Blue Moon Brewing Company | Denver, CO

Beer Trip: Blue Moon Brewing Company in Denver, Colorado

*Large facility with ample parking for both cars & bikes*

Blue Moon Brewing Company wasn’t originally on our list of places to stop when in the Denver area, but boy are we sure glad we did. Although Blue Moon is a part of a larger chain, they still brew their own offerings at this location, making it feel like a true brewery stop vs. a part of a larger conglomerate. What we thought might be a quick stop turned into hours on their patio!

The Brewery

*The wait staff immediately brought Barley her own water bowl (even though she wanted beer)!*

The atmosphere here at Blue Moon RiNo is second to none and probably the coolest brewery we’ve ever experienced without having a tour component as a part of the visit. The huge building is centered around the bar, circular in shape and with seating for probably close to 30 people. The center of the bar hosts a tower of their glassware and has a gigantic, blue string orb above that (a “blue moon!) that is a really cool feature.

On each side of the bar there is booth seating made out of circular shaped concrete to make you feel like you are inside of a huge industrial pipe. Several of their accent walls feature massive murals of their classic beers. The indoor area opens up via overhead doors to large, outdoor, dog-friendly patios where we sat and brought Barley with us.

The Beer

*With so many choices, a flight was the only way to go.*

While we were well aware of their classic options, we were blown away with the brewery exclusive selection. Nineteen of the twenty four beers on tap are locally brewed and this location served as somewhat of a R&D facility to see what takes off from there. The choices spread over all sorts of styles, ranging from wheats, pilsners, blondes, porters, and IPAs - there is truly something for everyone here.

With so many options to choose from, we went with beer flights. Some of our favorites were the Blackberry Lemon Wheat, Lemondrop Pilsner, and the Nitro Porter; however, the one that truly stood out above the rest was the Iced Coffee Blonde. Supposedly this light beer with rich coffee flavor is distributed in bottles, so hopefully we can get our hands on it in Kansas one of these days!

Of course, Blue Moon also offers their classic lineup here as well. While the mainstream beers aren’t brewed here for the masses, we made sure to sample the original Belgian White just for the nostalgia.

Food, Merch, & More

*The pretzel bites (complete with beer cheese!) were delicious*

The food service here seemed to be almost as big of a draw as their beer, offering a selection of burgers, sandwiches, salads, and a couple of pasta dishes. They also have a range of appetizers - we enjoyed the chips and queso, as well as the pretzel bites with beer cheese!

For a place of this size, the merchandise selection was a little underwhelming. They had a nice selection of shirts, sweatshirts, and glassware; however, did not have tap handles, brewery stickers, and the to-go beer selection was fairly limited.

Our impromptu visit to Blue Moon Brewing Company was one that we won’t forget. We hope to be back someday!

Cheers!

Chris & Morgan