15 of the Best Breweries in Denver’s Suburbs

Over the past few years, many former Denver residents crossed city borders seeking suburban comforts such as spacious yards and lower housing costs. From 2020 to 2021, the population of Denver county alone declined by over 6,000 residents, while some of the fastest growing cities in the country in 2019 included Arvada and Highlands Ranch.

And as the people go, so do their pastimes—including one of Colorado’s favorites: drinking beer. Neighborhood watering holes have opened in droves in every suburb, and even longstanding breweries are moving their headquarters to greener pastures. So where are the best spots worth commuting to to sip suds? Here, our 15 favorite suburban pour houses.

Editor’s note: This is a living list that was last updated on July 28, 2022. Did we miss your favorite brewery? Email us at dining@5280.com.

4 Noses Brewing Company

Broomfield

Pleasant surprises abound at eight-year-old 4 Noses, starting with the polished charm of its taproom, located in a highway-ensnarled industrial park near the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport. The large patio, visited daily by rotating food trucks, is shaded and bedecked with hop vines, and sunlight floods the rustic-chic interior. A flight is a good way to enjoy the breadth of offerings, which range from popular staples like the Perfect Drift Pilsner, Flatiron Fog New England IPA, and Raspberry Blonde to its Velvet series of milkshake IPAs and collaborations such as a recent cocktail-inspired sour made in partnership with RiNo’s Death & Co. (Also check out 4 Noses’ Boulder offshoot, Wild Provisions Beer Project, which specializes in wild fermented ales and Czech-style lagers.) 8855 W. 116th Circle, Suite 4, Broomfield —Jess LaRusso

Cheluna Brewing Company

Aurora

The name Cheluna is a combination of the Spanish words “luna,” for moon, and “chela,” a slang term for beer. The brewery of the same name, which operates out of Stanley Marketplace, became the first Latinx-owned brewery in Colorado when it opened in 2016. But founders Jen and Javi Perez say its inspiration harkens back to the ancient Mayans, who believed in the balance of all things: day and night, sun and moon, and now, hops and barley. You can contemplate the meaning of all this over a glass of a refreshing and crisp Lowride Mexican lager, billed as “halfway between a light lager and a copper,” or a Chilango hefeweizen, which adds the flavor of traditional mango con chile to an otherwise German brew. Cheluna often hosts live music, and guests can pair the beer with bites from one of the many stalls located throughout the marketplace. 2501 Dallas St., Aurora —Jenae Barnes

Dead Hippie Brewing

Sheridan

If Jerry Garcia opened a brewery in the Denver suburbs, it would probably look a lot like Dead Hippie. This humble hole-in-the-wall tucked away in a corner of Sheridan’s River Point shopping center is eclectically dressed with tie-dye shirts, lava lamps, Star Wars and Big Lebowski decor, pinball machines, and, of course, Grateful Dead memorabilia. But look to the beer list (which is hand-painted on old records behind the bar) for brews made with more finesse than meets the eye. If you’re lucky enough to visit when Moist and Milky is on tap, go for this extra-hazy IPA, a smooth pour with a balance of hops and stone fruit. The brews aren’t experimental or cutting edge, but the solid lineup of stouts, pale ales, and blondes are enough to satisfy any deadhead. 3701 S Santa Fe Dr., Ste. 7, Sheridan

Dry Dock Brewing

Aurora

Since it opened in 2005, Dry Dock has earned a reputation for making some of the best beers in the state. The award-winning brewery consistently rakes in accolades from the Great American Beer Festival and the internationally renowned World Beer Cup for unapologetically good pours like the crisp, fruity apricot blonde and the rich, malty amber. Also on tap: a selection of funky suds like a pomegranate smoothie blonde ale and Candy Floss​ sour beer. If, heaven forbid, you bring a beer-averse friend to the taproom, there’s a generous menu of house-crafted seltzers and Docktails—9.5 percent ABV, cocktail-inspired fermented drinks—on tap. Try the strawberry basil daiquiri variety or the cucumber margarita. 15120 E. Hampden Ave., Aurora

Grist Brewing Company

Highlands Ranch

Though Grist has pivoted in the last few years into serving upscale cocktails in immersive environs (see: the Alice in Wonderland–inspired Rare and the two-month-old, stag-bedecked Field and Forest), craft purists should head to the taproom’s original Highlands Ranch location for refined taps and an easy going atmosphere. Though not as elaborately adorned as the recent outposts, the welcoming pub, with its oversized, wraparound bar, umbrella-shaded patio, and extensive menu of all the best bar bites (which includes comforting fried cheese curds, juicy burgers, and Cajun-seasoned tots), is everything a neighborhood watering hole should be. Don’t miss the dank and piney All and Westerly or the tangy-yet-mellow Sucker Punch Sour, which can be dressed up with a fruity syrup of your choice. 9150 Commerce Center Circle, Ste. 300, Highlands Ranch

