
Chocolate Raspberry Yeti at Great Divide Barrel Bar
Chocolate Raspberry Yeti at Great Divide Barrel Bar
Ponca City has a craft brewery!
I stopped in on Wednesday afternoon to check out their beers and was pleasantly surprised. I was also hopeful for their success as at 3:30 PM they were nearly full of patrons. Yes, I understand the brewery had only been open a couple weeks at this point so there was the “new factor” in play, but still optimistic for their long-term success. Their smoked stout was good and the specialty holiday beer, a cranberry gose, was also quite tasty. In fact, I took home a growler to share with the family.
We returned on Saturday night to another packed house and a sure sign of potential success for a new brewery: running out of beer. Several of the varieties were gone by Saturday evening, including the wheat beer that I assumed my father would be able to drink… he thinks most craft beers are “too wangy”.
I don’t envy the owners in gauging the ongoing demand for their product in an area where people will drive 20+ miles to shop at WalMart because they have green beans for a nickel per can cheaper. I also don’t envy their having to navigate Oklahoma’s strange and obscure liquor laws. Nobody under 21 years of age can enter the premises, even just to deliver food; apparently they cannot open on Sunday; closing time is 9 PM; growlers must be sealed with tape (???). I suppose the people of Oklahoma should be happy they can actually consume the product on the premises, something that wasn’t allowed before this year. I also understand there are more taproom-friendly law changes coming in 2018.
Opening over a holiday weekend ensures good crowds but puts the pressure on to keep plenty of beer on-hand. They have also already learned that food trucks often cancel at the last minute, and my question about bringing my dogs in the taproom had not yet been anticipated. Judging from photos online they did allow a small dog inside later. One of my favorite aspects of Colorado breweries is an outdoor patio area but I don’t know where they would put a patio in their limited space.
I wish them nothing but continued success and pan to return over the Christmas holidays.
I took my dogs to a new-to-me brewery in Centennial on Sunday, Resolute Brewing Company. They have been open almost exactly a year so far and feature a medium-size tap room with both a patio and extra tables in the grassy area next to the patio. It’s a nice setup and very dog friendly. There were already three other dogs when we arrived.
The beers were solid and the bartender was friendly enough, in fact he forgot to ring in my purchases initially so I had to inform his replacement what I consumed when I tabbed out!
Resolute is a bit of drive through busy areas of Denver and the DTC so I don’t know how often I will visit (have to navigate back home afterwards) but I will keep it in mind when looking for a change of pace.
We attempted to hike up near Eldora on Saturday morning where I thought that the forecast was not calling for rain.  We hiked for about an hour through some light rain until the floodgates opened wide.  Luckily there is a brewery in Nederland (seriously, in most places in Colorado there is likely to be at least one brewery nearby).  I’ve always wanted to stop at Very Nice Brewing Company but rarely found myself in the area.  With the rainy day we had the perfect opportunity to try out this extremely dog friendly spot.  The taproom is  certainly no-frills but is backed by very good beers.  My favorite of the day was the Logical Fallacy, a black IPA that was served with a shot of espresso.
I also had a nice conversation about rugby with one of the patrons who noticed my Canada Sevens hat, and said hello to numerous pups.
The Brew On Broadway (The BoB) hosts a fundraiser dog wash on the last Sunday each month to benefit the Humane Society of The South Platte Valley. This is the first time this year we have been in town for the event so I took the girls down to the brewery and had baths. Â Neither of my dogs were happy about actually getting bathed but tolerated the experience. Â The weather was fantastic and the beer (as always) was great. Â What a great way to spend the first Sunday afternoon of the summer!
The dogs and I went hiking in Guanella Pass again Sunday afternoon. Â This time we stopped at a new Brewery in Georgetown, Guanella Pass Brewing, first so Lucy did not have a chance to roll in crap like she did last weekend.
I overheard the owner telling some guests they had only been open two weeks. Â I was impressed with the beers and the facility at such an early stage.
The taproom itself is clean and modern with stainless steel counters. Â There are televisions if you must watch them but the window seats with great views of the street and mountains are a better pairing with the beer. Â Summers in Georgetown provide excellent people watching (well, they’re actually tourists… are they really people?).
The patio is currently uncovered (no umbrellas or shade) as they are assessing the “wind situation” in Georgetown. Â There is an Italian restaurant a couple doors down that delivers and I can attest the meatball sub was very good.
I look forward to many summer visits to this brewery.
This will be a continuously updated post that includes the breweries and taprooms to which I have taken my dogs. I try to tag all of these posts with the Twitter hashtag #drinkingWithMyDogs which you can view via their search tool.
Last update: 07 March 2021
Alternation Brewing Company Denver CO (closed)
Banded Oak Brewing Company Denver CO
Barrels And Bottles Brewery Golden CO
Elevation Beer Company Poncha Springs CO
Oskar Blues Tasty Weasel Taproom Longmont CO
The Brew On Broadway (The BoB) Denver CO (closed)
Chain Reaction Brewing Denver COFormer Future Brewing Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales Denver CO
Wit’s End Brewing Denver CO (closed)
Eddyline Brewing Buena Vista CO
Declaration Brewing Denver CO (closed)
Living The Dream Brewing Highlands Ranch CO
Platt Park Brewing Denver CO
Fermæntra Brewing Denver CO (closed)
Funkwerks Brewing Fort Collins CO
Copper Kettle Brewing Denver CO
Comrade Brewing Denver CO
Crabtree Brewing Greeley CO
Boggy Draw Brewing Sheridan CO (closed)
Brewery Rickoli Wheat Ridge CO
Saint Patrick’s Brewing Littleton CO
Dead Hippie Brewing Sheridan CO (closed re-opened!)
Mockery Brewery Denver CO
Mad Jack’s Mountain Brewery Bailey CO
Strange Craft Beer Denver CO
Prost Brewing Denver CO
Florence Brewing Company Florence CO
Crestone Brewing Company Crestone CO
Soulcraft Brewing Salida CO
Guanella Pass Brewing Georgetown CO
Very Nice Brewing Company Nederland CO
Resolute Brewing Company Centennial CO
Woods Boss Brewing Company Denver CO
Renegade Brewing Company Denver CO
Ska Brewing Company Durango CO
Little Machine Brewing Denver CO
Lake City Brewing Company Lake City CO
Great Divide Brewing Company Denver CO
Ursula Brewery Aurora CO
Cerebral Brewing Denver CO
Jackass Hill Brewing Littleton CO
Station 26 Brewing Denver CO
Goldspot Brewing Denver CO
Zuni Street Brewing Denver CO
6 and 40 Brewery Lakewood CO
Factotum Brewhouse Denver CO
Friday afternoon at Former Future. The girls are breaking Colorado state law by sleeping in a bar.