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Just a 15 minute drive south from our campsite on this hot summer afternoon, we couldn’t wait to get inside to cool off with a cold beer. The menu was limited but we managed to find two beers that satisfied our thirst in the Dunkler Helm Schwarzbier and the Kellerman Pilsner. We were delighted to see the Peruvian food truck parked outside again but decided not to indulge in the tacos again and see what was at the next brewery.

So it’s time to go back to school. The theme of this brewery mixes music and science. The CODA symbol indicates the grand finale but the tasting room is outfitted with vintage microscopes, periodic tables and other science related trinkets. Even the tasting glasses are beakers. We arrived just in time to find the “mad scientist” brewmaster sitting at his work table formulating his next concoction. We volunteered to be test subjects and drink a pint of the Baby Coda cream ale and the Blond Redhead blonde ale. Both beers were top notch and we had a rather delightful reaction to the experiment.

This brewery has a wide variety of beers ranging from light & refreshing to malty & toasty. With 18 beers to choose from, we went with the Cruise Ride American cream ale and the Rambler American amber. The cream ale had notes of biscuits & honey and the amber was rich & caramely.

Ribbit, ribbit. We are diggin’ this place. A traditional, no frills tasting room with great variety of beers, no TV’s and reggae music cranked up. We put our money down on a safe bet with the Irish Red but went for broke on the Blueberry Kolsch. Both beers were winners along with the Peruvian taco’s and fritas from the food truck.

Nestled in the valley surrounded by majestic mountains, this brewery is just blocks from the famous Coors brewery and touts the title of the 2nd largest brewery in town. Housed in a historic home, the beer is served out of the garage and seating is in the backyard. We sipped on the Cedar Creek Gold and the Legendary Red while watching the clouds roll in over the mountains.

We were only going to hit one brewery tonight but we were curious about the Black lager listed as “on tap” at their website. Unfortunately, we were disappointed that it wasn’t available when we arrived so we settled for the Resistance Rye pale ale and the Lightning Strike pale ale. Both were very good beers with nice balance, full of flavor and didn’t really feel like we settled for anything less than the black lager.

We are staying a week here in the Denver area to visit family so we thought we might as well do a mini tour to check out some craft breweries in Golden, home of the famous Coors Brewery. This brewery is about 5 minutes from our campsite and only had about 9 beers on the menu. We tried the Maize cream ale and the Half Moon Belgian golden ale. The cream ale was really on the mild side tasting more like a Pilsner but the Moon was a real tonsil tickler with notes of vanilla and cocoa. Yummy.

Housed in an old elementary school, this brewery has been in business since 1994 and was only allowing outdoor seating due to Covid. Good thing the weather forecast was mostly sunny and high of 90. We sat outside in the Bier Garden and sipped on our last beer of the mini tour consisting of the Red Rocket pale ale and the Red Baron Oktoberfest.

Almost directly due east from the last brewery over Austin Bluffs, this is another one of those tap rooms that is right in our wheelhouse. Low keyed, NASCAR race on TV and a good variety of beers. We got a little outside of our box with the Dinosaur Castle India Pale Kolsch but stayed in our lane on the WeltSchmerz Vienna lager. The IPA-Kolsch mix was a little strange but the VL hit the spot.

Just about 2 miles back down the road from the last brewery, we played it safe and went with Prospectors Pick Kolsch and the Praise Be Vienna lager. Both were very tasty and were a good “dessert” after the last place.