Thanks to a cheap flight and little incentivizing from friends, I recently headed to Denver, Colorado for a quick yet exceptional few days.
With so much to see and do in Denver and its surrounding cities, it became hard to narrow down a list of what to do so we stuck to a rough plan and let the rest fall into place. The city is full of character giving off a modern, artsy and yet simultaneously outdoorsy vibe at every turn.
The early March sunshine was smile inducing, making you want to spend ample time outside even with the temps rising just into the 50s.
Most importantly, I felt truly welcomed to be there with every encounter. I always bask in the ability to share my city with others, and I find it special to have someone else’s city shared with me.
Aside from primarily showcasing our food and beer diet, the following outlines the majority of what we accomplished during our four-day stay in Denver.
Where We Visited
Our home base for the trip was Denver, where we stayed in Airbnb’s, but with the help of a rental car we found ourselves traveling to its nearby cities. We explored Denver, Fort Collins, Golden, and Boulder.
Breweries
There were no shortage of breweries in good ol’ Colorado, so we had fun sippin’ drinks at a variety of them. We managed to sneak in a few tours and were pleasantly surprised to find they were all free tours with free tastings – different from what we find in PA.
New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins
I can’t speak highly enough of this brewery experience, especially its tour. If you find yourself in Colorado, make this stop a priority.
Black Bottle in Fort Collins
Order the queso, guac and chips to munch on while you sip a beer.
Coors Brewery in Golden
Listen to the advice of others and opt for the short tour which avoids the factory tour and goes straight to the tasting room. The tour is mediocre at best, but in the tasting room you get three free beers to compensate. Note: this tour now charges $5.
Ratio Brewing Co. in Denver
Fun space with a lot of natural light and an outdoor patio!
First Draft in Denver
This bar contained a self-pour draft wall featuring beers from all over Colorado making it fun to try a bunch of different beers.
Blue Moon Brewing Co. in Denver
Who can pass up a fresh blue moon?! It was fun to mix in some staple beers where they originiated, while trying all the new ones.
New Terrain Brewing Co. in Golden
We loved the atmosphere at night here, plus the beer was amazing as shown by the crowded bar accompanied by live music on a Thursday evening.
Boulder Beer Co in Boulder
Another fun tour experience – I believe the tours run daily at 2pm, but it’s first come, first serve for the first 30 people. It didn’t seem too crowded during the week though as we went on a tour of about 12 people. Stick around for the free tasting at the end, a very unique tasting experience!
Food & Sweets
Don’t be misled by the seemingly light list of food options to follow, as we did eat our way through the trip! However, we often ate at food trucks outside the breweries or inhaled too fast to take pictures of the restaurants so I’m blanking on names! So I guess the important spots are listed below 😉
Bacon
Stopped here for breakfast our first morning after a long night of traveling, and we both scarfed down our plates. Tip: order the tots
Onefold
Our Airbnb host recommended this spot for their $5 breakfast burrito and wow o wow were we in heaven! Best breakfast burritos for that price for certain!
High Point Creamery
Tucked inside the Denver Central Market, this ice cream spot had an abundance of flavors to choose from and made the choice easy by offering a $9 ice cream flight which included 5 different flavors plus a drizsle sauce.
New Belgium Brewing Co. Food Stand
It’s likely after your tour of the New Belgium factory you’ll feel a little tipsy, so take my word for it and sober up at the hamburger stand located out front. And definitely order the fries.
Root Down
A group of us ate brunch here on Saturday morning and the food was exceptional! Great eclectic environment.
Coffee
Everyone knows you can’t travel well if you’re not fueled properly.
Ink! in the Rhino Arts District
We typically drank coffee on the go or at a restaurant so this was the only sit-down coffee shop we hung out in, although there wasn’t a shortage of them. I mention this one though as mid-morning it was the perfect spot to stop and get some work done while planing out some of our days’ details.
Places to Explore
We had a lot of hikes on our list we were hopeful of crossing off, but due to the seasonal timing of our trip we had to plan cautiously. Definitely a reason to get back out west ASAP as it starts to warm up.
Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins
This Reservoir made for the perfect afternoon! With hiking paths scattered around it, and visible views from the car we could easily still explore even with a few inches of snow covering the ground.
Rhino Arts District, Denver
With so much amazing artwork and an abundance of shops, restaurants and breweries, I could have easily spent the entire trip in just this part of town.
Denver Central Market
Located in the Rhino Arts District, don’t miss out on this gem!
Chautauqua Park, Boulder
This park offered trails of all levels and astonishing views of downtown Boulder. After leaving, we turned left out of the park’s parking lot and headed up into Boulder Mountain Park. We hiked a trail in the park and spent the rest of the afternoon driving through and taking in the views.
North Table Mountain, Golden
As an alternative to the Coors tour, opt to hike North Table Mountain located directly behind the Coors Factory where you can get rim to rim views of their 5-mile property.
See you soon, Colorado!
With so much yet to see and do, I’m certain I’ll plan a trip back out west very soon!
Cherishburg 
I spent many years in Denver, and plan to return when I’m done in Asia. Thanks for sharing your photos and story. True beer lovers would have a hard time finding a better destination than the Mile High City!
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Love the feedback! And agreed, so many awesome breweries!!
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