The River North neighborhood has another Colorado craft brewery as of last weekend.  Zephyr Brewing Co. opened December 5th.  Zephyr Brewing Co. has had some hurdles along the way of development as one of the three owners, Tyler Shuey, died in December of 2013.  The other 2 owners, Brian Wood and Rich Wisniewski wanted to still go ahead with opening Zephyr Brewing Co. because they know he wanted this to happen.

All three owners went to grade school and college together in Colorado.  The brewery is meant to be true to its Colorado roots.  The beer is made in a 7 barrel brew house made by Bennett Forgeworks, a company out of Ridgway, Colorado.

Beers currently on tap include:

Milk Stout

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Stout

Scottish Ale

Colorado Pale Ale

Belgian Wit

Zephyr Brewing Co. is located at 1421 26th St. 720-295-9374.

Sat: 11:00 am – Midnight
Sun: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Mon: 12:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Tue: Closed
Wed: 12:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Thu: 12:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Fri: 12:00 pm – Midnight

Shangri-La recently changed their name to Maci Cafe, and now another well known Denver dining establishment is changing their name this week.  Jonsey’s EatBar is officially changing their name to Centennial Tavern this week.  Monday December 1st they celebrated the grand opening with the new name with free drinks and happy hour all night long.

Why the name change?  Owner Leigh Jones wanted to shift the concept to a neighborhood corner tavern instead of a chef driven gastropub.  Most of the food favorites will be staying the same, but simpler entrees and addition of rustic pizzas will be added.

Centennial Tavern will have 22 craft beers on tap along with an extensive wine and cocktail list.  Happy hour starts at 3pm everyday, and they will offer bottomless mimosas for brunch on Saturdays and Sundays until 3pm.  Stop by to see the changes Centennial Tavern has made and share some craft beer and their award winning fries.

Centennial Tavern is located at 400 E 20th Ave. 303-863-7473.

Happy Hour Monday-Friday 3-7pm

Check Centennial Tavern website for more details on hours.

Cooper Lounge is one of the most sophisticated bars in Denver.  Located in Union Station, it is actually hidden from plain site.  It is a small space tucked away and is somewhat hidden by the railing wrapping around the second story.  Cooper Lounge acts as a lounge area for the Crawford Hotel, but it is also open to the public.

The public can enjoy the feel of this swanky 1930’s style bar anytime.  Walk ins are welcome from the desk on the South side of the Great Hall near Amtrak.  The concierge will then escort you to the second floor when seating is available at Cooper Lounge.  You may have to wait for seating, as space is limited, but the high end drinks, knowledgeable bar tenders and beautiful views of downtown and Union Station make it worth it.

Enjoy an extensive wine list or cocktails such as:

Timeless Old Fashioned with Peach Street Straight Bourbon served over muddled sugar, orange twist, and lemon twist with angostura bitters.

Coloradier with Breckenridge Bourbon stirred with Breckenridge Bitters and Sweet Vermouth, served with an orange twist.

Palisaide Sour with Peach Street Pear Eu de Vie, Egg Whites, Lemon Juice, and Simple Syrup, shaken and finished with Black Walnut Bitters.

Cooper Lounge is located at 1701 Wynkoop St. (second story) Denver 80202. 720-460-3738.

Monday-Sunday 11am-midnight

Reservations may be booked up to two weeks in advance for parties of 20 guests or less. For reservations, please call 720-460-3738. The Cooper Lounge reservation line is live from 9 am to 11 pm daily.

Photo from http://thecrawfordhotel.com/cooper-lounge-2/

Former Future is a small-batch, artisan brewery in Denver, CO that focuses on combining modern science and innovation with the styles and traditions of the past.  Head brewer James Howat was a former home brewer and a chemistry teacher.  Him and his wife opened Former Future Brewing Company soon after getting married, in February 2014, and have been crafting artisan beers to the pleasure of many.

At the recent Great American Beer Festival, Former Future Brewing Company took bronze in the experimental category for their Black Project #1.  Their use of small batches and a combination of old and new techniques for brewing make Former Future’s selection very unique.  Some of their beers are aged in barrels.

All the beers are crafted in house and no more than 120 gallons at a time.  At any time, Former Future has many different taps available.  A must try is the Salt and Caramel Prime & Porter.  Although they do not have a kitchen, they are strategically located on South Broadway right near GB Fish and Chips, Adelita’s, Maria Epanada’s and Pasquini’s Pizza which are available for take out/delivery.

