Visited on: Friday 8th June 2018
Bob Thompson
Although it wasn’t too difficult to locate the Evergreen Brewing Tap House and Brewery, it proved harder to find the way in. This is somewhat explained by its history. For over thirty years Casey Boone had operated the Boone Mountain sports store in a small shopping complex. Part of it was the Wapiti lounge, a small private bar. It was here that the concept of the pub was born. Finally, with a lot of help from friends the Tap Room was constructed above the store and opened up to the public on 22nd November 2015.
Myself, John and Linda eventually arrived in the bar room and were immediately impressed. It’s the archetypal mountain lodge, warm and friendly with beautiful views. There are wood-clad walls in log cabin style. Pictures and skiing ephemera cover the walls and there are some stained glass windows. Outside there is a balcony to take in more of the surrounding scenery. The room is L-shaped with the bar counter facing the entrance door.
Thirteen beers from the home side were on offer plus one guest. Those from Evergreen were as follows.
Tiffany Thiessen Amber (5.2%), an American amber ale; Bomb City Pale Ale (5.1%), an American pale ale Brutus Brut Champagne IPA (7.0%), with Champagne yeast; Strawberry Cream Ale (abv unknown), Citrennial Pale Ale (5.5%), American pale ale made with Citra and Centennial hops; Galaxy Pale Ale (6.0%), an American pale ale.
The extensive list continues with: West Coast Quaker Stout (6.5%), a stout made with flaked oats; Elk Meadow IPA (6.8%), an American IPA, their flagship beer; Bergen Wheat (5.5%), a Belgian style wheat beer; Kiwi Kapowski Gose (4.8%), Gose flavoured with kiwi fruit and sea salt; Two Kilts to the Wind (5.4%), an Irish red ale and F.A.B. Lager (4.3%), an American style light (lite) lager.
There was one further beer from the Evergreen Brewery and that was: Simm Cenn IPA (6.4%), a seasonal American IPA. It has an image of Homer Simpson so its title is a play on words. See below for what we thought about it.
Finally there was a guest beer from the Odell Brewery of Fort Collins, CO. It was Green Coyote Tomatillo Sour (5.1%). Almost impossible to describe, it is based on Berliner Weisse with the addition of Tomatillo. It also has flavours of cucumber, kiwi and lemon.
Of course, it was impossible to try them all although that would have been some fun, sinking into oblivion with panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains in front of you. So sensibly, we stuck with just six of the selection offered. These were Galaxy Pale Ale which was a bit malty yet with an overwhelmingly bitter after taste. Bomb City Pale Ale did not have a particularly strong flavour just a slight citrus taste, pretty good nevertheless.
We continued with Simm Cenn IPA which was very bitter with a peppery flavour. We liked this a lot. Elk Meadow IPA was next and this was also appreciated, being slightly creamy with a good full flavour.
Citrennial had a good flavour with medium bitterness and was very well balanced. Brutus Champagne IPA I presume uses Champagne yeast. It was very dry (good!) in the body and a bit fruity in the finish. We liked it a lot.
So, maybe you are in the area skiing or located in Denver and want to get out of the big city for a day, this is a great pub. Also, it would make a sensible break if you were driving along I-70 and felt a bit thirsty.
Important Information:
Evergreen Tap House & Brewery, 2962 Evergreen Parkway, Evergreen, Colorado 80439
Tel: 303 736 8419. Web: evergreentaphouse.com
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11.00-22.00; Friday 11.00-23.00; Saturday 11.00-22.00; Sunday 11.00-21.00
The only bus route to Evergreen is from the Jefferson County Civic Center, Golden station.
This is the western terminus of the W line of the RTD Metro.
The route is entirely for rush hour travel with buses coming from Evergreen to Golden in the morning.
They return in the evening peak period. Useful only if you wish to spend the night in Evergreen!
