WHEN THINKING about Bohemian lifestyle in Colorado, Boulder is and always has been top-of-mind. But I’m here to argue that it’s the capital city up the 36 turnpike that is actually doing the most to support individual expression through craft culture, and here’s why.
The distillery movement is spreading like wildfire.
Governor John Hickenlooper, famous for opening the legendary Wynkoop Brewing across from Denver’s Union Station (and a stop on the wildly popular Denver Microbrew Tour) signed into law HB15-1204 on April 15, 2016. This monumental ruling effectively created a Distillery Pub License. Similar to a standard brew pub license, the law outlines and enforces the previously confusing and inefficient process of opening a distillery pub. Even before this, though, Denver became a hotbed for craft spirit lovers, with places such as Declaration Brewing Company, Chain Reaction, and Fiction Beer Company. The DSTILLfestival serves as the city’s grand tasting, while many smaller events happen throughout the city and region each year and there are dozens of tasting rooms in the Denver area to whet your whistle, often in repurposed old warehouses.
