Colorado, and Denver specifically, has made a name for itself recently in the craft beer scene. Denver has even earned the nick-name, the Napa of Valley of Beer. I’ve written about breweries in Tampa, Richmond, and Brussels before and it seems like the craft beer movement has exploded all over the country and world, which is excellent news for someone who just can’t stomach any more Bud Light!
When visiting Denver you can check out the Beer Trail, a self-guided tour of 14 breweries, with suggested beers to try at every one. This is especially fun given how many of the breweries utilize Molly Brown puns, but I went one better, BruFrou.
I was lucky enough to be visiting Denver, Colorado during the 2nd annual BruFrou craft beer and culinary pairing event. I won’t lie, the beer trail may have been cheaper. At around $100 a pop, I was expecting a lot, but I was not disappointed.
Instead of just the 14 breweries featured on the Beer Trail, BruFrou introduced 40 local breweries, paired with restaurants, many of them featuring a couple of pairing options, making it impossible to try them all in the allocated time (3 hours in either the afternoon or evening). I made it to over half, which I consider a pretty big win!
BruFrou is held at the Wings Over the Rockies Museum, a WWII hangar housing all manner of aircraft, so admission to the museum adds some value to the ticket as well. If nothing else it’s a really great venue for the photo ops alone.
Upon walking in to BruFrou you’re handed a tasting glass and party plate…with a place to hold the tasting glass. Genius! And you get to keep it!
The inside of the hangar is set up with 5 booths hosting the 40 breweries and restaurants, as well as plenty of places to sit and mingle. It’s really a great and unique event venue.
Of course, the beer and food are the stars of the show, and there is no shortage of it! Each of 40 breweries and restaurants offers up their own pair of, usually handsome, bearded, hipsters to hock their wares. This isn’t your usual beer and wings either (not that I’m above that). Here at BruFrou, breweries like Fiction Beer Co. (pictured below) team up with local restaurants, in this case Denver’s own Table Top to serve Waves and Ripples German Style Sour Wheat with sea salt, coriander, and cardamom fermented with Brettanomyces paired with citrus scallop carpaccio with radish, jalapeno, and microgreens.
Or you could try Crazy Mountain Brewery‘s Roland Junior India Brown paired with Denver Biscuit Co.‘s The Franklin Slider; chicken buttermilk fried chicken, tender belly bacon, and cheddar cheese smothered in sausage.
Obviously I can’t list all of the offerings and they vary each year, but you can check out last years menu on the BruFrou website to get a general idea of what you’re in for.
The creators of BruFrou are also hosting a new event this year, MMMixer; similar to BruFrou, but with craft cocktails instead of beer. That event is scheduled for November 20th, 2015.
BruFrou also offers TastyTalks, 90 minute seminars on various beer and culinary topics for an extra charge. The tickets themselves were a little pricey though, so I decided to just get down to business!
Next year’s event is scheduled for April 30th, 2016 and I highly recommend it. You can purchase tickets on the BruFrou website (and if you check in this year’s gallery you may spot yours truly).
Here’s one last BruFrou tip; before and after (and presumably during) outside of the museum there are several tents set up as a farmers market or street fair where local vendors sell their wares. I love checking out local flavor so obviously I had to hit it up! I didn’t want to carry a bunch of stuff around while I was trying to enjoy my beer and food (and didn’t have enough hands), so I opted to wait until after the ‘Frou… big mistake. After trying to make it to all 40 booths, unsuccessfully, I was in no shape to make sound shopping decisions.
To whoever found wherever I put my jar of rosemary infused pears; enjoy and pay it forward!
Cheers!
How cool! It looks like you had a lot of fun!
Jennifer Corter recently posted…The Ultimate Gift
It’s a really great event! How could you not have fun with all you can drink beer?
This sounds awesome! And I love the tasting plate with the spot to hold the glass!
It really is the best invention ever!
Sounds like my kind of beer trail! Great beer and tasty food, I don’t think it could be any better.
Amanda recently posted…Tunneling Through The Peruvian Andes: Cycling El Cañón del Pato
That’s pretty much my philosophy!
Sounds great! It looks like craft beers are getting more and more popular anywhere in the world right now.
Hitch-Hikers Handbook recently posted…Road Stories #21 – Failures! (Tian Shan Mountains, Uzbekistan)
Me too! It’s really excellent news for someone like me that doesn’t really enjoy the major American beers.
What fun! Looks like a great way to spend some time.
The Educational Tourist recently posted…Why you should visit ‘BORING’ historical spots
I would do it everyday if I could… probably good that I can’t though.
Wow, the Beer Trail ! A very good combination concept of beer and travel!
Long Nguyen recently posted…RETURNING LONG TAN AFTER 38 YEARS
two of my favorite things!
Omg I need to do this! I love craft beer.
Lauren recently posted…This is Jordan
Still plenty of time to plan for next years event!
So what was your favorite beer and brewery?
That’s such a hard question. I think probably the one that most stands out was the Chai Stout by Yak and Yeti Brewpub.
