Colorado Springs Pub Crawl

The only thing wrong with this scenario is that 99.9% of the bars here in the Springs have the following on tap: Bud, Miller, Coors, token Bristol offereing most likely Laughing Lab and token New Belgium offering Sunshine Wheat or Fat Tire.

I've lived here for a year now and outside of brewpubs and breweries you'll find no good beer bars. I've looked and looked although I would be extremely happy to be proven wrong. Outside of Old Chicago where the food is barely edible and the beer selection seems pretty good upon first inspection but is really just a lot of ho-hum choices the only places I can think of that do not fit my initial description are Kinfolks in Manitou and The Stagecoach which only has three taps but at least they are Oasis instead of Bristol.

_Randal

So there is no Gingerman-like pub in Colorado Springs? Bummer...

Nope. AFAIK the only Gingerman-like pub you will find on the whole front range is Falling Rock in Denver. When I went there it was quite un-Gingerman-like even though it was started by former g-man employees. They were out of a good 1/4 of their 40 or so taps, although they didn't bother to cover the tap handles with anything and the surly bartender grew surlier as I somehow managed to ask about most of the beers that they were out of (the good ones).

Last weekend I went to The Yard House in Lakewood, a suburb of Denver. They have 130 taps and make the Saucer look like Applebees. Be sure and go there between 3 & 6 though when all of their beer is only $2.75 a pint. I will DEFINITELY be back, hopefully this weekend!

If you are in the Springs be sure and visit Bristol's tasting room and Kinfolks in Manitou. Kinfolks is tiny - it's a mountain outfitter store with a surprise bar in the back with 8 craft beer taps. I find it very relaxing and cozy.

_Randal

I'll be sure to check those out.

I just moved to Colorado Springs from Austin and figured Colorado would have a much better beer scene. While the store selection is better, or perhaps just different than you might find at HEB Central Market or the Grapevine Market in Austin, the pub scene leaves something to be desired here.

Try Il Vicino pizza/brewpub. Wet Mountain IPA being one of my favorites. Forget the contract brewed (Bristol) version in 6-paks, it sucks. But the org brewed draft is great. So's the pizza.

nb

What notbob said! The brewpubs around here and plentiful and usually pretty top-notch (Judge Baldwin's excepted).

Try:

Il Vicino - their Rye IPA, heck all their beers are great. Phantom Canyon - fun, beer has tasted a bit rough lately but there are still some gems. Palmer Lake / The Warehouse - Excellent beer, excellent food. A more formal setting. Bristol's tasting room - informal and fun, Monday is $2.50 pint night. Judge Baldwins - Go to satisfy your curiosity. It's basically the hotel bar for the Antlers hotel downtown.

And don't forget Jarre Creek & Rockyard in Castle Rock.

There are many many brewpubs in Colorado, WAY more than Texas. Take a weekend drive sometime and plan on hitting a few. A few months back we drove to Steamboat springs and hit 4 brewpubs on the drive back. _Randal

If you haven't already, try out Phantom Canyon downtown. When they first opened the beer was stored in the cellar (at cellar temp) and hand-pumped up at the taps. This didn't last long because the bartenders didn't like it and too many customers wanted colder beer, but they still make some great brews. They generally only have one token dark brew, but they occasionally have a barley wine that's just stellar.

The Warehouse also has some wonderful brews (especially their bitter) and their food is enjoyable as well.

-DanD

: be extremely happy to be proven wrong. Outside of Old Chicago where the : food is barely edible and the beer selection seems pretty good upon : first inspection but is really just a lot of ho-hum choices the only : places I can think of that do not fit my initial description are : Kinfolks in Manitou and The Stagecoach which only has three taps but at : least they are Oasis instead of Bristol.

Old Chicago has over 115 beers available - you call that "ho-hum"? Now I know it's _you_ that has the problem, not the C. Springs beer scene.

It's been awhile since I've been in an Old Chicago, but IME he's right-- the selection may seem adventuresome to a beer neophyte but to the exeprience beer hunter it certainly leaves a lot to be desired.

