Denver (Highland), Colorado:
Denver Beer Company - Platte Street

Visited on: Sunday 10th June 2018

Bob Thompson

This brew pub is situated in the southern part of the Highland district. Not so long ago the area was a mixture of small businesses and railroad yards alongside the South Platte River. Today it is unrecognisable from that industrial scene.

Platte Street is a tree lined thoroughfare with apartment and office blocks on either side. It is easily accessible on foot as there is a new bridge from Commons Park which actually makes it a pleasant short distance stroll from Union Station.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning when we made the same journey. It was hot so that when we saw that the pub had a water mist system on its terrace, it came with some relief.

The pub has large garage type doors that were open so the air-conditioning was probably not on. We took a seat near one of the doors and it was very pleasant drinking beer with the occasional mild exposure to cold water.

There is a small terrace outside with wooden garden-type benches. There were long strings of hops growing over the heads of the customers. Take a look at the photograph above and notice how long the bines are. They have obviously received a lot of help from the spraying water as this visit was in mid-June! They look almost ready to harvest!

On the inside we found a long flat Z-shaped bar counter. You can see the brewing equipment behind the counter on the very far left of the room along with some wooden barrels for barrel-ageing beers. There were more to be found at the other end of the room.

There are many tall chairs in bright yellow and orange colours. On the right wall behind where we were seated there is wall that displays the certificates and awards the brewery has won for its beers.

The Denver Beer Company has three outlets in the city. This one was opened in 2011. There is also a branch in Arvada Olde Town, around six or seven miles north-west of the city centre, dating from 2017. We also visited this pub later in the week, please see separate article in BeerVisits. Finally, there is Denver Beer Co Canworks which is to be found in the Sunniside district, north of Highland, and was closed for rebuilding when we were there. And still is at the time of writing (February 2019).

Back in Platte Street, there was a selection of nine draught beers to be had. The first five were also available at the Arvada outlet, yet each has its own brewery. They were: Japance Off (5.7%), a saison; Pretzel Assassin (5.0%), an amber lager; Graham Cracker Porter (5.6%), a brown porter; Incredible Pedal (7.0%), a west coast IPA and Princess Yum Yum (4.8%), a raspberry kölsch.

Other beers offered were Maui Express (6.6%), a coconut IPA; Orange Appeal (5.0%), a blood orange vanilla kölsch; 88 Minute Maid (6.5%), described as a juicy IPA and finally: Barrel Aged Japance Off (7.0%), a sake yeast saison aged in red wine barrels.

We tried four of this selection so please find below our reactions to them. 88 Minute Maid had an intense aroma and flavour so it came as a great surprise that there were no oranges in it. The flavours all came from the hops used, fascinating. Maui express is said to be a coconut IPA yet we couldn’t taste the coconut. Instead we had a dry bitter IPA, which was well liked. Graham Cracker Porter tasted like a strong brown ale but not a porter. Incredible Pedal is a typical west coast IPA having a strong citrus taste.

No food is offered here but there is nearly always a truck outside. The pub is greatly recommended.

Important Information:

Denver Beer Company, 1695 Platte Street, Denver, Colorado 80202. Web: denverbeerco.com

Hours: Monday-Thursday 15.00-23.00; Friday-Saturday 11.00-24.00; Sunday 11.00-21.00

There are no buses along Platte Street. The best way is to walk from Union Station.
From Denver Union RTD Rapid Transit platforms go in the direction of the trains past the Mall bus stop.
Right into 16th Street and over the Millennium Bridge. Go down to Barrett Circle on the other side of the tracks. Cross Little Raven Street and go over the foot / cycle bridge over the South Platte River.
This is the Highland Bridge and at Platte Street turn right and you will find the pub on the left side.