Three Popular Microbreweries in Fort Collins, Colorado
These 3 Microbreweries Offer Free Tours and Tasty Beer Choices
Fort Collins Brewery
The Fort Collins Brewery was founded by Tom and Jan Peters in 2003. It is currently located at 1900 E. Lincoln Avenue in Fort Collins. A new facility is scheduled to open in July 2010. It will be located on the corner of Lincoln and Lemay in Fort Collins.
Some of the brews offered by Fort Collins Brewery include 1900 (an amber lager), Major Tom's Pomegranate Wheat (a straw blond colored beer brewed with real pomegranates giving it a sweet-tart taste), and Z Lager (an amber lager with a smoky flavoring). Seasonal offerings are Big Shot (November thru January), Maibock (February thru April), Doppel Bock (August thru October) and Double Chocolate Stout (October thru March). Due out in May 2010 is Hellesbock (a straw blonde colored brew just for summer). Fort Collins Brewery beer is currently available in 16 states.
The Fort Collins Brewery tasting room is open Monday - Thursday from noon until 6:00 pm and Friday & Saturday from noon until 7:00 pm. Free tours are given on Saturdays at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 and 5:00 pm. No reservations are necessary. See the Fort Collins Brewery website for additional information. www.fortcollinsbrewery.com
New Belgium Brewing Company
In1989, Jeff Lebesch visited some European villages famous for beer. He toured the villages via a mountain bike and went back to Colorado with ideas and ingredients for making his own home brewed beer. The first two beers Jeff created after his trip were named Abbey and Fat Tire (reminiscent of the mountain bike he rode through Europe). The brews were so popular with his friends and neighbors that Jeff and his wife, Kim decided to start New Belgium Brewing Company in 1991.
New Belgium has over two dozen beers in its line and is currently available in over two dozen states. Two of the most popular brews are the original Fat Tire (an amber ale) and Sunshine Wheat. Seasonal offerings include: Skinny Dip (a summer brew with a hint of lime leaf), Hoptober (a golden ale consisting of five hops and four malts), and Frambozen (a raspberry brown ale brewed for the holiday season)).
New Belgium Brewing Company is located at 500 Linden Street in Fort Collins. It is open Tuesday - Saturday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. The company offers free, 90 minute tours. See New Belgium's website for tour times, ticket reservations and additional information. www.newbelgium.com
Odell Brewing Company
Doug Odell began crafting beer in his kitchen in Seattle. Doug and his wife, Wynne moved to Fort Collins and opened Odell Brewing Company in 1989 along with Doug's sister, Corkie. It was the second microbrewery in Colorado and was originally located in an old grain elevator. A new brewery was built in 1994 to help meet the demand for Odell's hand-crafted ales.
Classic brews in the Odell line include its flagship beer, 90 Schilling (a medium-bodied amber ale), Cutthroat Porter (a dark roasted malt with a color and flavor that hints of chocolate and coffee), and Easy Street Wheat. Seasonal offerings include Red Ale (a hoppy flavored brew available January thru April), St. Lupulin, (an extra pale ale available May thru September), and Isolation Ale, (a winter brew made with premium malts available October thru December). Odell beer is currently available in nine states.
Odell Brewing Company is located at 800 East Lincoln Avenue in Fort Collins. The tap room is open Monday - Saturday from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm. Free brewery tours are given Monday - Saturday at 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 pm. They are given on a first come, first served basis. Reservations are not necessary, but arriving 1/2 hour before the tour starts is highly recommended. See Odell's website for additional information.
www.odellbrewing.com
These three microbreweries in Fort Collins, Colorado are great choices if you want to learn more about the craft of brewing beer. They are also great choices if you just like to drink beer!
To learn more about places in Colorado, CLICK HERE.
Sources:
www.odellbrewing.com
www.newbelgium.com
www.fortcollinsbrewery.com
http://coloradobeer.org/
http://www.downtownfortcollins.com/dba.php/brewfest/
Published by Karen Zakavec
Karen began freelance writing in 2007 and has had some articles published in the local newspaper. She won a contest for writing the verse for the 2009 Loveland, Colorado valentine card. She is very knowledge... View profile
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11 Comments
Post a CommentHi ya!
will keep that in mind next time I come visit
Wow...that's a lot of beer! My son-in-law is a brewer here at an up-and-coming brewery and he would be in heaven there! He like to visit breweries everywhere they go...he should plan a visit there! Excellent job on this!
Great info thanks
Great report, Karen.
great write up on these
Good information.
Very interesting ones!
Fun resource! Chocolate stout, interesting...
You're right, I would not have thought of microbreweries. We spent most of summer in Fort Collins once, and thought the area was extremely beautiful. I remember picnics in a canyon that we very much enjoyed.