one thing most of these beers have in common: a heavy dose of gluten. One brewer is hoping to change Denver’s beer landscape with a new brewery: a gluten-free one. Great Frontier’s founder and head brewer, …
Downtown Denver Rock Bottom – Harbinger of Denver’s Growth?
The early ’90’s may have brought us grunge music and a tech bubble, but they also brought us the beginning of the craft beer and microbrewery explosion. Since 1991, no tour of Denver breweries could be complete without a visit to Downtown Denver’s Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery. Back before brewpubs were a thing, the folks behind Rock Bottom …
It’s Pumpkin Time Again in the World of Craft Beer
Pumpkin beer! Nothing divides the ranks of beer lovers so deeply as the fastest growing seasonal specialty in the craft beer universe. When the first settlers clambered off their ships and looked around the Atlantic shore, they needed something to ferment. Grain was hard to come by, but native pumpkins provided an obvious starch and sugar source. The same early …
You’ll Need a Beer or Two After You Hear This Lost Piece of Denver History
More people than ever are choosing to move to Denver because of its amazing beer, weather and access to recreation. One of Denver’s can’t miss spots is Cheesman Park. It’s a beautiful and seemingly serene place where Denver residents can play sports, enjoy picnics or just take in the beautiful views of downtown Denver. But if most people knew …
An ethnic history of Denver, as it relates to drinking
Ethnicity is a key to the history of Denver, and at the center of ethnicity are the saloons each group established, clustered around Larimer St. There’s no better way to get a feeling for the origins of this town than via a history of Denver, as it relates to drinking. Early residents of Denver, no matter their ethnic origins, …
6 States Where Craft Beer is Catching Fire
Depending on the state that you live in, craft beer may or may not be ruling the roost. Here in beautiful Colorado, craft beer is an obvious institution that most (if not all) people are familiar with, and many enjoy. For a long time, however, there were states of the union that featured little to no craft breweries nor micropubs; …
Wynkoop Brewing Company is a political hotspot
There’s a lot happening in Colorado’s capital city: Bills are signed, laws are passed, campaign stops are drawing crowds, and sometimes – if you’re lucky – you find a big time politician sitting at the bar next to you. Last July, Wynkoop Brewing Company was taken by surprise when President Barack Obama decided to stoop in for a beer and …
Craft Beer Spotlight: Do You Dabble in Doppelbocks?
In today’s craft beer spotlight, curious drinkers want to know, “Do you dabble in doppelbocks?” It’s a brew style that was purportedly given to us centuries ago by Paulaner monks. They were active during the 1600s, when European brew masters were bound by the Bavarian Purity Requirement. Although originally consumed around the Easter holidays, it’s a style now enjoyed …
Denver’s Craft Beer Masters Know How to Get What They Need, Do You?
Are you a craft beer fan that watches CBS News and reads the Denver Business Journal? Then perhaps you’ve taken notice of the recent stories about yeast and hops. It seems that there is a shortage of both but never fear. There are a number of brew fans turned entrepreneurs who are willing to lend a hand and help …
Law and thirst shaped Denver’s beer history
By the time the frontier settlement of Denver was just two years old, following an initial mad dash to scoop up gold at the Platte River, there were already 35 saloons built and pouring. Pioneer Denver figured out just about everything in a local bar. Because constructing churches, schools and other community meeting halls lagged behind, Denver had no …