Top Breweries in Downtown Denver

The top breweries in downtown Denver are Wynkoop Brewing Company, Westbound & Down, Full Frame Beer, Woods Boss Brewing and Denver Beer Co. on Platte Street. All five are within walking distance of Union Station. The easiest way to visit several in one afternoon is a guided walking tour like Denver Microbrew Tour’s LoDo Craft Beer Tour, which has led downtown brewery walks since 2009. This guide was last updated in October 2026.

By Steve Schneiter, Certified Cicerone and founder of Denver Microbrew Tour.

Downtown Denver Breweries at a Glance

Brewery	Neighborhood	Address	Walk from 16th & Larimer	Good to know
Wynkoop Brewing Company	LoDo	1634 18th St	about 9 min	Colorado's first brewpub (1988), with its own pool hall
Westbound & Down	LoDo (Dairy Block)	1801 Blake St	about 7 min	IPAs to award-winning lagers, a couple of blocks from Wynkoop
ChopHouse & Brewery	LoDo, by Coors Field	1735 19th St	about 13 min	Steakhouse near Coors Field; no longer brews on site
Full Frame Beer	Ballpark	1139 20th St	about 9 min	Beer, coffee and brunch from 8 a.m.; opened 2025
Woods Boss Brewing	Ballpark / Five Points	2210 California St	about 20 min	Mountain-cabin taproom with a dog-friendly patio
The SandLot Brewery	Ballpark (inside Coors Field)	22nd & Blake St	about 14 min	Birthplace of Blue Moon; open during Rockies home games
Denver Beer Co.	LoHi (Platte Street)	1695 Platte St	about 20 min	Big beer-garden patio, about 15 minutes' walk from Union Station
Zuni Street Brewing	LoHi	2355 W 29th Ave	about 28 min	15+ beers on tap, patio, live music
Little Machine Beer	LoHi	2924 W 20th Ave	about 41 min	Award-winning beer, trivia and bingo nights, near Empower Field
Briar Common Brewery + Eatery	LoHi	2298 Clay St	about 34 min	House beer with a full food menu and two patios

How we chose these breweries: we measured from 16th and Larimer, at the heart of downtown, and kept to places you can reasonably walk to. Everything in LoDo and the Ballpark neighborhood is within about a 20-minute walk. Strictly speaking, LoHi isn’t downtown. It sits just across the South Platte River, but most visitors treat it as part of the downtown beer scene, so we’ve included it. Expect a longer walk (roughly 25 to 40 minutes), or under 10 minutes by car or rideshare.

Hours change often, especially on Rockies game days, so check each brewery’s website before you go.

With more than 150 craft breweries in and around the metro area, Denver is one of the best beer towns in America, and it’s earned the nickname “the Napa Valley of Beer.” According to VISIT DENVER, more than 200 unique beers are produced and served here every day, and Denver brews more beer than any other American city. That beer is a big draw for locals and for the 37.6 million people who visited Denver in 2025.

The “Napa Valley of Beer”

With more than 400 breweries throughout the state, more than 150 in the Denver metro area, and nearly 70 within Denver’s city limits, the Mile High City is to beer what Northern California is to wine. It’s also home to the annual Great American Beer Festival, which has been held in Denver for more than four decades. And much like Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail, which points visitors to some of the state’s best distilleries, VISIT DENVER’s Denver Beer Trail suggests more than a dozen local breweries to try, neighborhood by neighborhood.

Colorado beer also holds its own at the World Beer Cup, the international competition often called “the Olympics of beer.” At the 2026 World Beer Cup, 19 Colorado breweries took home 23 awards across 113 beer-style categories, competing against thousands of entries from around the world.

Colorado’s craft beer story goes back to 1978, when home brewing was legalized; a year later, Boulder Beer Company opened and helped spark Colorado’s craft revolution. While craft beer is still emerging in some parts of the country, it’s more than 40 years old in Colorado. That track record means more trained brewers, more business leaders who know how to break into the industry and succeed, and more breweries ready to take risks and try new things. Locals back it, too: Colorado’s craft breweries generated an estimated $2.5 billion in economic impact in 2025, according to the Brewers Association.

Prioritize Your Pints with Denver Microbrew Tour

Our walking tours visit craft breweries in and around downtown Denver, with 10+ tastings on every tour. Between stops, guides tell the story of Denver’s beer scene and of the city itself.

We run two public tours:

Option 1: The LoDo Craft Beer Tour

Taste your way through three downtown breweries on this guided walking tour of about a mile through historic Lower Downtown (LoDo). It’s a good first tour for visitors, with stories about Denver’s past between the beers. The tour lasts 2.5 to 3 hours and runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Advance booking is required.

