The new brewpub opens on Tuesday, February 11 -- although it will host a series of soft opening events over the weekend -- serving eight of its own beers, a few guest beers, and a menu of upscale and unusual salads, sandwiches, soups and pizza.
See also: Two Rock Bottom brewers will open Lowdown Brewery + Kitchen on Lincoln Street
Located at the busy corner of Eighth Avenue and Lincoln Street, the brewery's kettles and tanks are visible through big glass windows from the street -- a nice enticement to the thousands of workaday motorists who pass by Monday through Friday."We've had some great exposure," says O'Hearn, adding that the brewery, at the dividing line of the Capitol Hill and Golden Triangle neighborhoods, poured some of its beers at a recent Denver festival. "And we feel like we have a pretty sold lineup."
Both owners were former brewmasters with Denver-area locations of the Rock Bottom chain: Phifer in Park Meadows, and O'Hearn in Westminster. O'Hearn, an award-winning brewer, had been with the chain for twenty years.
They'll take turns making beer on the eight-barrel brewing system, which has sixty barrels' worth of fermentation space.Inside, the 14,000-square-foot brewery can seat 115 (165 once they open the patio this spring) and features special touches, like the tables and bar that Phifer and O'Hearn built themselves from Kentucky Coffee wood that was originally milled in 1942.
The floors feature toasts in various languages, and the restrooms have artwork that's been hand-painted on the walls by Phifer's wife. There will also be dart boards.
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