Tag Archives: LoDo

Wynkoop Brewing Hosts Grand Re-Opening – Friday, April 22

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Wynkoop Lightrail AleAfter undergoing a major remodel of the restaurant, brewing facilities and equipment, Wynkoop will celebrate it’s grand re-opening this Friday, April 22 with a showcase of the full range of updates and a host of new seasonal brews in rotation. From 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. guests can enjoy a beer and tour the new brewery; the re-opening falls on the same day as the launch of the Train to the Plane and will take part in the festivities going on at the 22nd and Wynkoop DIA line launch.

In honor of the A Line, attendees can try a throwback batch of the Light Rail Organic Ale made with organic pilsner malt and a blend of New Zealand grown hops. Pints of Light Rail are $4 all day Friday; public brewery tours are free and will run every 30 minutes. In addition, attendees can taste Saison done three ways—Saison de Seigle, the kettle-soured Necessity Saison, and the Forethought Saison, a barrel-aged sour—plus the limited-run Rye-Teo Old Chap, an imperial rye stout aged in Laws Whiskey House Secale rye whiskey barrels.

“We’ve taken the best of what’s classic about the Wynkoop and added a state of the art brew house,” explains Bess Dougherty, Barrel Troll (and Lead Brewer) at Wynkoop. “The new brew house means that we have an even better ability to develop complex taste and aroma profiles in our beers.  In addition, we have more capacity and are excited to be able to dig more deeply into experimental and barrel-aged beers, including high ABV selections. We’re making even better beer, a more diverse range of styles and we’re doing it all at the heart of Denver.”

Wynkoop FermentersAbout Wynkoop Brewing Company
In 1988 LoDo had no ballpark, no valet parking, no farm-to-table restaurants: just four guys who wanted to make really good beer. Those four guys were John Hickenlooper, Jerry Williams, Mark Shifler and Russell Scherer. They opened the first craft brewery in Denver on Skid Row in the century-old J. S. Brown Mercantile Building. Beer drinkers across the state braved the sketchy ghost town that was LoDo in the late 1980s for billiards and pints of Russell’s unexpected beer styles. He was one of the first professional brewers in the country to try his hand at mead-making, doppel alt, and cream stout. He was honored by the Brewers Association when he passed with the Russell Scherer Award for Innovation in Brewing, awarded each year at the Craft Brewers Conference to a brewer who knocks down doors.

Almost thirty years later, Wynkoop remains a Denver institution. We are still known for
innovative, ballsy brewers who put just about anything in the beer, including Rocky Mountain oysters, gummy bears and green chiles. It is known as the brewery that brewed a neighborhood because—without exaggeration—the Wynkoop helped spark the revitalization of LoDo. Today, our neighborhood is the heartbeat of the city, surrounded by iconic landmarks like Coors Field, Larimer Square, and the recently renovated Union Station across Wynkoop Street. We may be a bit biased, but we like to think that it all began with really good beer.

River North Brewery – Denver, CO

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River North Logo

River North Brewery & Taproom is located in Denver, CO. a few blocks north of Coors Field in the ballpark neighborhood. The area around River North is a fun, lively and popular area with many breweries, galleries and restaurants close by. This area, called RiNO (River North Art District) was once a rough, mostly abandoned part of Denver, but has been transformed with redevelopment. RiNO includes many 100+ year-old brick buildings that have been renovated, giving the area a historic look and feel.

River North was started by Matt Hess, a former Engineer for Lockheed Martin. Matt was tired of the “cyclical nature of the aerospace industry”, and wanted to do something different. He had experience in homebrewing, and decided that starting a brewery was his ticket to doing something different. Matt had been homebrewing in 5 gallon batches, then splitting up the 5 gallon batch into smaller 1 gallon batches to try new ideas. Each smaller 1 gallon batch gave Matt an opportunity to tweak his recipes, or to add something completely new. With 2-3 years of experimentation, Matt was able to create some great homebrew recipes that he would eventually use to brew beers at River North Brewery. Matt has not only been the driving force behind the beers at River North, he also designed the logo. He has done a great job in creating a clean, distinctive brand that is easily recognizable. When he’s not brewing, Matt also handles deliveries and sales, manages the taproom, and many other tasks that arise in the day-to-day process of running the business side of the brewery.

Patrick Annesty is the Director of Communications for River North, and was nice enough to give us a tour and share their excellent beers. Patrick joined the River North team just after they officially opened last year. He came to Denver from Ft. Laurderdale, FL., after graduating from the University of Florida. Patrick was looking to move to a fun place with a good beer culture, and Denver was a prime spot for that. After coming to Denver, Patrick visited local breweries hoping to use his journalism and homebrewing skills to help out a local brewer. A few weeks after Parick visited River North, Matt Hess called Patrick and asked for help — opening weekend was bigger and busier than Matt ever imagined! Since then, Patrick has taken on a jack of all trades role, and does a bit of everything. Patrick is Matt’s right hand man, and does everything from generating buzz on social media to brewing to making deliveries.