Option 2: RiNo Beer and Graffiti Tour

This tour pairs beer with street art in Denver’s River North (RiNo) Art District. You’ll walk about a mile and stop at four breweries while learning how the area transformed from an industrial warehouse district into one of Denver’s most creative neighborhoods. Between tastings, you’ll see the neighborhood’s graffiti and mural scene up close and learn about the artists behind it. This tour runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Both tours are 21+ with a valid ID and run rain or shine. Have a group? Private tours are available almost any day.

LoDo’s Top Breweries

Wynkoop Brewing Company

What do a pioneering craft brewery, a sprawling billiards hall, and John Hickenlooper have in common? They all trace back to Wynkoop Brewing Company, a Denver original that helped spark the city’s modern beer scene.

Founded in 1988 in a then-overlooked corner of LoDo, Wynkoop was started by a group of friends, including future Denver mayor, Colorado governor, and U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, who were determined to bring handcrafted beer to the heart of Denver. What started as a bold gamble became a cornerstone of the neighborhood’s revival, and Wynkoop calls itself Colorado’s first brewpub.

Wynkoop brews a wide range of beers, from classics to experimental one-offs, and it has its own big pool hall upstairs, so you can pair a pint with a game of pool.

The brewery fills the historic J.S. Brown Mercantile Building, built in 1899. Try the Rail Yard Ale, an amber, or the Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout, brewed with (yes, really) roasted bull testicles.

Westbound & Down

Westbound & Down got its start in the mountain town of Idaho Springs in 2015 and opened its Denver taproom in LoDo’s Dairy Block in 2022, a couple of blocks from Wynkoop. The beer is brewed at the company’s other locations, but the taproom pours a solid lineup on draft. At the 2025 Great American Beer Festival, Westbound & Down won six medals, including gold for its Westbound Italian Pils, and was named a Brewery of the Year in its size category. The draft list covers a lot of ground, from IPAs and pale ales to those award-winning lagers and rotating seasonal beers.

ChopHouse & Brewery

Located just steps from Coors Field in the historic Union Pacific Freight House, the ChopHouse & Brewery (long known as the Denver ChopHouse) is a classic steakhouse with a long beer history. Despite the name, it no longer brews on site, but it’s still a good pick if you want a sit-down steak dinner and a beer before a Rockies game.

Ballpark’s Top Breweries

Full Frame Beer

Full Frame Beer is the newest brewery on this list. It opened in February 2025 at 1139 20th St., a short walk from Coors Field, in the space Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery called home for more than a decade. The founders are two veteran Denver brewers: Alyssa Hoberer, Jagged Mountain’s former head brewer and the creator of Southern Beer Girl, an Instagram account that champions diversity in brewing, and Jacob Kemple, who spent five years as lead brewer at Our Mutual Friend.

Full Frame opens at 8 a.m. with coffee and brunch, then pours beer and cocktails into the evening, so it works for a morning latte, a lazy weekend brunch, or a pint before a Rockies game. The beer runs from easy-drinking lagers to hop-forward pales and IPAs, with rotating small-batch and collaboration beers keeping the board fresh, and there are non-alcoholic options for anyone not drinking. The space has a camera theme to match the name.

Woods Boss Brewing Company

A few blocks from Coors Field, on the edge of the historic Five Points neighborhood, Woods Boss Brewing blends rustic design with a strong sense of community, creating a space that’s equal parts neighborhood hangout and mountain-inspired retreat. Inside, the taproom features warm wood throughout, from the tap wall to the live-edge bar. The result is a cozy, inviting place where you can settle in with a pint, catch live music, or hang out on the dog-friendly patio, whether you’re flying solo or with a group.

As for the beer, expect everything from approachable pilsners and lagers to IPAs and more adventurous seasonal and limited releases.

The SandLot Brewery at Coors Field

If you’re catching a Rockies game, don’t miss The SandLot Brewery, at the corner of 22nd and Blake inside Coors Field. It opened with the ballpark in 1995 as the first brewery inside a major league stadium, and it’s the birthplace of Blue Moon Belgian White, which started life there as Bellyslide Wit. Molson Coors owns it, and the Rockies say it has won 65 Great American Beer Festival medals and 14 World Beer Cup medals. It’s only open to fans during Rockies home games, so plan it around a game.

