Estes Park Brewery | Estes Park, CO
Beer Trip: Estes Park Brewery in Estes Park, Colorado
There isn’t much better than a cold beer after a long morning of hiking, which makes Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and Estes Park Brewery the perfect combination. The brewery is conveniently located towards the middle part of town, so you can hit the trails, grab lunch and a brew, and then continue exploring all that downtown Estes Park has to offer.
The Brewery
The tasting bar in the gift shop area
Downtown Estes Park can be a tough place to find parking, so it was nice to see a nice-sized lot at this brewery. The building itself is very large and is actually two stories tall. Walking in, you step right into the large gift shop, which includes a small walk-up tasting-only bar where you can sample any of their brews before purchasing.
The upstairs area is where most of the seating is (of which there is plenty!), with restaurant-style tables and chairs throughout, along with a 10-person bar along the exterior wall. The place almost has a cabin-like feel to it, with lots of wood found throughout and awesome murals wrapping around the entire space from floor to ceiling.
Multiple pool tables + beautiful murals
Views of the brewing facility from the second floor dining area
With paintings of mountains, streams, and wildlife, it leaves you feeling like you’ve continued your time outdoors - very well done! A half-wall separates the seating section from the gaming area, which includes multiple pool tables and a handful of pinball machines and gaming consoles (which kept Warren entertained for a little bit). If this still isn’t enough to pique your interest, they also have a small covered outdoor patio where you can overlook the mountains all afternoon.
Large restaurant-style seating area
Neat mountain cutouts on the booths
Small arcade area that many kids were taking advantage of
Small covered deck with a few tables
Warren is entertained even without putting money in
The Beer
Huge to-go beer selection
For a brewery of this size, we were pleasantly surprised to find they brew 10 different flagship beers along with 4 rotators at any given time. Estes Park Brewery offers a wide range of styles, including IPAs, a stout, porter, amber, and multiple fruited wheats among others. One thing we found cool was that each beer is named after something local to the area, such as the Bear Lake Blueberry Wheat (Bear Lake in RMNP), Samson Stout (a famous bull elk in the area), or the Shining Pale Ale (the movie The Shining was based on the Stanley Hotel in town).
Can't beat a view like this!
Having plenty of time and activities to keep Warren occupied, we were able to sample several of their offerings and have to say that their brewing style fit our taste buds perfectly, as everything we tried was top-notch. A favorite of ours is the Estes Park Gold, which is a golden ale offering a rich and almost creamy malty taste. Their wheat series is another line worth noting for quality, as they blend each one with a specific fruit/ingredient, such as the Stinger Wild Honey brewed with 6 pounds of local Colorado honey per batch.
Food, Merch, & More
Our lunch selections
Estes Park Brewery focuses just as much on its food menu as they do on the beer, as it has an extensive grub selection that includes everything from salads, sandwiches, and burgers to pizza and even chili. We ordered the Santa Fe Chicken Sandwich and the Chili Burger and, while it’s nothing fancy, they certainly cured our hunger.
One thing we were extremely impressed with is the merchandise section here, as it occupies nearly the entire first floor and is as robust as any brewery out there. They have everything from t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats, to glassware and tin signs for all their biggest fans. They even created little bundles where you can get a shirt and hat combo, which is a clever idea to get their name out there. To top it off, their to-go beer selection included every single one of their flagship brews (which we, of course, took advantage of).
Huge merchandise area
Some of the many combos available for purchase
Chris feeling a little silly after a few Estes Park brews
Warren checking out the neat chair made from skis
