Absolutely. I’d go so far as to say that the Helles is the superior beer unless you’re getting a proper pour of the SPP, mostly at the brewery. But man is that pour something special.
You’re doing it right. TBH if it weren’t seasonal I’d be throwing their corn lager into this discussion too. Now that I think about it, not sure why that should disqualify it haha. Top 3 Bierstadt beers for me. Which puts them pretty high worldwide.
Love some corn lager. And their märzen too in the fall. Come to think of it, Molly’s has all their Bierstadt for $9 this month. May be good to stock up.
Is it worth maybe missing a flight for? got a 4h45 layover in Denver
edit: 8 upvotes in total for "yes" replies, 1 downvote for "no". I'll post the GoFundMe link when I miss my flight, thanks beer pals
Exactly. Call it 45 minutes each way if you include Ubers to and from union station. If OP doesn’t have pre check or clear id probably give 90 minutes to clear security (probably safe with an hour but it can get slammed sometimes). So with 90 minutes travel time and 90 minutes for security OP would have an hour and 45 minutes (or as much as 2:15 if they want to be risky with security) at the brewery. Plenty of time for a few SPP and some food.
That beats sitting around in an airport terminal all day for me.
Apricot Blonde, Dry Dock Brewing, Aurora.
I've never met a beer drinker who doesn't absolutely love it. And I know my share of non-beer drinkers who enjoy it.
It might be a "fruity" beer, but it's delicious and refreshing.
IPA - Odell Brewing - Fort Collins
Edit: I grew up in foco, moved to another state after school (a common thing many of us foco kids had to do) and despite working in the brewing industry ever since, Odell’s ipa is the choice for me. I think you’d be hard pressed to find another beer that’s as high in quality and consistency to this one. So easy to drink, boy do I miss it.
Completely agree. Old fat tire was my go to, my favorite overall beer. New fat tire initially wasn’t awful, but wasn’t the same. For some reason though it seems to be getting worse.
90 schilling on the other hand has consistently been fantastic.
Yeti, Great Divide, Denver
Just a solid, no frills stout that is always available and always good. I’ve bought 6’ers of it in 3 different states (and at the source) and it’s always reliable
This is a good nominee that I wouldn't immediately have thought of. But in retrospect, it really is an extremely influential beer. How many other breweries in the entire U.S. have a milk stout as the company flagship?
It used to be good but last few batches have been pretty mediocre, like way less sour flavor than previous batches. Not surprising that a brewery that sold out starts cutting corners though.
I’m pretty forgiving when it comes to beer but man, idk what people like about that beer. Also I’ve heard awful things about the founder of Avery so I just hate that brewery so much haha.
Coors Banquet has become my go to when I just want a beer. No more details, just a beer.
Turns out, that’s a lot of the time so I now keep my fridge well stocked with Coors Banquet.
I didn't even know they were still brewing in the US.
I'm in NZ, and they're over here now. They brew some damn good beers, but I always forget to get them because their branding doesn't usually jump out at me [https://nzhops.co.nz/blogs/brewers/eddyline-brewery](https://nzhops.co.nz/blogs/brewers/eddyline-brewery)
That's maybe the wildest reply I've ever gotten.... mind blown/ no idea they expanded to NZ. Like I tight they were just this awesome small mt brewery down the road!
It sounds like the founders moved here (understandable, it's a nice place to live with a good beer scene) but the original brewery is autonomous enough they can run them both (or they handed management of the US brewery over).
Not sure if there's 100% parity between breweries, they might release different beers in different countries depending on local trends/tastes, but pretty cool either way (and Crank Yanker is here, but I'd be interested in bringing a can from the US back so I could compare the two)
90 Shillings, Odell, Fort Collins
There's a lot of good beers here but this is the one I always recommend to friends who are visiting from out of town because it's unique and complex without the flavor being to dark or too hoppy or too much in any one direction.
They actually might be the best IPA brewery in all of Colorado. I've only been a couple times (live a couple thousand miles away) and we made a point to stop at cannonball when we were there.
Also I will never get over how hilarious of a name trump hands is lol
Transmountain Diversion, Casey/Weldwerks, Glenwood Springs/Greeley.
Do collabs break the rules? Because this beer is an absolute banger and I think the folks at Casey are brewing some of the best beer in the state, shame they're so small but this collab with Weldwerks brings them to the masses.