What a fun event–would be great to go! I love craft breweries! They really have seemed to explode the last few years–we have a ton at home in Minneapolis!
Jenna recently posted…Japan’s Hot Spring Bathing Snow Monkeys
They’re taking over the world! I love it!
I think just having that gravy and bisquit qould be filling with a nice cool beer, looks like a fun venue for a unque beer tasting event.
noel recently posted…Trastevere – tasting specialty and local foods
It was very filling. Trying everything was quite a challenge!
What a great place to do a beer tasting! I love craft brews and i’m so happy they are gaining popularity!
anna recently posted…Falling in Love While Traveling
Me too! American’s are finally starting to figure out beer!
I absolutely love craft beer! In Texas, we get to sample a fraction of Colorado’s craft brews, but they are always great. I hope to take a brewery trip to Colorado soon, or maybe BruFrou 2016? It looked like a great event!
If you ever land in Texas and are looking for a craft brewery in the area, check out my updated list: http://www.fromtexastobeyond.com/texas-craft-brewery-list/
Thanks for sharing. I would definitely love to check out Texas’ beer scene. I’ve been meaning to visit Texas wine country for a while.
Well done for fitting in as many as you did and that picture of you on that airplane is adorable Go forth and be merry hurrah!
Alice Teacake recently posted…Wander Woman Wednesdays: Travel the Globe 4 Less
haha. Thanks! It really was a blast, even if I didn’t quite make it to all of the breweries… maybe next year.
Craft beer really is booking here in the USA. It’s great to see so many breweries putting out such great product. The BruFrou looked like a really terrific event – lots of tasty beer and the food looked great too! Now we just have to introduce the rest of the U.S. to really good tasting beer!
Sue Reddel recently posted…Best Ever Food And Travel Movies
I think it’s happening slowly but surely.
We just had a craft beer festival in Toronto, too – beer is definitely taking over the world! PS: I wish I’d found your rosemary infused pears.
Wandering Carol recently posted…Hike the Bruce Trail: even if you can’t tell a deer from a log
I just hope someone found and enjoyed them. I have heard so many great things about Toronto lately! I really do need to make my way up there.
I don’t know much about craft beers, but it sounds like this event could teach novices like me a lot. Oh and the plate that holds your cup…utter genius!!!
Jackie recently posted…Deciding Not to Cross the Border Between Thailand and Cambodia
The plate is amazing. I don’t consider myself a beer connoisseur by any means, but I’m really happy to try!
Craft beer seems to be getting more and more popular everywhere i look! if you are ever in Vancouver come hit up the Craft Beer Scene here! its great!
Lindsay Nieminen recently posted…Juan De Fuca Trail vs West Coast Trail
I’m so embarrassed I’ve never been to Canada at all! I’ve heard such great things. I really do need to check it out.
Nice post!!!! I’m so curious to discover that of Richmond because I live in VA 🙂
Barbara
That sounds awesome, and having it in an airplane hangar adds a neat touch.
Michelle recently posted…Someday
It’s a really cool event venue, and honestly a museum I may not have gone to otherwise, so I’m glad I got to experience it.
This looks like an epic day; drinking beer, eat food and hanging out around old planes!! Definitely my kind of event. 😀
Dawn Kealing recently posted…Forest Fires cause ‘Morning of Darkness’ in Prince George, BC
It was great! I may even do it again next year!
Really more of a wine drinker but this is an interesting place! Gotta tell my son-in-law about it. He loves beer and goes to Denver every other year! Thanks.
Yeah, this is just the second one, but they do it every year now. It’s a really great event if you’re a beer lover!
I love the big beer festivals for the chance to sample lots of different brews. I always seem to order the tried and trues but in a beer town like Denver (or my San Diego) there’s so many other options.
Elaine J. Masters recently posted…Vacation car rental insurance – Does your credit card cover you?
That’s what’s so great about events like this one. You get to sample everything!
I’m a BIG fan of craft beer crawls. I did a crawl of LA’s craft beer scene about a year ago. …. Awesome! Great article. I have another to add to my list.
I’ll have to try that next time I’m in LA. I’m pretty new to the beer scene, but I’m loving it.
40 beers in 3 hours! Wow. I definitely could not do that, but then I’m not a huge beer drinker. I did like the photos from the venue, though! The museum looks like a place we would enjoy (especially my son).
I didn’t used to be, but I love a challenge!
You’re right that craft breweries seem to be popping up everywhere. I wish I like beer more than I do. The most I can handle is a sip or two of my husband’s, unless there is a very light option. BruFrou sounds like a fun event, though.
Connie Reed recently posted…Badlands National Park: Land Beautiful
I used to feel that way too, but I must admit it’s grown on me. I love beer now.
What an awesome event! That looks like a lot of fun! The beer trail is definitely on my list, but I’ll have to look into this one (and the MMMixer), too! Thanks for the tip.
[…] is probably best known as the home of the Coors Brewery, but since I had BruFrou tickets and Coors moderately terrible I decided to skip it. How is a place with so many great […]