[rayallen]

 My wife and I + a couple of Close friends are taking a vacation In August. August 26- Sept 3

We are stoked about the trip. We are all lovers of good craft brew and Ive heard that Colorado is suppost to have some great beer and pubs.

Any recommendations, we wil be renting a car so are not limited to strictly Denver.

[MDixon]

Falling Rock...

My wife and I found a neat little pizza place if you want something different...Hops & Pie...

[tschmidlin]

I've got to recommend Wynkoop, I think it's contractual.   Great food there though, with good beer and you can walk to Falling Rock after lunch/dinner.  Walk over to Great Divide too.

Drive to Boulder and visit Avery, Mountain Sun, and Redstone Meadery.

[MDixon]

I hope to have a contractual obligation to mention Wynkoop next year

Seriously, I drank more there than anywhere else. I felt pretty lousy during the time we were in Denver, we didn't make it too many places in Denver proper.

[johnf]

As I don't have a contractual obligation to mention Wynkoop, I will mention that my one trip there (probably last) featured an IPA that had the most insidious levels of diacetyl I have every encountered in a commercial beer. Somebody needs to show them where the drain is.

I can't imagine leaving the Falling Rock for this place. If you want to leave the Falling Rock for food (and the food there is fine), walk in the direction of the Cheery Monk.

[jamminbrew]

 Definitely the Cheeky Monk, if you like Belgian style.  Great Divide has great beer.  Left Hand and Avery. New Belgium and O'Dell in Ft. Collins are within an hour drive.  Bristol in Colorado Springs, also an hour drive. Wynkoop is great too, and it's owned by our govenor, who was an avid homebrewer, too!

[rayallen]

Sweet, thanks guys all noted!

We will be there 7 days so we will be making many stops. One of those vacations where we will just go with the flow and not have a must see list. More of a play it day by day. Beer and food at the top of the priority list.

[tschmidlin]

If you're out and about for that long, I think it's worth it to stop in Lyons and go to Oskar Blues.  And Odell and New Belgium in Fort Collins, I haven't been there but I would totally go.

[theoman]

I've got to recommend Wynkoop, I think it's contractual.   Great food there though, with good beer and you can walk to Falling Rock after lunch/dinner.  Walk over to Great Divide too.

Drive to Boulder and visit Avery, Mountain Sun, and Redstone Meadery.

I endorse everything said here. Just thinking about the nachos at Wynkoop makes me drool. Best ever.

[rayallen]

Wynkoop is going to be definate stop from all the shout outs its getting on here.

Oskar Blues makes some great beer!

[johnf]

Wynkoop is going to be definate stop from all the shout outs its getting on here.

Oskar Blues makes some great beer!

Well 2/3 shout outs were from people who have won or have tried hard to win their beer drinker of the year award :p

In seriousness, if you were going to be there a day, I would say skip it. 7 days? Hit it. It's right by Falling Rock and you should and will go there repeatedly. Given all the time  you have, head down to Breckenridge at 471 Kalamath and then keep going down the road a bit to Rack House which is a very good beer bar with very good food and also where they distill Stranahan's Whisky.

If you get in the car and get out and about, try to hit Redstone Meadery.

Strange is worth a shot. It is a one barrel brewhouse with Blichmann fermentors in a small industrial space. The tasting room seats maybe 30. My wife and I went Friday when they open at 3 pm and despite being 3 on a weekday and them being in a bit of a weird spot (not far from downtown, we walked there from cheeky monk and then back to Breckenridge for NHC judging) it was packed. You can get a taster of the 11ish beers on tap for really cheap. Amazingly, their IPA also had a ton of diacetyl. The others were good to very good. They have a beer called "Cherry Creek" which is the name of a town an an actual aquatic geographical feature nearby. It is not actually a lambic but I think they figured out the secret of New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red (unfermented cherry juice). Let's call it the poor man's NG WBR, but it is good.

I hear good things about Dry Dock in Aurora, but have not made the trek.

[ryang]

don't be hesitant to seek the little guys too, as there are some great places stuck all over.

Strange - Denver (highlands)
Copper Kettle - Denver (cherry creek-ish)
Denver Chop House - Denver (downtown - one block down the street from Wynkoop)
Pints Pub - Denver (downtown by civic center park).  They have their own beers plus others.  Traditional English beers and food fare.
Dry Dock - Aurora
Golden City - Golden (and go to Woody's for pizza afterward).  You won't be dissapointed in Golden, I love it there and wish we still lived there, even though we only live 10min away now.  
Rockyard - Castle Rock
Elk Mountain - Parker

These are all within 30min of downtown Denver.  There are so many options in Denver, you won't be able to stop at all of them.

I would really encourage a trip to Golden.  It's such a great town.  Washington Street (the main drag through town) is always hopping.  Nice shops, awesome food (but when you see the lines at Woody's you'll get a feeling that it's the best there), great people watching, etc.  Golden City brewery is just west of downtown by the creek, 3 blocks from Coors.

If you're interested, I might be able to meet up for a beer.  

[theoman]

Ooh, good call on Pints Pub. I love that place. Very good cask ales and they used to boast the largest selection of single malt scotch outside of Britain.

Hey ryang, do they still have that odd table game? I forgot what it's called or even what it's about, but it was a blast to play after a couple drinks.

[tom]

There are also 2 new breweries that may open this Summer:  Denver Brewery on Platte by 15th and the Renegade Brewery on Kalamath and 9th which is going to be organic.

And the Floyds hope to open their Arvada Brewery this Summer too.

[brewmasternpb]

There's Obviously no shortage of places to go, and all of the above posters listed some great places.  The truth is, Denver offers some outstanding choices... but you can take a drive to any of the outlying towns and find great stuff as well.  Colorado Springs hasn't been mentioned, but the Trinity brewpub down there is great, and you could stop by the Garden of the Gods.  I must be oppionated about one thing though... The Cheeky Monk is overpriced IMO, and you can have just as good (better) of a beer experience at the falling rock.