Holidaily Brewing Company

Golden and Greenwood Village

Six-year-old Holidaily is a bit of a craft-beer-world unicorn: Not only was the brewery founded by a woman—specifically, cancer survivor Karen Hertz—but it also makes all of its suds sans gluten. Not that you’d know any of that from the taste of the Big Henry Hazy IPA, which took home a GABF bronze in 2021; it has all the bold, juicy, tropical flavor drinkers have come to expect from the genre. Try it and other lineup standards, which include a blonde ale, a stout, and a red ale, at Holidaily’s modest but welcoming taprooms in Golden and the Denver Tech Center. 801 Brickyard Circle, Golden; ​​5370 Greenwood Plaza Blvd., Suite 107, Greenwood Village —JL

Joyride Brewing

Edgewater

At this year’s 2022 World Beer Cup, Joyride’s Ice Cutter Kölsch was declared the best in the world in the German-Style Koelsch category—and the lightly hopped summer sipper pairs perfectly with the just-as-notable views of Sloan’s Lake and downtown visible from the rooftop patio (which is blessedly loaded with misters for hot summer days). While all the beers churned out by Edgewater’s oldest brewery are crafted for patio sipping, we especially love the purple-hued Black Razz blonde, brewed with 400 pounds of fruit purée, and the dragonfruit-scented Dragon Boat sour, which was brewed for this year’s fest of the same name. 2501 Sheridan Blvd., Edgewater

Lady Justice Brewing

Aurora

When does downing a few pints count as charitable giving? When you do it at Lady Justice, a brewery that’s committed to social justice, women’s empowerment, and well-balanced ales. Founders Betsy Lay, Kate Power, and Jen Cuesta launched the Aurora-based taproom—festooned with a mural of trailblazing social activists Marsha P. Johnson, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Dolores Huerta—after serving together in AmeriCorps. Today, their thriving taproom donates 100 percent of profits from their Community Supported Beer Memberships to nonprofits, and provides event space for community partners that empower women and girls in Colorado. Guests can give back to local organizations by purchasing a membership or enjoying brews like the Muffin Heist fruit tart ale, the Ginsburg-esque “I dissent” ale, and the Sandra Day IPA. The proceeds of some beers are also donated to local causes. 9735 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora —JB

Read more: The Untold Story of Women in Craft Brewing

Lone Tree Brewing

Lone Tree

Tucked behind Furniture Row off of I-470 and within a stone’s throw of Park Meadows Mall, Lone Tree Brewing is a welcome local business in a neighborhood heavily populated by chains. John Winter, a former airline pilot and home brewer, opened the pub over 10 years ago (and is now looking at opening a second location in the ‘burb), and partner Jerry Siote, serve up refreshing flagships and rotating seasonals out of a 2,900-square-foot tasting room. Don’t miss the juicy peach pale ale or the Mexican lager, which won a gold medal at GABF 2017. The taproom hosts food trucks every day of the week, and dogs are welcome both inside and on the shady patio (which fills up quickly most afternoons). 8200 Park Meadows Dr., Ste. 8222, Lone Tree

Luki Brewery

Arvada

When Jeffrey Smith debuted Luki Brewery in July 2020, he set out to fill a void in west Arvada’s dining scene, which lacked spots to sip fresh suds, and honor his family’s circus history. His great-grandmother performed in the Ringling Bros. troupe under the stage name Mademoiselle Chloe, while his great-grandfather was a ticket taker for the traveling entertainment show. Smith honors their storied past through the brewery’s playful decor—a big-top tent hangs over the bar, and vintage posters line the walls—and rotating lineup of beers, which includes the Kettle Corn–inspired, caramel-zinged Poppin’ Off cream ale and the smooth, gently malty Monkey Business IPA. Smith kept the circus theme subtle (you won’t find any likenesses of clowns or glittery costumes anywhere) to ensure the venue would be more of a welcoming community gathering place than a gimmicky themed bar. We think the brewery’s steady stream of regulars and bustling ambiance is testament to his success. 14715 W. 64th Ave., Units A and B, Arvada —Patricia Kaowthumrong