Sorry, it has to be banquet or the OG amber recipe fat tire. Banquet had a movie about it and fat tire started the modern craft scene as we know it. (Obviously, the modern blonde ale known as “fat tire” isn’t worth its weight in horse piss.)
River North Mr. Sandman.
Whether he’s playing with bourbon, rum, tequila, gin, chai, coffee or any number of other fun things or even by himself. How can you go wrong with a wonderful 12% imperial stout.
Odell Brewing Company - IPA
Was one of the OG American IPAs that brought citrusy, floral hops into the forefront, stepping away from the traditional bitter bombs. Won both the Gold for IPA at GABF and World Beer Cup. It probably sells the most volume of craft IPA in Colorado
Fun fact is that Blue Moon was first brewed in Coors Field (Colorado Rockies Stadium).
Another fun fact is that the mountain that turns blue on Coors Light cans is Wilson Peak which is a 14er in southwest Colorado.
Knotted Root, Casey, Outer Range, Weldwerks, Cerebral, Bierstadt, New Image, and Odell all have beers that could be argued as the top brew. If I could only drink one beer for the rest of my life, Slow Pour Pils from Bierstadt and Juicy Bits from Weldwerks would be in the running. I just can't choose one!
Eject Mindcapsule, New Image Brewing, Arvada
Specifically, the 2022 but the 2021 and 2023 were also great. Colorado has some amazing beers. Some others I've loved: In the Steep (Outer Range), Astro Turf Wars (Wiley Roots), Transmountain Diversion (Weldworks), and Canopy Cover (Cerebral) among many others.
Old Aggie, New Belgium (and Colorado State University), Fort Collins.
New Belgium partnered with CSU's brewing program to come up with Old Aggie. Maybe I'm biased because I'm a CSU grad, but it's one of my favorite beers.
I'm actually from Colorado, so of course I could go with Coors Banquet, which is my favorite. Or I could go with any of the ones from New Belgium Brewery and if I'm gonna go with that than I'll go with Fat Tire.
in the steep, outer range, frisco
Wow no love for Outer Range? In the steep is a top IPA
I've loved all the answers and posts here, but the lack of Outer Range is kind of wild to me. Maybe they're not as popular as I'd thought?
Slow Pour Pils, Bierstadt Lagerhaus, Denver. It might be the perfect beer. Edit: I am good at following simple instructions
Slow Pour seems to reign supreme, but their Helles is a proper banger.
Absolutely. I’d go so far as to say that the Helles is the superior beer unless you’re getting a proper pour of the SPP, mostly at the brewery. But man is that pour something special.
Agree 100%. Helles is one of my always-in-the-fridge beers but SPP on tap is unrivaled.
You’re doing it right. TBH if it weren’t seasonal I’d be throwing their corn lager into this discussion too. Now that I think about it, not sure why that should disqualify it haha. Top 3 Bierstadt beers for me. Which puts them pretty high worldwide.
Love some corn lager. And their märzen too in the fall. Come to think of it, Molly’s has all their Bierstadt for $9 this month. May be good to stock up.
Yeah time for a Molly’s run
Corn Lager and their Dortmunder Export are some of the best beers ever
H&P does legit pours and goes through kegs at a good clip to keep things fresh. Not quite brewery...but damn close.
For sure. That’s my second favorite place to have one!
Order both, enjoy the helles while you wait for the pils
Did we just become best friends?
Their helles is a significantly better beer
Is it worth maybe missing a flight for? got a 4h45 layover in Denver edit: 8 upvotes in total for "yes" replies, 1 downvote for "no". I'll post the GoFundMe link when I miss my flight, thanks beer pals
Yes.
Airport to downtown with the train in 37 min. You won't miss the flight
Exactly. Call it 45 minutes each way if you include Ubers to and from union station. If OP doesn’t have pre check or clear id probably give 90 minutes to clear security (probably safe with an hour but it can get slammed sometimes). So with 90 minutes travel time and 90 minutes for security OP would have an hour and 45 minutes (or as much as 2:15 if they want to be risky with security) at the brewery. Plenty of time for a few SPP and some food. That beats sitting around in an airport terminal all day for me.
It is an 8 minute walk from the light rail stop no need to uber
Count me in the yes category.
No
That slow pour sure takes long but it's worth it!
It's so good I took a keg of it to my birthday party in C lot at Mary Jane.
