It’s three o’clock on a sunny Saturday in North Boulder and the tap room at the Upslope Brewery is already packed.
Seems like the beautiful Colorado sunshine has everyone’s clocks stuck on beer-thirty.
Patrons sporting everything from pretty spring dresses and casual shorts to top of the line cycling gear and hiking boots fill up almost every seat in the tiny room. Even though the tap room has only been open for an hour, the place is already full of craft beer aficionados playing darts and board games, watching the Upslope brewers at work through the fish bowl-like windows that peer into the brewery and talking “beer talk” with just about anyone within earshot.
On the right day, I love the Upslope tap room. They offer a good variety of drinkable beers that hover somewhere in the 4%-10% ABV range. Their current draft line-up is stacked with IPAs including a refreshingly light Rye IPA that is just the right amount of dangerous at a 6.7% ABV. My go-to beer these days is Upslope’s Belgian Wit. It’s one of those beers that the non-beer drinkers in your crew will easily take a liking to while the craft beer lovers of your group will appreciate as a light, easy-drinking session beer that at 4.5% ABV means that this little half-pint can have more than one full pint and still hold decipherable conversations with strangers at the bar. Upslope’s flagship IPA and Pale Ale can always be found on the draft list at the tap room mixed in with a variety of rotating seasonal beers like the recently released, limited release Foreign Style Stout—a roasty, smooth traditional Irish-style stout that is still light enough to be enjoyed on one of Boulder’s abnormally hot spring days.
Although Upslope is one of my favorite places to post up after a long day of work, it does have a couple of downfalls. As the temperatures start to rise, I can’t help but long for a patio on which to consume my favorite Upslope beers. And no matter how quickly I race out of work at five o’clock, I always have the hardest time finding parking in the lot that the brewery shares with several other Boulder businesses. And when the parking lot is crowded, you know that your chances of finding seating in the tap room are pretty small—which is a bummer because when I’m enjoying a cold one, I typically like to be relaxed and seated. Strange, I know—it’s a habit that I’ve acquired over the years.
But the minimal downfalls of the brewery are off-set by the numerous good things that Boulder’s “newest brewery” is offering up– like live music every Friday night by popular local musicians. But be forewarned—the public LOVES live music in the tap room on Friday nights which means finding seating will be tough and chances are you’ll probably have to wait a little longer for a beer. By the time you do get your beer, you’ll probably be enjoying some grub from one of the local food trucks that have become a staple outside of the tap room entry. Lately, the RollinGreens food truck has been serving up their popular Stuffed Burgers and Jalapeno Poppers on Friday and Saturday nights to hungry beer drinkers looking for some sustenance to balance out their drinking habits. Upslope is also offering cheese plates in the tap room by Boulder cheese shop, Cured. Cheese plates, created by Cured owner, Will Frischkorn, are offered Tuesday through Saturday and paired with a beer suggestion by the Upslope folks.
And luckily for local craft beer lovers and foodies, Upslope is hitting the promotion pavement hard this month with a string of beer dinners and events.
Don’t miss these scheduled beer dinners and stay tuned to Upslope’s Facebook and Twitter pages for news about new tap room hours (which includes opening on Sundays) as well as info on a “ladies (no boys allowed) night” that they’ll be kicking off at the end of this month.
Empire Lounge |April 19th | 7 p.m.
$44 for 4 courses @ the Empire Lounge in Louisville
Click here for more info.
Centro Latin Kitchen and Refreshment Place | April 15th | 5:30 p.m.
$50 for 5 courses @ The Upslope Brewing Tap Room
Click here for more info.
Oskar Blues Homemade Liquids and Solids | May 10th | Time TBD
$Price TBD @ Oskar Blues Liquids and Solids in Longmont
Stay tuned to the Oskar Blues Liquids and Solids and Upslope Twitter pages for more details.