New Image Brewing

Arvada and Wheat Ridge

A collaboration radler with Lady Justice Brewing. A thiolized IPA (a recently christened subset of the hazy IPA) employing a powderized grape skin product called Phantasm. Stouts aged for years in bourbon and rye barrels. A strawberry-daiquiri-inspired sour. There’s always something, well, new at New Image Brewing, which launched its Olde Town Arvada taproom, with a kitchen, full bar, and dog-friendly patio, in 2016. The lineup is heavy on soft, fruity, crushable hazies you’ll want to bring home for backyard sipping. (The rad, hipster-pleasing can designs are simply a bonus.) And thanks to the beermaker’s newest brick-and-mortar addition—an expansive Wheat Ridge location, with a wood-fired pizza oven, that opened this past March—drinkers have even more opportunities to sample New Image’s creative, ever-evolving concoctions. 5622 Yukon St., Arvada; 9505 W. 44th Ave., Wheat Ridge —JL

New Terrain Brewing Company

Golden

Nestled against the eastern slope of North Table Mountain and adjacent to a tree-shaded dog park, New Terrain is an ideal hangout for grown-up craft beer lovers and their charges, be they four- or two-legged. In fact, we’re pretty sure families would still flock to the sprawling six-year-old beer garden—which features a variety of seating options, fire pits, and (most nights) two food trucks—even if the beer sucked. Luckily, it doesn’t. Plaid-clad patrons, some fresh off their mountain bikes, queue up at designated spots along the bar (why doesn’t every brewery do this?!) to secure pints of the Suntrip Belgian wit, Colorado IPA, and Mirage sour to take back outside and sip while soaking in sunshine and views of the mesa. Go on summer Thursdays to be entertained by live music on the outdoor stage and lots of noodle-dancing kiddos. Tip: The parking lot fills quickly, so leave your car at the Tony Grampsas Fields and follow the trail to the taproom to make your visit even more Colorado. 16401 Table Mountain Parkway, Golden —JL

Prost Brewing

Highlands Ranch

When Prost first opened its LoHi taproom in 2012, it quickly became one of Denver’s favorite outposts for German-style märzens, dunkels, and kölschs. But while the modest biergarten has served Denverites well, president David DeLine has since set his sights on expansion—most recently to a sprawling 7,000-square-foot taproom in Highlands Ranch. Here, guests can spread out with friends and family on oversized picnic tables inside the rustic, lodge-style taproom; or let their hair down on the adjacent 4,000-square-foot patio amidst fire pits, yard games, and a stage, which hosts live music on Fridays and Saturdays. The new taproom boasts the same menu of summer-ready beers (we like the grapefruit-tinged radler and the sessionable, 4.8-percent ABV Helles), alongside a menu of German bar bites designed by chef Max MacKissock of A5. We recommend a shareable flammkuchen (German pizza), drizzled with fondue and butterkäse cheese, and sprinkled with ham and onions. 53 Centennial Blvd., Highlands Ranch

Resolute Brewing Company

Centennial and Arvada

Basking in the suburban glory of nearby Ikea (which you can see from its casual, AstroTurf-laden patio) sits Resolute’s main taproom and brewing facility, which opened in Centennial in 2016. The light-drenched Centennial location has a dozen or more rotating beers on tap on any given day and hosts food trucks seven days a week. You can’t go wrong with one of the spot’s balanced and refreshing lagers (try the bright and lightly fruity Flatiron Dweller kölsch or the crisp, lemon-verbena-scented Italian pilsner), as well as more experimental brews like the Pyroraptor, a Bamberg-style smoked Helles made with beech-smoked German barley. If you’re in the northern ’burbs, save yourself a trek across town and head to the Arvada outpost instead. 7286 S. Yosemite St., Ste.110, Centennial; 18148 W. 92nd Lane, Ste. 100, Arvada

Spice Trade Brewery and Kitchen

Greenwood Village

In 2020, DTC gained a gem when Spice Trade (formerly Yak and Yeti Brewpub) opened a standalone bar and restaurant off of Orchard Road and Yosemite Street. Here—whether from the colorful, lantern-strung interior or the spacious patio—guests can enjoy brews infused with spices not often found in liquid form. Case in point: the Thai tripel, brewed with kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, coriander, and ginger, or the Saint Emilion farmhouse ale, laced with notes of blackberry, rose hips, blueberry rooibos tea, and rose hips. As a bonus, all the beers are gluten-reduced by adding an enzyme during the brew process that breaks down gluten proteins without sacrificing flavor. In the end, each brew contains less than 20 parts per million gluten (in comparison, some beers can contain more than 25,000 parts per million). Don’t forget to pair your pour with an elevated appetizer such as the seasonal, house-made pickled vegetables from the kitchen. 8775 E. Orchard Rd., Ste. 811, Greenwood Village