Food & Beer Culture

What goes with beer in Colorado? A classic is Green Chile, a stew of roasted green chiles and pork, ladled over burritos or burgers. Around Pueblo, a local chile variety grows and gets its own festival every September. The heat pairs well with a cold, mild lager that refreshes the palate and tames the spice.

A bison burger belongs to the region just as much as trout from the mountain streams. The lean, flavorful bison pairs with an amber ale and its toasty notes, while the trout suits a light pale ale. For the adventurous, there are Rocky Mountain Oysters, deep-fried bull testicles that count as a Colorado tavern dish, usually served with a lager.

The beer culture here is built on the taproom concept: the brewery pours its own beer, often with a yard, dogs, and bike racks out front. In Fort Collins, cycling is part of New Belgium's identity—you see it right in the name Fat Tire. In Denver, Wynkoop opened in 1988 as the state's first brewpub, serving food and house-brewed beer under one roof.

The biggest date on the calendar is the Great American Beer Festival. It began in 1982 in Boulder with 24 breweries and 47 beers, moved to Denver in 1984, and has been held at the Colorado Convention Center ever since. Since 1987, a panel of judges has awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals across categories, today spanning more than 100 styles. A medal there is considered a mark of distinction in the US beer scene.

Beer is served in bottles or cans of 355 milliliters, in pints of 473 milliliters, or taken home in a growler, a jug holding roughly 1.9 liters.