Colorado Breweries: What Makes Them Such a Sought-Out Attraction?

If you're a Colorado local, then visiting one of the vast array of Colorado Breweries each weekend or so is just as normal as eating three meals a day, and it comes as no surprise that when a friend visits from out of town they may want to visit where their favorite beer is produced. Even for those who aren't the biggest fans of beer, a Colorado brewery visit just holds something special that outshines any other state's brewery experience…but why is that?

Colorado Breweries Can Have On-Site Taprooms

In other states, breweries can't sell their beer on site unless they have a separate liquor license to do so. Luckily, Colorado breweries don't need to worry about that all thanks to the state's special brewery regulations. In Colorado, breweries can sell their beer directly to consumers at the brewery without the need of a separate license, making it easier for the brewers to conduct sales and easier for consumers to try out the beer they see being made right in front of them—a win-win. Some Coloradan-favorite brewery taprooms include Oskar Blues in Longmont, Denver Beer Company on Platte Street, and Left Hand Brewing in Longmont.

With on-site beer sales and tap rooms, visitors can have more of an interactive beer experience as they know the people serving them are also very familiar with the brewing process just on the other side of the wall, or often time in the exact same room as the bar. It isn't every day that you get to order a beer on tap and know it was freshly brewed in the same building. At times, breweries even offer special, single-batch brews only at their brewery taprooms.

Community Events

At most Colorado breweries, there are often fun, community-focused events hosted on-site like live music, comedy, outdoor games, trivia, and more. Sometimes, these are smaller scale and more locally focused like at Oskar Blues Brewery, where each location offers an insight to the community around. All Oskar Blues locations have on-site venues where smaller local bands, larger traveling musicians, and even comedians frequent the stage. Likewise, a few locations also hold weekly trivia nights for a fun, casual night out with friends. The most notable community events held by Oskar Blues are the countless biking events the brewery holds each year, bringing local cyclists out to bond with others over beer—including the founder, Dale Katechis, who is an avid cyclist himself.

Other Colorado breweries hold similar events. Breckenridge Brewery hosts large music events with names like Kaleo, Hippo Campus, The String Cheese Incident, and more. Additionally, New Belgium Brewing Company is most known for their Tour de Fat Festival, featuring live music, bike parades, and many other performances.

Brewery Tours

Colorado breweries often offer the option to tour the grounds and ask their guide all the most pressing beer-related questions while sipping on one of the house beers along the way—again, a rarity all thanks to the taproom and on-site sales regulation. If a full tour isn't available, there is always still plenty of the machinery and brewing process that guests can view from the taproom and ask their brewers any questions—Colorado brewers are always excited to talk about their passion. Colorado's most well-known and locally lauded tours can be found at Breckenridge Brewery in Littleton, Odell Brewery in Fort Collins, and Coors Brewery in Golden. 

The Spirit of Colorado 

It may sound cheesy, but the main reason Colorado Breweries are packed with a bit more pizazz than other states is simply because of the Coloradan attitude toward beer—especially craft brews. On the macro brewery side, Colorado is home to the largest brewery site, Coors, and on the craft brewery side, there is a constantly growing number of craft breweries and microbreweries popping up each year around the state. There are many reasons Colorado is such a hot spot for beer: the state's regulations and communities are very beer-friendly, supporting the industry's growth, and on top of that, the outdoorsy attitude and 300 days of sunshine curate the perfect environment to sit back, grab a beer, and enjoy.

Are you visiting Colorado anytime soon, or are you a local with some spare time? It might be worthwhile to book a visit to one of the many breweries around the state to find something new or learn a little more about what makes brewing in Colorado so special!