Former Future Brewing Company is located at 1290 S Broadway. 720-441-4253 (4ALE)

Happy Hour Tuesday-Thursday 4-6pm $1 off all pints.

Tuesday-Thursday 4-10pm

Friday and Saturday 2-11pm

Sunday 2-8pm

Located in the Santa Fe Art District, Interstate Kitchen & Bar has a traditional diner feel to it with elevated American comfort food and libations.  The food and drinks are homemade, full of flavor and delicious.  Interstate has over 100 whiskeys available as well as a large selection of hand crafted cocktails and craft beers.

Interstate Kitchen & Bar is open late, until midnight for dinner and 1:30am for snacks, has 2 happy hours daily (4-6pm and 12-1:30am) and serves brunch on weekends.  Happy hour specials include $2-4 drink specials and $1-4 cheap eat specials.  A not to miss happy hour drink special is the Horse’s Neck which is made with whiskey, gingerale and a twist of lemon.  Cheap eats include pulled pork sliders, highly addicting bacon popcorn with spicy peanuts, fried pickles and $1 deviled eggs.

This Friday, October 31st, Interstate Kitchen & Bar is putting on the 6th annual Haunted Highway with a costume contest, live music, $20 unlimited drink wristbands and no cover.  Festivities start at 10pm.  Another not to miss event at Interstate is every Monday night “Game Night” starting at 8pm.  This is a chance to challenge your skills at various game shows and possibly win food, drinks and other prizes.

Interstate Kitchen & Bar is located at 1001 Santa Fe Dr. Denver 80204. 720-479-8829.

Happy Hour Daily 4-6pm, 12-1:30am

Lunch Monday-Friday 11am-4pm

Dinner Daily 4pm-12am

Brunch Saturday and Sunday 10am-2pm

Pulled Pork Slider

Where in town can you get a reindeer, elk, wild boar, rattlesnake or pheasant sausage?  Biker Jim’s of course.  Not only are these dogs unique, they are amazingly delicious.  It’s no coincidence Biker Jim’s is one of Denver Yelp’s #1 restaurants.

Biker Jim’s started when Jim Pittenger (Biker Jim) stopped working on cars and started selling unique sausages on 16th street mall from a food cart.  The Biker Jim’s food cart is still available on the 16th street mall, and now also on Auria campus.  Jim also has 2 brick and mortar locations: one in the ball park district and one in Highlands Ranch.

Biker Jim’s unique dogs are char-grilled and can be topped with cream cheese and caramelized onions for an original topping, or be topped with more diverse ingredients like New Jersey style chili, roasted cactus and curry jam scallions or wasabi aioli.

Drink this week at Biker Jim’s to enjoy these gourmet dogs paired with one of many local Colorado craft brews, PBR, homemade shakes or cocktails.

Biker Jim’s is located at 2148 Larimer St. Denver 80205. 720-746-9355.

Monday-Thursday 11am-10pm

Friday and Saturday 11am-3pm

Sunday 11am-10pm

Highlands Ranch location: 1601 Mayberry Dr. Suite 103 Highlands Ranch 80129. 720-344-2100.

Sunday-Thursday 11am-8pm

Friday and Saturday 11am-9pm

Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dog, photo from Biker Jim’s Facebook

The Lobby has been serving up playful eats and serious drinks to Denver for over 14 years.  The Lobby is located in the Ballpark neighborhood in the beautiful Victorian Paris Hotel building that was originally built in 1891.  If the food and drinks at The Lobby aren’t enough, the old fashioned, beautiful decoration and amenities true to the origins of the building will leave you impressed.

The Lobby is a Colorado family owned business that supports other Colorado businesses, distilleries and breweries.  The Lobby offers a rotating selection highlighting some of Colorado’s best brews.  Happy hour at The Lobby is Tuesday-Saturday from 3-6:30pm and Friday and Saturdays from 9-11pm and includes $1 mimosa flutes, $5 sangria and house wines, $2 off crafted cocktails, $4 premium wells, $3-4 Colorado drafts and 20% off menu selections.

On draft this week at The Lobby are brews from 19 local breweries along the front range.  Stop by this week for a drink, some food and to enjoy the beautiful craftsmanship at The Lobby.

The Lobby is located at 2191 Arapahoe St. Denver 80205. 303-997-9911.

