Bars & Breweries

The past twelve months have seen the release of some truly amazing canned and bottled beers in Colorado, and 2012 is shaping up to be quite a big year as well…

Over the past four weeks, we’ve ponied up a list of wines guaranteed to make your Thanksgiving a party, the perfect set of locally sourced, wine-themed gift ideas, and our picks for the twelve most holiday-worthy bottles of 2011. And you know what? We are officially exhausted. And because you’re…

Colorado breweries released dozens of amazing beers this year, further expanding their range and making once-exotic beers easy to find and enjoy. A few stood out above the rest, though. To make this list, the beers needed to have been new year-round offerings, seasonals that will return, old beers that…

Over the last few months, I went from the worst shape of my life to the best while continuing to eat like a food critic. Don’t punch me in the face; instead, read how I did it in part nine of this series: Try and guess what I ate for…

Growing up, I was a fat kid — things haven’t changed — and I looked forward to egg nog every Christmas. I would drink tons of the stuff — thinking, “It’s milk, so it’s good for you, right?” It wasn’t until years later, during one of my thinner periods, that…

After working in the craft-beer industry for five years, writing about it for one and geek-ing out over it with fellow beer nerds for nearly a decade, I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like the past year in beer. The revolution is especially — and not surprisingly –…

Kelly Wooldridge, beverage director and sommelier at the recently opened Trillium, was still in high school when he felt the first stirrings of interest in professional bartending. “There was this guy, Willie Grandison, at the American Restaurant in Kansas City,” he explains. “This bartender had been there since the restaurant…

We’ll drink just about anything hot this time (and temperature) of the year, hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps (or some other sort of delicious liqueur) included. But there are a few cocktails on drink lists right now that make us clap our chilled hands with delight: Their warming qualities and…

There are dozens of holiday beers on tap around town, whether it’s at beer bars like the Falling Rock Taphouse and Freshcraft or at local breweries themselves. But there’s one style of beer that absolutely screams Christmas: peppermint porter…

With only a few days to go until Christmas, it’s time to ‘fess up: Have you been naughty or nice? For goodness’ sake, here’s hoping you’ve been on your very best behavior this year — because then you’re fully deserving of these six stupendous bottles. Read on for the continuation…

‘Tis the season to get obliterated with family members and co-workers, and just in time for those special events, Food & Wine has released its list of the fifty best bars in the country. And while you’re sure to find it a useful guide if you’re headed out of state,…

Fifty Fifty Brewing out of Truckee, California, is the latest out-of-state brewer planning to see if there is room in Denver’s crowded craft-beer market for another name. But Fifty Fifty will take an interesting tack, initially distributing just one beer here, its most sought-after, most expensive product: Eclipse, an oak-aged…

There’s an “it” couple that everyone wants at their party every Christmas — the duo that livens up the festivities, gives the crowd something to talk about, and adds that certain something to make the gathering memorable. This pair, for example: a delicate bite of a smooth, hand-dipped pomegranate-raspberry-rose chocolate…

Over the last few months, I went from the worst shape of my life to the best while continuing to eat like a food critic. Don’t punch me in the face; instead, read how I did it in part eight of this series: “Just hope you got your dad’s metabolism,”…

Is Denver just a pathetic, Midwestern version of Portland? That debate is raging across westword.com, particularly in the comments section after “Fifteen reasons why young people move to Colorado,” but this city’s beer lovers stand by their taps. Says Max:…

Stranahan’s built its brand on its original Colorado Whiskey, which grew the company from a micro-distillery to an explosive phenomenon — and then resulted in Proximo Spirits buying Stranahan’s late last year. Over the years, though, Stranahan’s has mixed it up every so often and released special bottles from the…

Joshua Smith, who divides his bartending time between TAG and Williams & Graham, has been slinging drinks for all of his adult life, but his first foray into the profession was a bit of a fluke. “My dad used to be a chef, so I’d been in the kitchen for…

Happy Place: The Three Lions, 2239 East Colfax Avenue, 303-997-6886. The Hours: Daily from 3 to 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight. The Deals: $2-$5 bottle and draft beer specials; $3 well drinks; $3 wines by the glass; $3-$4.50 small plates. Were we happy? Flip the page to find…

When Oak at Fourteenth shuttered last spring due to remodel after a fire, the staff and management seized a unique opportunity: While they scurried to get the restaurant rebuilt, they also spent the down months studying and creating so that when the place reopened, they’d be at the top of…

Justin Timberlake has his hands in a lot of culinary pots these days. While his barbecue restaurant, Southern Hospitality BBQ, expands across the country — including in Denver, with the help of One Republic frontman Ryan Tedder — he’s also trying to grow a spirits brand, 901 Tequila. And his…

Great Divide Brewing will add a new dimension to its ever-expanding beer empire next month when it sets up a seven-barrel pilot brewing system that will allow its brewers to experiment with one-off beers, special releases and new recipes. The equipment, which was delivered this week, will complement Great Divide’s…

The Big Red F restaurant group has made a name for itself in the local craft-beer scene over the past two years: Boulder’s West End Tavern is a great place to find rare and delicious craft brews, while Centro in Boulder and Lola in Denver dish out cans of Top…