River North officially opened in February 2012. In their first year, River North produced 300 barrels, and made a big name in the Denver community. The business plan for River North was different than many breweries that simply start a taproom and hope to distribute someday. Matt Hess started the brewery with the plan to bottle and distribute immediately. The facility behind River North’s taproom is huge for a smaller brewery, and provides a great deal of room for expansion going forward. If you visit the taproom, you will see just how big River North plans to become. The plan for 2013 is to produce 900 barrels, or 3x the amount of beer River North produced in their first year! River North Taproom

Matt Hess enjoys brewing Belgian-style ales, and American style ales with a Belgian twist. River North brews exclusively in the Belgian style, and is dedicated to always brewing quality beers. Ingredients are brought in from the best sources around the country in order to consistently brew high quality, great tasting beers. River North has an eclectic beer list, and does not focus on having all the American style beers that are typical at most breweries. We really enjoyed all of the beers, but especially the BPR (Belgian-Style Pale Red), the Hello, Darkness (Black IPA) and the Unified Theory (Oaked Imperial Wit).

Beer List:

  • River North White White Ale / Belgian-Style Wit 5.0% ABV
  • Hello, Darkness Black IPA: 6.2% ABV
  • BPR Belgian-Style Pale Red Ale 6.4% ABV
  • J. Marie Saison / Farmhouse Ale 7.5% ABV
  • Hoppenberg Uncertainty Principle Belgian-Style Double IPA 9.0% ABV
  • Quandary Quadrupel 9.6% ABV
  • Unified Theory Oaked Imperial Wit:  8.5% ABV
  • Avarice Belgian-Style Imperial Stout 9.3% ABV

Barrel Series (Limited Availability):

    • Barrel Series No. 1 – J. Marie Aged in Whiskey Barrels
    • Barrel Series No. 2 – J. Marie Aged in White Wine Barrels
    • Barrel Series No. 3 – Quandary Aged in Whiskey Barrels
    • Barrel Series No. 4 – BPR Aged in Whiskey Barrels
    • Barrel Series No. 5 – River North White aged in white wine
    • Barrel Series No. 6 – River North White aged in whiskey
    • Barrel Series No. 7 – Avarice Imperial Stout aged in whiskey
    • Barrel Series No. 8 – Barrel Reserve 2013 (currently available).

In Bottles (22 oz. bombers) Click here to see the River North beer locator

    • J. Marie
    • Hoppenberg Uncertainty Principle
    • Quandary
    • Unified Theory
    • Avarice

River North has a membership program for anyone that would like to become part of their local club. The program will be announced in July, and the details for this year are not available yet. Last year, members paid $50 and received a member’s only glass, $4 beers all day/everyday and had access to a special member’s only barrel aged IPA. The program for members will be different this year, but there will be great opportunities to get exlusive access to some cool offerings from River North.

Festivals: This only includes a couple that are already booked. To find out about all of the festivals and activities River North will be part of, check out their Facebook, and Twitter pages.

  • South Denver Beer Festival (May 4-5 – Littleton)
  • Colorado Brewers’ Rendezvous (July 13 – Salida)

We had a great visit to River North, and look forward to seeing bigger and better things from them. They provide great beers, and a fun, laid-back atmosphere at their taproom. They recently opened up a patio which provides a nice place to enjoy fresh air and a little scenery. A great time to head to River North would be before a Rockies game. With the close proximity to Coors Field, it’s only a few minutes walk to enjoy a fresh beer. Thanks to Matt Hess and Patrick Annesty for their hospitality, and for sharing their story with us!

River North Brewery
2401 Blake St #1
Denver, CO. 80205
(On the corner of 24th & Blake)
303.296.2617

Our Mutual Friend Malt & Brew – Denver, CO

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Our Mutual Friend Malt & Brew

Our Mutual Friend Malt & Brew is a brewery and taproom located in the Five Points neighborhood of Denver. The area around Our Mutual Friend includes a mix of older industrial buildings and newly renovated businesses and residential buildings. The Five Points area has seen a rejuvination over the last few years, and companies like Our Mutual Friend have helped create a neighborhood feel. Our Mutual Friend is a popular gathering place for residents of the 5 points neighborhood, and is also within walking distance from Coors Field and LoDo. We had the opportunity to sit down with Brandon Proff and  Bryan Leavelle of Our Mutual Friend. They shared some excellent beers, as well as the story behind the brewery and taproom.

Our Mutual Friend Malt & Brew was started by a group of friends that were connected by two things; mutual friends, and a love of beer. To make a long story short, some of the founders of Our Mutual Friend had mutual friends with other founders. In a roundabout way the group got to know each other, and their love of beer turned into a brewery and taproom. The founders of Our Mutual Friend had experience in homebrewing. However, it was not always a goal to start a brewing business. In February 2012, the group of founders wanted to start a business together, but were not quite sure what that business would be. In May 2012, when the building Our Mutual Friend is located in became available for rent, the group decided they would get into the brewery business, and began making plans for the brewery and taproom.

