[Drewch]

Now that my wife and I are both fully vaccinated, we're planning the family trip to Colorado that we had to cancel last year.  What are some family-friendly breweries that we could hit up in (1) Boulder/Denver area; (2) Durango; (3) Pueblo; and (4) Colorado Springs?

I hope to hit up Trinity Brewing in COS -- I remember them being pretty good and kid-friendly back in the '09-'12 era.  And maybe Mad Jack's in Bailey if we make it that far afield.

[ravenwater]

Obviously a ton of choices here. I like Trinity - not very roomy but great food and beers, family friendly. Goat Patch is another in Colorado Springs I'd call family friendly, and so is Bristol. I was recently at Steamworks in Durango - very friendly staff, good food. I'd call it a restaurant as well as "bar", so that might translate as family friendly.

[a10t2]

I don't want to sidetrack your thread too much but obviously I have a vested interest here - what makes a brewery family-friendly for your family?

I'd call all the breweries in Durango family-friendly; in addition to Steamworks look at Animas and Ska, which both have large patios.

[Drewch]

I don't want to sidetrack your thread too much but obviously I have a vested interest here - what makes a brewery family-friendly for your family?

It's a lot of the same things that make a restaurant or any other public venue family friendly.  Indicators includes but are not limited to:

• Including a mention of kids or families in their description -- one our favorites proclaims "We are kid friendly, and dog friendly (of course)!" within the first three lines of text on their website;
• Having an appropriately casual atmosphere:
  • Space for kids to roam and/or make a little noise without being overly disruptive;
  • Another of our favorite places has a large patio with kids' yard games;
  • And another includes a large-ish greenspace specifically for kids;
• Having non-alcoholic beverages available; and
• Having casual "kid-friendly" food available (in-house or food truck or similar -- being collocated with a pizzeria seems a popular option).

But to paraphrase the Supreme Court, it's hard to define precisely but you know it when you see it. 

[a10t2]

Sounds like we'd tick most of your boxes - patio games, soft drinks (including our own root beer), and kid-friendly food for sure. And based on your itinerary you'll probably drive right by!

[Drewch]

Sounds like we'd tick most of your boxes - patio games, soft drinks (including our own root beer), and kid-friendly food for sure. And based on your itinerary you'll probably drive right by!

If we time out departure from Boulder right, we could be passing by as you're opening. 👍

[Iliff Ave]

If you're going to be in the Golden area I would suggest New Terrain. It gets extremely busy on the weekends...

Maybe your trip has already happened?

[Drewch]

It's actually happening next week.

We'll have a couple of days in greater Denver: I'll keep Terrain in mind. I don't remember them --- are they new since ~2013?

[fredthecat]

so many drinking places in korea were so good. i would regularly see lots of kids playing around at bars while their parents drink.

or even at restaurants where copious drinking woudl happen there would be a dedicated kids playcentre/equipment or games.

prohibition and certain anti-alcohol groups' influence are severely negative influences on fun.

[Iliff Ave]

It's actually happening next week.

We'll have a couple of days in greater Denver: I'll keep Terrain in mind. I don't remember them --- are they new since ~2013?

Yes. They’re about 5 years old. Giant place, great beer, families everywhere

[Drewch]

Sounds like we'd tick most of your boxes - patio games, soft drinks (including our own root beer), and kid-friendly food for sure. And based on your itinerary you'll probably drive right by!

You're porter and maibock are solid 👍.  (The Leadville Lager was well executed, but not to my taste.)  Your paninis -- I had the BLATCH -- are on point.  The weather turned on us; so we had to leave quicker than I would've otherwise...

Cheers 🍻

[hopfenundmalz]

Sounds like we'd tick most of your boxes - patio games, soft drinks (including our own root beer), and kid-friendly food for sure. And based on your itinerary you'll probably drive right by!

You're porter and maibock are solid 👍.  (The Leadville Lager was well executed, but not to my taste.)  Your paninis -- I had the BLATCH -- are on point.  The weather turned on us; so we had to leave quicker than I would've otherwise...

Cheers 🍻

Thanks for the report.

[Bad Bubba]

What breweries did you end up visiting in Colorado?   Any review comments?

[Drewch]

What breweries did you end up visiting in Colorado?   Any review comments?

Locust Cidery in Denver - regional brand with a good selection of dry and off-dry ciders. We find most commerical ciders too sweet but these weren't.

Two Mile in Leadville - review is above. I'd be there regularly if we lived in the area.

Animas in Durango - nice setup, good food. Their Hogsback Black was really nice--they can it a dark ale but it tasted very schwartzbier-y to me. Crisp with a hint roast. Their Kolsch was good. Try one of the pasties, too.

Shamrock Brewing in Pueblo. Good Irish Porter, and their guest beer was Duchesse de Bourgogne!  They also had a good guest cyser from Colorado Cider Co.

TRiNiTY in Colorado Springs - these guys have really expanded their wild and barrel-aged program since we left. Everything I tried was good. They have a lot of Brett beers, too, but their tart cherry chocolate stout was actually really well balanced, too. Bought a mixed 4-pack of sours to bring home.

I was also able to find a bottle of New Belgium's Adding Corners --- it's hard to find NB other than Fat Tire and sometimes their Tripel around here.

I really wanted to hit Terrain & Stem Ciders in Denver, Mad Jacks in Bailey, and Black Forest in Colorado Springs, but we couldn't make the schedule work.