Visited on: Friday 1st June 2018
Bob Thompson
In this massive city of many breweries and brew-pubs, one or two stand out as being genuinely different. Grandma’s House is one of these and that was a deliberate move on behalf of owner Matthew Fuerst.
He opened the pub at 14.00 on 1st October 2014 at the start of the Great American Beer Festival which is held annually in the city. That was a call that provided some solid publicity when it was most needed.
Matthew had followed the route of many brewers starting out with a number of years as a home brewer. He was laid off work twice in three years and wanted something more dependable. So it was that he opened Grandma’s House. Note that it does not have Brewing, Brewery, Beers or Pub in its title. The beers come off a seven barrel (bbls) plant and are destined only for the pub itself.
The USP of this pub is the décor. The decoration and furniture are intended to give an impression of visiting your Grandma’s house. Some say it succeeds in this aim, others are not so sure. Whatever your point of view it certainly presents a rather quirky appearance with large amounts of what can only be called bric-à-brac.
The Platt Park district is a considerable distance south of the city centre, I would guess about six miles. The pub is on South Broadway and this thoroughfare is one of the major arteries of the city. Fittingly there are a number of antiques dealers on Broadway in this area. Grandma’s House was once one of these. It was a very hot day indeed and we had arrived around fifteen minutes before opening time.
Opening was thankfully to time. On entering we noticed the bar counter on the left and settled there. The pub is quite small and gazing around we could see the unusual décor. Furthest away on the left wall we saw a line of rocking chairs. In front of them were three modern stainless steel tables, each with a different coloured set of chairs. There were some other modern chairs along with a lamp stand by the window.
Moving closer to the bar we could see a wooden cabinet with a glass frontage that contained many glass drinking vessels.
Next to this was a beautiful wooden table accompanied by a set of ten matching carved wooden chairs. I’m sure this is a genuine antique and is probably worth a bit. Between the table and the front window was a sofa facing towards the road. There are two bookcases that are absolutely crammed full of board games.
The bar counter is fronted by a number of wooden high chairs. Behind it the bar-back is one of the major features of the room. It contains a large quantity of bric-à-brac mostly comprising of porcelain figurines and statuettes. Some feature cartoon characters from animated TV shows and films.
To the left is another set of shelves with more and below this a turntable for playing vinyl discs. The beers are dispensed from a set of taps on the right.
We ordered a sample flight of six beers which arrived in glasses depicting more cartoon creatures and here is what we thought of them. Loose Lips Extra Pale Ale (4.5%) was pleasantly refreshing and slightly dry; Caged Wisdom Dry Hopped Cream Ale (5.5%) had a good aroma and was quite bitter. It uses Azacca and Comet hops.
How’s your Father New World ESB (5.7%) was really quite malty with slight bitterness and a gingery after-taste; Biff Porter (5.7%) had the correct Porter taste yet with no strong flavours; Earl of Hell’s Waistcoat Black IPA (6.2%), this had a very dry taste along with a nice bitter after-taste.
Lizard Brain IPA (7.2%) had a nice hoppy aroma with hints of grapefruit in the body taste and a peppery finish.
Other beers were available such as Barney Kool Breeze (Berliner Weisse - 4.0%); Very Fine People (Amber Ale - 6.3%); Frog You Up (Belgian Dubbel - 6.5%); 2 Live Brew (Belgian Wit - 5.0%); Biere Juste (Saison - 5.2%); Gingerbread Wee Scunner (Scottish Red - 5.0%) and The Drive (Brown Ale - 5.5%).
We thought that generally the beers we had here were well made and full-flavoured. It’s definitely worth making the journey from the city centre or elsewhere to visit this interesting little pub.
Important Information:
Grandma’s House, 1710 South Broadway, Denver, Colorado 80210.
Web: www.grandmasbeer.co. Tel: 303 578 6754.
Sunday-Thursday: 12.00-22.00; Friday-Saturday: 12.00-24.00.
As already mentioned Grandma’s house is situated on South Broadway. This major road is served by Bus 0. This route starts at Union Station on the Bus Mall underneath the platforms. After negotiating the Downtown area it runs south along Broadway, calling in at I-25/Broadway station. This is served by the Rapid Transit lines C, D, E, F and H giving an alternative way of getting to the bus route. Southbound alight at South Broadway / West Mexico Avenue. Northbound join at South Broadway / Colorado Avenue.