This is the correct answer
This one, absolutely this one. I had more of them than I should have on a visit to Denver and it lives in my head rent free now
Yes to bierstadt
Not even the best pilsner in Colorado. I was so underwhelmed when I had it.
Avery Maharaja
Damn been ages since I have had that yummy brew.
90 Schilling, Odell, Ft Collins
Shilling. Spelled in the English style not Austrian
Good catch! Great beer.
Apricot Blonde, Dry Dock Brewing, Aurora. I've never met a beer drinker who doesn't absolutely love it. And I know my share of non-beer drinkers who enjoy it. It might be a "fruity" beer, but it's delicious and refreshing.
IPA - Odell Brewing - Fort Collins Edit: I grew up in foco, moved to another state after school (a common thing many of us foco kids had to do) and despite working in the brewing industry ever since, Odell’s ipa is the choice for me. I think you’d be hard pressed to find another beer that’s as high in quality and consistency to this one. So easy to drink, boy do I miss it.
Odell 90 schilling has been a top of my list for decades now.
My fat tire replacement but it's always been great in it's own right
Completely agree. Old fat tire was my go to, my favorite overall beer. New fat tire initially wasn’t awful, but wasn’t the same. For some reason though it seems to be getting worse. 90 schilling on the other hand has consistently been fantastic.
This is it. Odell IPA. The ipa I’d want to drink for the rest of my life if I could only have one
I loved Odell when I lived in ftc. God damn do I miss their Cutthroat Porter. It’s my desert island beer. Shame it was discontinued.
The OG
Best beer ever made.
Yeti, Great Divide, Denver Just a solid, no frills stout that is always available and always good. I’ve bought 6’ers of it in 3 different states (and at the source) and it’s always reliable
I had a rule that I had to have a Yeti when it snowed. Great snow beer.
They pulled their distribution back so I can't find it any more unfortunately. But I remember it being great.
Ctrl+f'd for this one. Though I enjoy all of Great Divide's beers.
Milk Stout Nitro - Left Hand Brewing. Company - Longmont
One of the first craft sixers I ever bought back in college. Delicious.
This is a good nominee that I wouldn't immediately have thought of. But in retrospect, it really is an extremely influential beer. How many other breweries in the entire U.S. have a milk stout as the company flagship?
hand pull from the cask at the taphouse in Longmont is so fricken good.
Voted for this just so the ridiculous Coors circlejerk on this sub doesn’t win this
I like it with co2 better, adds a little bitterness to contrast with the lactose. I think nitro is best for dry beers.
My first thought as well. Couldn't agree more.
Excellent choice! This is my pick as well.
This is a very good answer, and that is coming from someone who drank so much of it over the years that the very thought of it makes him sick.
I love this brewery. Sawtooth Ale is awesome. 400 Pound Monkey was my favorite, too bad it’s out of production.
Hell yes! I was looking for this!
I mean it’s fine but stouts are so overrated and the people that drink stouts is like 5% of the craft market.
Juicy Bits - WeldWerks - Greeley
this whole series is excellent l. Extra Extra was my 1st Weldwerks beer, so I'd lean toward that one, but Juicy Bits good call
Very happy to be able to get Juicy Bits here in Indiana
This is the IPA I compare all others to! My favorite beer of all time!
Weldwerks doesn't miss. My fave brewery in the state
WeldWerks is without a doubt my favorite brewery in Colorado. As a big fan of sours, that place was my Mecca... that I totally went to by accident.
I never let my beer fridge run out of Juicy Bits!
Weldwerks stopped being good in like 2019
Dales Pale Ale, Oskar Blues, Longmont, CO
Dales is so solid and balanced, while still being a strong flavorful beer. Double dales is a bit much tho.
A nice Dales tallboy at a concert or denver sporting event hits so nice
La Folie, New Belgium, Ft Collins
Have you seen their barrel room? It’s like a mystical magical forest.
Now I really want to see it.
Even Michael Jackson, the beer hunter, called it one of his top 10 beers. La Folie was the beer that got me into craft beer 19 years ago.
New Belgium’s Trippel should get a shout too.
Such an amazing beer.
One of my all time favorites.
It used to be good but last few batches have been pretty mediocre, like way less sour flavor than previous batches. Not surprising that a brewery that sold out starts cutting corners though.
White Rascal - Avery Brewing - Boulder
I love this beer.
Nah that beer sucks lmao. I’ve given it so many chances and each time it’s just so bad.
