I think, for the most part, I’ve figured out the keys to social success in Colorado. It involves mainly three things: you must have some sort of outdoor hobby, you must have/like dogs, and you must like beer. Boom, anywhere you go, you will find people to talk to. I was never a beer drinker before moving here, but since it’s so much part of the state’s culture, I’ve learned to appreciate a good brew.
We’ve been slowly working our way through this map of Colorado breweries, and a few weekends ago, made the trip to Coors in Golden, Colorado. It’s actually one of the largest breweries in the world (and definitely the most well known outside of Colorado…aka they have TV commercials) so it definitely had a different vibe than many of the other places we’ve visited. Upside: it’s a free tour, with plenty of free beer, and you do get to see on a very large scale the details of how beer is actually made – if that sort of thing interests you.
The tour starts with a little bus ride through the town of Golden, then you’re dropped off at the brewery and given a handheld audio player that walks you through a guided tour of the brewery (plus your free beer wristband), and end up in the tasting room, where they have many Miller-Coors brews on tap (including their sub-brews like Blue Moon). To be honest, Coors is not even close to my favorite beer, but the experience was still pretty fun with a good group of friends. Plus, we got to check one more brewery off the very extensive list of at least 150 breweries in the state (seems like a hard number to pin down exactly, not to mention new ones seem to be opening all the time). It’s definitely got a touristy vibe, but there’s a reason it’s such a popular tour (it’s the free beer) and it’s just a short drive from Denver, so I think it’s worth the trip.
P.S. Is that vintage Coors ad hanging in the tasting room not one of the funniest things? Target market for Coors = your grandma!