There is some disagreement as to when Our Mutual Friend officially opened, but it was agreed that in December 2012, the brewery was open, and the taproom was selling beer from the tap. Our Mutual Friend started with a small budget. Some of the funds needed to officially open the tap room were generated from first brewing and selling beer -hence the disagreement as to when exactly the company began. The owners of Our Mutual Friend started out with the idea that they simply wanted to provide a great place to get a fresh beer. The taproom does not provide a ton of frills, but it is a great place to have a fresh beer, engage in conversation, or simply listen to good music.

A really cool aspect to the brewery at Our Mutual Friend, is that nearly all grains and malts come from within Colorado. Only one malt is not from Colorado – the Munich Malt – and it is only used in about 5% of the beer that is brewed. The goal of Our Mutual Friend is to eventually source all ingredients from Colorado. Bryan Leavelle was proud to mention that he uses Colorado Malting Company as the provider of Our Mutual Friend’s malts and grains. By using Colorado sourced malts and grains, Our Mutual Friend believes they have better flavor in their beers than breweries that use malts and grains that are shipped over long distances, and sit in storage for long periods of time.

Another unique part of the brewing process at Our Mutual Friend is the fact that they prefer to roast their own grain. Many brewers view roasting in-house as an unnecessary step in their brewing process. Bryan Leavelle and Brandon Proff both feel that by roasting in-house they are creating beers with the freshest flavors possible. It was noted how smooth each and every beer we tried was. From the Proletariat to the IPA, all of the beers at Our Mutual Friend had a great finish and without a great deal of bitterness.  

Beer List: Our Mutual Friend provides a great lineup of beers, with styles to fit beer drinkers of all kinds. The Brown Ale was our favorite, and has an outstanding flavor with subtle hints of chocolate. The Winter Seasonal ‘Winter Warmer’ (not listed below) was our second favorite. The Winter Warmer has a rich flavor, but is not overly bitter, and has a nice finish.  

  • Proletariat Session Ale: The lightest beer at Our Mutual Friend. The Proletariat is for the no frills beer drinker who wants a crisp, clean refreshing ale. It’s the only beer named, dubbed in reference to the working class of our capitalist society, the common men and women who are always welcome at OMF. Proletariat highlights the subtle, sophisticated flavors and aromas of the Colorado grown two-row malt and aromatic Gold malt. Pacific Northwest hops create an extremely balanced beer with a beautiful straw color. 4.5% ABV
  • Saison: The Saison is crafted in the style that originated from beers brewed during the cooler and less active months in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium, and then stored for drinking by the farm workers during the summer months. Beginning with a surge of fruity aromatics and grapefruit hoppy notes, the flavor of this complex ale tapers off to a peppery, dry finish. 5.6% ABV
  • Pale Ale: The Pale is the Queen Ale and what started it all for Our Mutual Friend, back in the days of brewing in Bryan’s kitchen. It is English style leaning in color and mouthfeel, with medium body and a sweet finish accented by American hops. It’s the beer we’d sip on all day if we could. 5.6% ABV
  • IPA: Dedicated to the Cottonwood, Juniper, and Ponderosa pines of Colorado, the India Pale Ale is a step up from the Pale Ale bitter and more bold. OMF uses all Columbus hops in a nod to their love of pine trees, giving the IPA a fundamental piney-floral kick, with hints of caramel and other earthy toastiness. There’s enough bitter for the hophead, but good malt balance for the novice IPA drinker. 7.1% ABV
  • Brown Ale: OMF’s Brown Ale is crafted with patience and chance in honor of the game played on sand diamonds every summer. OMF roasts their brown malt to the same standards found in mid-1800s England, with a rich base that gives hints of chocolate. The beer is then finished with dry hopping to give it a nose as crisp as the pop of a called third strike in the catcher’s mitt. 6.3% ABV
  • Huckleberry Roasters Coffee Stout: OMF collaborated with their neighbors Huckleberry Roasters to craft their stout. OMF starts with a humble American stout and adds Huckleberry’s small batch Mexican roast during secondary fermentation for an earthy, light roasted kick. It’s a stout as quiet and comforting as a starless night in the country with enough mystery to keep you company for a while. 5% ABV

OMF Winter Warmer

OMF is planning to hold the Winter Warmer Bomber Party on March 22nd. The Winter Warmer seasonal is being bottled now, and will be available to buy in bombers (22 oz bottles), or growlers. This is a great tasting beer, and the limited quantities of it will sell out quickly. Colorado Craft Brews thoroughly enjoyed this beer, and will undoubtedly head down to OMF for the Winter Warmer Bomber Party. We hope to see you there!

We had a great visit with Bryan and Brandon at OMF. We appreciate them sitting down to tell us more about them, and of course, for sharing their beers. OMF is a great place to hang out and enjoy a good beer made with fresh ingredients, and brewed by guys with a passion for what they do. The atmosphere at OMF is fun and laid-back. With a relatively close proximity to Coors Field there will soon be the buzz of baseball season starting at Our Mutual Friend. On April 5th (Opening Day) OMF will be making available their Spring Seasonal the IPA 2. We recommend heading down to take in the great atmosphere, and of course, a great beer!

Our Mutual Friend Malt & Brew
2810 Larimer Street
Denver, CO. 80205
www.omfmb.com
hello@omfmb.com