Coors is very much alive; its plant in Golden pumps out 17 million barrels a year, more than any other brewery. But nowadays it has plenty of company. Denver has become one of America's liveliest beer towns. It boasts a small army of homebrewers, one of the world's biggest brewpubs, and the Great American Beer Festival.
Denver's biggest concentration of craft breweries is in Lower Downtown, a neighborhood filled with offices, shops, and restaurants. It's so compact that you can visit its micros and brewpubs on foot.
In the Eighties, few imagined that "LoDo" would become Denver's playground. Businesses had fled the area, leaving abandoned warehouses in their wake; the economy was in a recession. But the city turned things around: it offered incentives to preserve LoDo's historic buildings; and, once it landed a major league franchise, put up a ballpark in the neighborhood.
John Hickenlooper, a modern-day pioneer, saw opportunity in LoDo's empty warehouses. He persuaded state lawmakers to legalize brewpubs, then converted a century-old department store into the Wynkoop Brewing Company (1634 18th Street; 303-297-2700), which he named for Denver's first sheriff.
Wynkoop's best-selling beer is Railyard Ale, brewed in the Oktoberfest style. It also pours an unfiltered German wheat beer; a light lager brewed with Anaheim chiles; and three cask-conditioned ales. Whatever your choice, grab a seat on the outdoor patio. Few things go better with beer than a view of the Rocky Mountains.
Success hasn't dulled Wynkoop's sense of humor. It celebrates its anniversary with the "Running of the Pigs"; and crowns a Beer Drinker of the Year, who must survive the scrutiny of beer experts and then pass an oral exam. Wynkoop is also home to the Impulse Theater, whose repertoire is best described as "competitive comedy."
Flying Dog Brewery and Pub (2401 Blake Street; 303-292-5027) is America's only "gonzo brewery." According to legend, illustrator Ralph Steadman got his inspiration for those surreal Flying Dog labels after a night of drinking with author Hunter S. Thompson and one of the brewery's founders.
What Thompson and his buddies drank that night was the brewery's top-selling beer: Doggie Style Ale, an award-winning pale ale. Flying Dog's litter has grown to nine, led by Road Dog Ale, brewed in the Scottish style; Old Scratch Lager, a California common, or "steam," beer; an India pale ale called Snake Dog Ale; and Tire Biter Ale, a Kölsch-style beer.
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