Tuesday-Thursday 11am-9:30pm

Friday 11am-11pm

Saturday 9am-11pm

Sunday 9am-3pm

Colorado brews on tap at The Lobby, photo courtesy of thelobbydenver.com

The Lobby’s building, photo courtesy of
thelobbydenver.com

If you are missing the beer festivities from the previous week with Great American Beer Festival and Denver Beer Fest, the good news is that you can keep celebrating year long at some of the best breweries in the country that are here in Denver.  Many Colorado breweries won awards at the Great American Beer Fest, and in particular Diebolt Brewing won sliver for the best brown ale with their Braggarts Brown Ale.

Diebolt Brewing is a family owned and operated brewery in the Highlands.  Diebolt Brewing prides itself on being a well run, sustainable company that produces quality craft beer.  Aside from offering a variety of delicious beers, Diebolt Brewing also offers a run club every Thursday at 6pm and yoga at 6pm on Wednesdays.  In addition to the famous Braggarts Brown Ale, Diebolt Brewing offers other brews like Sunnyside wheat, Mariposa Pale Ale, Anton Francios French Ale and Diebolt’s International Ale (DIA) to name a few.

Diebolt Brewing is located at 3855 Mariposa St. Denver 80211.

Hours:

Wednesday-Friday 4pm-10pm

Saturday 2pm-10pm

Sunday 2pm-6pm

This week stop Jagged Mountain Brewery, the closest tap room to the Great American Beer Festival. Jagged Mountain Brewery prides itself on making adventurous, delicious beer. Randy, RJ and Wayne, the founders of Jagged Mountain Brewery, have known each other for more than a decade and have had adventures together including mountaineering, ice climbing, back packing, etc. When they decided to start Jagged Mountain Brewery together, they wanted to stay within the adventure theme and push the limits with their beer.

In 2013 Jagged Mountain Brewery was voted one of the Top New Bars in Denver. Trying the craft beers at Jagged Mountain is a unique experience, and they use locally sourced ingredients as much as possible. Upcoming beer releases this week include:

Sept. 30- Barrel-Aged First Descent Old Ale
Oct. 1- Lunar Eclipse (HUGE) Imperial Stout
Oct. 2- Fresh Hop IPA
Oct. 3- (also Meet the Brewer day): Whiskey Barrel-Aged Voodoo Goat Barleywine
Oct. 4- Cognac Barrel-Aged Voodoo Goat Barleywine

Jagged Mountain Brewery is located at 1139 20th St. Denver 80202. 720-689-2337.
Monday-Thursday 2-10pm
Friday 2-11pm
Saturday 12-11pm
Sunday 12-9pm

Tuesday September 23- Saturday September 28 Denver Harvest Week is highlighting some of the best independent restaurants and local farmers in the Denver area. Each night a group of 5+ chefs/restaurants will come together to create pop-up parties at the GrowHaus. The event is also a fundraiser for GrowHaus, an urban garden.

Tuesday- Duel in the West, Grapes vs. Grains. This is a match between wine and beer with a 7 course dinner. Restaurants include Lola, Wazee Supper Club, Lower 48, Argyll and Central Bistro.

Wednesday- GrowLove- Buddha’s Vegetarian Delight. This is a vegetarian feast with Asian inspired dishes and cocktails. Restaurants include Colt & Gray, Ace Eat & Serve, Euclid Hall, Coohills, Fuel, Vine St. Pub and Rootdown.

Thursday- The Feast of the Hunters and Gatherers. Chefs will be gathering, killing and grilling for this feast. Restaurants include Trilium, Panzano, Harman’s Eat and Drink, Beatrice & Woodsley, Squeaky Bean, Work & Class and Cafe Bar.

Friday- Footloose and Farm Fresh. A DJ will be on site for dancing and of course incredible food and beer to go with the party. Restaurants include Pinche Tacos, Jonsey’s, Adelita’s, Appaloosa Grill, Biker Jim’s, Lucky Pie, Ste. Ellie, Parallel 17, B-Side and The Lobby.

Saturday- Brunch celebration will conclude Denver Harvest Week celebration, and it includes bottomless mimosas and bloody marys. Kids under 13 get in free! Restaurants include Snooze, Vesta, Beast & Bottle, Lou’s Food Bar and Session Kitchen.

For more information and to get your tickets, see www.harvestweek.com.