On September 29th, I got some time away during a wedding weekend in Denver to do a tour of the Wynkoop Brewery, “Denver’s first brewpub.”

Craig and Waldo (two junior brewers) were kind enough to give my daughter Arden and myself a look around the inner workings of the brewery. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a camera with me. . . so no pictures.

First impressions – the food is excellent – as is the beer. I had an IPA, a pilsner and and amber, I believe. All of them impressed me greatly. Unfortunately I had these libations right before the tour – so perhaps I didn’t pick up all the details I could’ve. Hey – sometimes you have a choice between documenting or enjoying an experience.

They have a 30 barrel system – with very little automation. As Craig said “we’re basically homebrewing on a 30 barrel scale.” A system tipped towards manual management didn’t hurt the quality of their beers a bit.

They use old milk tanks for their mash tuns, boiling kettles and fermenters. Their boiling kettles are in the same room as their fermenters – so they have real problems with heat control. Apparently all the relevant tanks have glycol systems installed.

Craig and Waldo both started as homebrewers. The tour was more of a conversation than a one-way “this is how we do it” kinda thing. The quality and openness of the tour reflected very nicely on the laid-back atmosphere of the brewpub.

I don’t have much else to say except that the beer is excellent, the atmosphere inviting and the food a couple steps above typical brewpub fare. Absolutely worth a side trip when in the Denver area.