LoHi’s Top Breweries

LoHi (Lower Highland) sits just across the South Platte River from Union Station and LoDo. Strictly speaking it isn’t downtown, but pedestrian bridges connect the two, and most visitors treat it as part of the downtown beer scene. The breweries here are more spread out than in LoDo: from 16th and Larimer, Denver Beer Co. is about a 20-minute walk and the rest take 25 to 40 minutes, or under 10 minutes by car or rideshare.

Denver Beer Co.

If you’re staying downtown, Denver Beer Co. on Platte Street is an easy one to add. From Union Station it’s about a 15-minute walk across the Millennium Bridge and through Commons Park, and you’ll pass the South Platte River and Confluence Park on the way. Opened in 2011, this is the company’s original taproom, and it’s still the one to visit.

The big draw is the patio, a sprawling, beer-garden-style space with long tables, where the doors open up on warm days. It’s one of the biggest patios in the city, so expect a crowd on sunny weekends. There’s usually a food truck out front, and you’re welcome to bring outside food. On tap, look for the Incredible Pedal IPA and the Graham Cracker Porter, plus a rotating list of seasonal beers. It’s an easy, low-key stop, good for groups and for anyone who wants to sit outside in the Colorado sun.

Zuni Street Brewing Company

A go-to LoHi neighborhood spot since opening in 2017, Zuni Street Brewing Company is known for its small-batch beers and community vibe. The brewery typically has more than 15 beers on tap, covering a wide range of styles, from crisp lagers and easy-drinking pale ales to hazy IPAs, sours, and stouts. It has a dog-friendly patio, communal seating, food trucks and live music.

Little Machine Beer

Up the hill from Empower Field at Mile High, on the south edge of LoHi, Little Machine Beer has been brewing everything on site since 2015, and its beers have picked up Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup medals. It’s a neighborhood hangout with something going on most nights: team trivia on Thursdays, new beer releases on Fridays, and bingo on Sundays, plus a food truck. On Broncos game days, expect a crowd.

Briar Common Brewery + Eatery

In Jefferson Park, just below LoHi, Briar Common Brewery + Eatery pairs its own beer with a full kitchen, so it’s the pick in this part of town if you want a real meal with your pint. It serves lunch and dinner every day and brunch on weekends, has a weekday happy hour, and has both a street-level patio and an upstairs patio for sunny afternoons.

Recently Closed Downtown Breweries

Downtown Denver’s beer scene changes fast, and many older guides still list places that are gone. As of October 2026, these have closed:

• Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery on the 16th Street Mall closed in June 2026.
• Oskar Blues Grill & Brew on Market Street closed in 2026.
• Cerveceria Colorado on Platte Street closed its taproom in May 2025.
• Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery closed in 2024. Full Frame Beer opened in its space.
• Falling Rock Tap House, LoDo’s famous beer bar, closed in 2021.

Downtown Denver Brewery FAQ

Which brewery in downtown Denver is the best?

There’s no official ranking, but Wynkoop Brewing Company is where most locals send visitors first. It’s Colorado’s first brewpub, it’s a short walk from Union Station, and Westbound & Down is a couple of blocks away if you want a second stop.

Can you walk between breweries in downtown Denver?

Yes. From 16th and Larimer, Westbound & Down, Wynkoop and Full Frame are each under 10 minutes on foot, and Woods Boss and Denver Beer Co. are about 20 minutes away. The LoHi breweries, like Zuni Street and Little Machine, are a 25- to 40-minute walk or a short ride.

What’s the best way to visit breweries in downtown Denver?

You can walk it yourself using the table above: Westbound & Down, Wynkoop and Full Frame are all under 10 minutes on foot from 16th and Larimer. If you’d rather have a guide, Denver Microbrew Tour runs two walking tours on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The LoDo Craft Beer Tour visits three downtown breweries with stories about Denver’s history, and the RiNo Beer and Graffiti Tour pairs four breweries with the RiNo Art District’s street art. Groups can book a private tour for almost any day.

How many breweries are in Denver?

VISIT DENVER counts nearly 70 breweries within Denver’s city limits and more than 150 across the metro area. The number changes every year as breweries open and close.

What beer is Denver known for?

Denver is known for its craft beer scene as a whole more than for one beer. The city hosts the Great American Beer Festival every year, and Coors has brewed in nearby Golden since 1873. Downtown, you’ll find everything from German-style lagers and ambers to hazy IPAs and imperial stouts.

Book a Denver Brewery Tour

Want to see downtown’s breweries with a guide? Pick a public tour, or set up a private one for your group.

All tours are 21+ with a valid ID and run rain or shine. Advance booking is required.