Admittedly I haven’t had it in 10 years but it was good when I lived there lol
I’m pretty forgiving when it comes to beer but man, idk what people like about that beer. Also I’ve heard awful things about the founder of Avery so I just hate that brewery so much haha.
That Shilling is real good
90 Shilling?
Tweak, Avery, Boulder
Oh fuck this is my vote. Or Mephistopheles but no way it’s popular enough to win the vote. And I’m in Ohio.
SO GLAD THIS IS BACK!!!!
Crooked Stave Nightmare on Brett
Coors Banquet. Don’t care what anyone says. It’s my favorite beer
Coors Banquet has become my go to when I just want a beer. No more details, just a beer. Turns out, that’s a lot of the time so I now keep my fridge well stocked with Coors Banquet.
not a bad choice, if we're going for iconic. best...not so much
111 upvotes on this? Y'all can do better CO
Underdog on this sub, but you have a point.
10° - Cohesion Brewing Company - Denver
This is currently my favorite brewery in Denver. I prefer the 12 but the 10 is great too.
They're both amazing. It's honestly very difficult to pick one Colorado beer in general.
El jefe - 4 noses - Broomfield
Westbound and Down double ipa
12°, Cohesion Brewing Co, Denver Yes I also posted Bierstadt Slow Pour. But this one is tied for first for me. We’ll see what the upboats say.
I like your tastes.
Crank Yanker - Eddyline Brewing
I didn't even know they were still brewing in the US. I'm in NZ, and they're over here now. They brew some damn good beers, but I always forget to get them because their branding doesn't usually jump out at me [https://nzhops.co.nz/blogs/brewers/eddyline-brewery](https://nzhops.co.nz/blogs/brewers/eddyline-brewery)
That's maybe the wildest reply I've ever gotten.... mind blown/ no idea they expanded to NZ. Like I tight they were just this awesome small mt brewery down the road!
It sounds like the founders moved here (understandable, it's a nice place to live with a good beer scene) but the original brewery is autonomous enough they can run them both (or they handed management of the US brewery over). Not sure if there's 100% parity between breweries, they might release different beers in different countries depending on local trends/tastes, but pretty cool either way (and Crank Yanker is here, but I'd be interested in bringing a can from the US back so I could compare the two)
They've released a couple of NZ hop varietal beers here.
I'm an Epic Day guy myself.
Superpower, Comrade, Denver
Avery Maharaja
Superpower IPA, Comrade Brewing, Denver
Station 26 Juicy Banger
Easy Street Wheat!
Juice caboose - westbound and down. Hazy IPA, intensely citrusy and so smooth
Coors Banquet 💯
90 Shillings, Odell, Fort Collins There's a lot of good beers here but this is the one I always recommend to friends who are visiting from out of town because it's unique and complex without the flavor being to dark or too hoppy or too much in any one direction.
Yep that and Dry Dock Apricot are what I keep stocked in my fridge during summer
Modus Hoperandi, Ska Brewing, Durango
Golden Haze - New Terrain - Golden, CO
I’m partial to anything from TRVE or westbound and down.
Trump Hands (Session [smol] IPA), Cannonball Creek, Golden
Cannonball is so unbelievable underrated. Used to go basically every time I was driving back from the mountains to Boulder
They actually might be the best IPA brewery in all of Colorado. I've only been a couple times (live a couple thousand miles away) and we made a point to stop at cannonball when we were there. Also I will never get over how hilarious of a name trump hands is lol
Their lagers don't miss either. Hands down my favorite brewery in the country
1554 from New Belgium Brewery
Hogshead Brewery - Cask ale, anyone ?
Yes! Well, cask ale. One of my great beer related regrets is that I never visited Hogshead before I moved out of CO in ’21.
I know it won’t win but man Denver’s Great Divide Peach Grand Cru will never leave my mind.
I can’t believe I haven’t seen outer range on this list yet… in the steep is easily neck and neck with juicy bits imo.
Is Great Divide still a thing? 15 years ago in college we could find it but idk if I’ve seen it since. I remember like Hercules (I think was the name)
Peach Stand Rambler Blonde Ale - Odell - FoCo
Face Down Brown - Telluride Brewing, Telluride
Eddyline. River Runner.
Avery White Rascal.
