There are many breweries around the country that we could walk into and feel welcomed as though we were long lost family members. However, since Colorado is home base and our love for the craft began here, it’s kind of a given that many of the breweries we consider home are in Colorado.
If you’ve never been to Woods Boss, Strange Craft, Guanella Pass, or Broken Compass, please enjoy this virtual trip of Colorado craft breweries we consider home. And then when all this craziness has subsided, and the world has opened back up a bit, welcome home! We’ve got the bear hugs…and the beer waiting!
Denver, Colorado
Woods Boss Brewing Company
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” (Henry David Thoreau)
The moment we met Jordan and Chad, we fell in love. Not quite with them, (okay maybe a little with them – they are quite cute and friggin hilarious and Jordan has a potty mouth like no tomorrow), but most definitely their brewery. They brought the Colorado wilderness to Downtown Denver, and it is breathtaking. Celebrating Kenny’s 50th here, hosting a book-signing party, and simply just showing up on a blue-sky Colorado day, this place is one of the breweries we now call home.
Finding ourselves back in Denver every three or four months, we expect Woods Boss to be here, welcoming us with open arms.
How do I support them now?
- Open daily from 2p-7p for to-go orders via online ordering or walk-up. Click here to order online now.
- Beer Delivery? Woods Boss has got you covered. Click here to see if you are on the right side of the tracks (only delivering to select zip codes).
Click here to listen to our Stout Conversation with Jordan Fink, Woods Boss owner, world-traveler, and a woods boss himself.
Strange Craft Beer Company
Isn’t it funny how your best friends tend to lead to more of your best friends? That’s exactly what happened the first time we stopped at Guanella Pass Brewery in Georgetown. Believe it or not, that very first day at Guanella Pass, Denver OG brewer Tim Myers and his crew stopped in and we ended up spending a couple more hours on site tasting beers together.
We interviewed Steve that day in Georgetown, but his intro eventually led us to interviewing Tim at Strange Craft, Denver’s first taproom-centric craft brewery which he started in 2010.
Tim’s that guy that will do damn near anything for anybody. When his buddy’s brewery, Wit’s End, was suffering in a tough market, Tim melded the brewery into his own. Visit Strange Craft and you get two breweries in one.
Who does that? Tim does that.
Wanting to host a pre-Great American Beer Festival party for our friends and media that would be in Denver, Tim immediately said, “Let’s do it!” Not only did he offer up his space, but helped to promote it and even broke out a couple special aged beers for the event.
Tim is someone we met for an interview, and in true Stout Life style, saying hi to a stranger, we found a life-long friend.
How do I support them now?
- Beer to go hours are M-Th 3p-7p, Fri-Sat 2p-7p, and Sun 2p-5p. Order online here or show up at the taproom.
- Purchase gift cards by clicking here.
Click here to listen to our Stout Conversation with Tim Myers. Not only will he crack you up, but he’ll keep you coming back for more. This conversation’s got two parts. Click here for the second one.
Georgetown, Colorado
Guanella Pass Brewery
Like many of our favorite breweries, Guanella Pass Brewery is nestled in a small town, but Steve Skalski did something the others haven’t, he started his brewery in a quaint Colorado mountain town that we already loved for its annual Christmas festival, historic town square, and a lake that ices over in the winter and hosts Jeep races (yes, on the ice!).
But even more important than being located in Georgetown, Guanella Pass is chock full of wonderful staff and regulars that instantly make us feel like we’ve always lived there… and we’ve never lived there. But we often go out of our way to show off this small town brewery to our friends.
Oh yeah, they also have an array of amazing beers that belies what you should reasonably be able to expect from a small town brewery where the beer is cooked up right there in front of you in the tap room!
And now they have another tap room in Empire, Colorado, with a full service coffee bar and a lovely barista who knows her shit about beer and coffee. We haven’t been there yet, but that will most definitely be one of our first stops when we get back to Colorado.
How do I support them now?
- Stop by to pick up growlers, crowlers, bottles, and cans to go daily from 3p-6p in Georgetown. Delivery is also available. Click here to find out more.
- Stop by their brand new location in Empire for delicious food, craft beer, and handcrafted coffee to go. You can call ahead at 303-569-5136 or just show up daily from 7a-7p.
Click here to listen to our Stout Conversation with Steve Skalski. Sitting on his patio with a fire blazing and beers pouring – yeah, home!
Breckenridge, Colorado
Broken Compass Brewing Company
Located in Breckenridge, this mountain brewery captured our hearts the moment it opened in 2014. Breckenridge (minus the crowds) is one of our favorite snowboarding destinations, but it’s also the place to go for hiking, mountain biking, and the annual Oktoberfest and Ski Swap. Oktoberfest? Beer? Yep, and we would drink our token Märzen while dancing like a chicken and eating strudel, but dude, we were in Breckenridge.
And when in Breck, it’s all about Broken Compass. From the mountain decor to the mountain beauty to the mountain man/burning man owner, Jason Ford, this place is definitely a brewery we call home. RAIF even got to spend the night here! With beertenders who remember your name, ski lift chairs for seats, and fellow mountain lovers who treat you like locals no matter where you’re from, it doesn’t take a compass to find this place. Just follow your heart to get lost here.
How do I support them now?
- Get lost at home with Broken Compass beer to go. Click here to order online or just stop by the taproom. Pick up hours are daily 2p-7p.
- Check out their Beer it Forward program, gift cards, and merch. All available online.
Click here for our Stout Conversation with Jason Ford, owner of Broken Compass and builder of The Man at Burning Man.
Since #DrinkTheStory launched, many great stories and positive messages have come from it. Bloggers and beer friends have banded together in a Facebook group and we want to make sure to highlight stories that have emerged. Linked below are posts that we encourage you to read. There’s also a fantastic campaign going from an organization called Drink Local Think Global that has emerged as a craft brewery employee assistance relief campaign. Please consider donating to the DLTG campaign.
More #DrinkTheStory Articles:
- Three Strikes, and They’re Still Not Out – TheCraftBeerConcierge.com
- They Have Peacocks – AlcoholByVolumeBlog.com
- From Warehouse to Farmhouse; Throwback Brewery – TheCraftBeerConcierge.com
- NanoBrewing Big Dreams in Boulder – LivingAStoutLife.com
- Urban Growler Brewing Company – AlcoholByVolumeBlog.com
- 4 Small Town Breweries with Big Hearts – LivingAStoutLife.com
- 105 West Brewing Shows What it Means to Support the Community – BottleMakesThree.com
Many wonderful things come from bringing beer and people together. There is also some great discussion on our Facebook group, which you can join here.
We urge you to #DrinkTheStory by sharing your own brewery stories and photos on social media, in the comments below, and on your own blog if you have one. Don’t forget to support as many local businesses as you can. We’re all in this together.
Cheers!
Ken & April