That was my unfortunate experience at the newly opened OC by me. Went in last week with high hopes of a good multi-tap near the house, but out of 40+ taps, there were 6 that were worth the time -- and you guys know me, I'm pretty open-minded -- and the first beer I ordered, a Rogue Santa's Reserve, was stale. Not good.

snipped-for-privacy@buzzbeer.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@cswreg.cos.agilent.com:

115 crappy beers available is still 115 crappy beers. It's not the number, it's the quality. -- ***************************************************************** Dan Iwerks thinks that the beer you're drinking probably sucks. The fundamental problem with Solipsism is it makes me responsible for the fact that you're a complete idiot. *****************************************************************

C'mon. Old Chicago sucks ass.

115 beers, 85 of them are variants of the same old light lagers, but ooh, there's one from China! The rest are very commonly available things like Samuel Smiths, Sierra Nevada, Anchor, etc. Not to say those beers are slouches, but when you go into a real beer bar, you often find yourself gasping at seeing a few things on tap that you've only read about, and never thought you'd get to drink. Not to at Old Chicago. (not to mention their ice cold servings and frosty mugs)

"Lew Bryson" wrote in news:z1FHd.11199$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:

Yup, same experience here. At first glance, a seemingly beergeek-friendly place, but a lot of the good stuff is old and/or served ICE cold, and in a frosted mug, no less. Even had a fruitless argument with an OC bartender about the beer being served much too cold...he was convinced that was exactly how it should be served, despite my pointing out that no one in England, Germany, or Belgium serves it at such a tasteless temp. And I've had many an import in bottle that had the telltale cardboard waft of oxidation.

So, no...not worth your time if there's a decent brewpub around. I applaud OC's effort to offer a good selection, but they need to work harder on insuring the beers are in good condition. I'd rather have things be out of stock occasionally than expect what I'm getting is going to be nearly undrinkable. I just don't patronize them anymore, it's not worth it.

Cheers, Ern

Dan Iwerks wrote in news:Xns95E46527DF626daniwerksatyahoo@216.168.3.30:

You have to keep perspective, though...how many other chain restaurants give you a choice like that? Granted, a lot of them are crap lagers, but I at least give them credit for offering something better than Rolling Rock and Fat Tire. There are reasons to knock OC (the fact that a lot of it is stale and ice cold), but I don't think we should be comparing them to the Toronados and Falling Rocks either.

My local OC offers Celebrator and Fullers London Porter among other things, which I wouldn't call crappy personally. Try getting either of those at another restaurant. Granted, they're not served properly, but that wasn't the issue. ;^)

Cheers, Ern

: 115 crappy beers available is still 115 crappy beers. It's not the : number, it's the quality. --

Pilsner Urquell, Pyramid Apricot, Lindeman's Kriek are crappy beers? You must be a Bud drinker...

PU is OK if it's not stale. The other two are adulterated overly sweey plonk.

It's virtually the only "show in town" for me, other than the Sanford's Grub and Pub and the Wonder Bar.(That's my pub of choice: 12 pumps: Bass, Newcastle Brown, Guinness, Bud light, Boulevard Wheat, O'dell's 90 shilling, Fat Tire, PBR, NB's 1554, Breckenridge Hefe, Blue Moon, and one other that I can't remember)

True dat.

I'm thankful that Sammy Smith has returned to Casper after a long hiatus. Same goes for Rogue.

Not to say those beers are slouches, but when you go

I haven't been to one of those yet but our buddy Randal found one in Lakewood called The Yard House. I'm gonna mosey on down there in the not too distant future.

I've trained the bartenders to know better than to serve me with a frosted glass!! lol

Best regards, Bill

I've been to several of the Yard Houses in southern California. They are better than OC, but they suffer from some of the same problems. The variety is better, but there's nothing truly unusual or exotic. Lots of SN, Rogue, Anderson Valley, Full Sail, etc. - stuff that's good, but that I can get a fair amount of already. Most of the time things are in pretty good shape, and they've typically been good about giving me a free replacement beer if something's off. Yard House food is rather good as well. And at least at the southern California ones, the eye candy is outstanding.

-Steve

I guess that's true for people who live near one. When I visited the one in Long Beach several years back I found a lot of offerings that piqued my interest that simply weren't available in downstate IL. Mostly west coast beer but some British and Belgian offereings, too.