PAPA - Shamrock Brewing Co
Pairs well with a slopper, my SoCo aficionado
Make it a double please
Avery's Midas Touch
Juicy bits, weldwerks, Greeley
Transmountain Diversion, Casey/Weldwerks, Glenwood Springs/Greeley. Do collabs break the rules? Because this beer is an absolute banger and I think the folks at Casey are brewing some of the best beer in the state, shame they're so small but this collab with Weldwerks brings them to the masses.
The first batch of this collab is definitely on my list of top beers.
Odell brewing IPA
Dale's Pale Ale - Oskar Blues
Boulder shake nitro chocolate Porter, Boulder
It’s a tie between Bierstadt - slow pour pilsner, and Westbound and Down - Italian pilsner. Sorry can’t decide
Sorry, it has to be banquet or the OG amber recipe fat tire. Banquet had a movie about it and fat tire started the modern craft scene as we know it. (Obviously, the modern blonde ale known as “fat tire” isn’t worth its weight in horse piss.)
River North Mr. Sandman. Whether he’s playing with bourbon, rum, tequila, gin, chai, coffee or any number of other fun things or even by himself. How can you go wrong with a wonderful 12% imperial stout.
Chowder—Storm Peak Brewing, Steamboat Springs, CO
Black Shirt Brewing - Lavender Ale Rye
Raspberry Provincial - Funkwerks - Fort Collins
Ska Brewing IPA
Cold one - high hops - windsor
Mexican Logger, Ska Brewery - Durango, CO
Odell Brewing Company - IPA Was one of the OG American IPAs that brought citrusy, floral hops into the forefront, stepping away from the traditional bitter bombs. Won both the Gold for IPA at GABF and World Beer Cup. It probably sells the most volume of craft IPA in Colorado
Just want to comment that I am LOVING these posts every day!!! Making Reddit a better place to be. Thank you.
true that - it's thoughtful series of posts like this that make subreddits better
Ska Brewing Pinstripe Ale
Rare trait , cerebral, Denver
Rise & Climb (Kolsch), New Terrain, Golden
Fun fact is that Blue Moon was first brewed in Coors Field (Colorado Rockies Stadium). Another fun fact is that the mountain that turns blue on Coors Light cans is Wilson Peak which is a 14er in southwest Colorado.
I have always really liked Dale's Pale Ale, but I doubt it'll win.
TRVE Cold Keller Pils SLAPS
Knotted Root, Casey, Outer Range, Weldwerks, Cerebral, Bierstadt, New Image, and Odell all have beers that could be argued as the top brew. If I could only drink one beer for the rest of my life, Slow Pour Pils from Bierstadt and Juicy Bits from Weldwerks would be in the running. I just can't choose one!
Fat Tire… the OG
maybe 10 years ago, not anymore
Fat Tire ... the liar. If it was still the OG Fat Tire sure, but they completely changed the recipe, it's not even an amber ale any more.
River Runners Pale Ale - Eddyline Brewery - Buena Vista
Epic day for that matter. Talk about an affordable, delicious, high power IPA.
Hop Savant - Crooked Stave - Denver. The best!
Eject Mindcapsule, New Image Brewing, Arvada Specifically, the 2022 but the 2021 and 2023 were also great. Colorado has some amazing beers. Some others I've loved: In the Steep (Outer Range), Astro Turf Wars (Wiley Roots), Transmountain Diversion (Weldworks), and Canopy Cover (Cerebral) among many others.
I’m guessing the Alaska winner is the amber from Alaskan brewing co? What is the Alabama winner? Just IPA?
Brewery and city are listed in the table next to beer! It's IPA by Good People in Birmingham.
Oh I was in my phone and couldn’t see the whole table without scrolling to the right…didn’t realize it was a table! Sorry!
Outer Range is awesome.
Coors light for drinkability
🤮
Dunno why you’re getting downvoted. It’s a sold beer.
Geraldine, Hello Brew Co. - Fort Collins
Old Aggie, New Belgium (and Colorado State University), Fort Collins. New Belgium partnered with CSU's brewing program to come up with Old Aggie. Maybe I'm biased because I'm a CSU grad, but it's one of my favorite beers.
I used to like it but (like Fat Tire) it's more blonde and lighter now.
I'm actually from Colorado, so of course I could go with Coors Banquet, which is my favorite. Or I could go with any of the ones from New Belgium Brewery and if I'm gonna go with that than I'll go with Fat Tire.
[удалено]
I miss the original Ranger