brewery tour fort collins

Memorial Day Weekend Hours : We will be open for tours, sampling, and shopping Thursday, May 23rd-Sunday, May 26th of Memorial Day Weekend. Our brewery tours, sampling, and shopping will be closed Monday, May 27th for the Memorial Day holiday.  

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WELCOME TO COORS BREWERY TOUR

See and taste traditional brewing at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in the largest single-site brewery in the world! Since 1873 the Coors Brewery has thrived on a legacy of quality, innovation and customer service.

The Coors Brewery Tour showcases our history and passion for brewing in a 30-minute look at our malting, brewing and packaging processes. We also share old photos, neon signs, historical beer cans, bottles and memorabilia from our archives.

2024 Hours of Operation

All hours are listed in Mountain Time (MST/MDT)

For current tour availability, please check out our booking tool by clicking “Book Now” below .

Brewery Tours, Sampling-Only*, and In-Person Shopping Available

Thursday-Monday 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM  (Tour and Sampling Times Vary)

Note: Tour availability is limited Mondays and Thursdays.  

Closed to Visitors for Tours, Sampling, and Shopping Tuesday-Wednesday

2024 Holiday & Maintenance Closures: May 27 (Mon), July 4 (Thu), September 2 (Mon), November 28-29 (Thu-Fri)

*- Sampling-only reservations do not include brewery tours.

Total visit time takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes and guests must be 21+ to sample. Please bring a valid, government-issued, photo ID.

Tour times are subject to change.

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Your guide to brewery tours in Fort Collins

Beer samples come paired with science and history lessons during brewery tours in Fort Collins.

The behind-the-scenes looks at brewing have become a popular tourist attraction in the city known as the Napa Valley of Beer.

While all beer is made with the same four ingredients — water, barley, hops and yeast  — the scale at which they are produced varies greatly.

Check out these formal Fort Collins brewery tours — most of which include free samples. People of all ages are typically welcome on the tours, but for those 21 and older, IDs are required to taste the brews.

Anheuser-Busch Fort Collins

2351 Busch Dr., (970) 490-4691

Facility production:  About 10 million barrels a year. The site that opened in 1988 is the second youngest of 12 total Anheuser-Busch breweries in the U.S.

Schedule:  Tours start at 10 a.m. daily. They run every 45 minutes until 4 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and every 30 minutes until 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Length: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Good to know: The town's oldest operating brewery attracts travelers off I-25 and is especially popular anytime the Budweiser Clydesdale horses are in town. The mile-long tour starts in the Clydesdale's stable. Attendees then walk inside the massive brewhouse facility. Guides describe the history of Anheuser-Busch and how it morphed into the world's largest brewer. Next, the tour group watches a video message from the site's head brewer Tim Seitz and learns more about the company's operations in Colorado. Attendees venture through a museum of Anheuser-Busch's old advertising and packaging. The tour route overlooks various parts of the brewing process and attendees can take used Budweiser beech wood chips as a free souvenir. Attendees get a free sample toward the end of the tour.

New Belgium Brewing

500 Linden St., (970) 221-0524

Facility production: About 750,000 barrels a year. New Belgium also produces beer at an Asheville, N.C. location.

Schedule:  Tours are held daily beginning at 11:30 a.m. and run every half hour until 4:30 p.m. Reservations fill up fast, sometimes weeks in advance, but slots  can be reserved online .

Length:  1 hour and 30 minutes

Description:  Fort Collins' iconic craft brewery hosts about 200,000 people on tours per year. The tour starts with a history lesson on how the craft brewery began in a Fort Collins basement . Some of the original Fat Tire equipment is on display. Attendees move into the brewhouse and learn how the beer is made now and the history of Belgian brewing styles. The tour group then goes through New Belgium's barrel room full of giant wood wine foeders, where there's a discussion and tasting of the sour beers that New Belgium is credited with pioneering here. The group moves to the packaging building, which overlooks the robotic bottling and canning lines. The tour concludes with a trip down the brewery's trademark taproom slide. Attendees typically get three or four free samples throughout the tour.

Odell Brewing

800 E. Lincoln Ave., (970) 498-9070

Facility production:  About 120,000 barrels a year. Odell is considered the country's 27th largest craft brewer.

Schedule: Daily at noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Booking online at least 24 hours in advance is encouraged.

Length: 30-45 minutes

Description: Protective eye goggles are handed out for tour-goers here at one of Colorado's oldest craft breweries. The tour ventures first into the brewhouse where attendees pass around raw grain and hops to taste and smell. The brewing process is explained as is the history of how the Odell family started the operations in Fort Collins. A quality assurance team often tastes beer in the background. The tour group then heads down to the production line. Attendees see the fermenters and the brewery's pilot system where new and small batch beers are first produced. The tour checks out a cooler full of rare Odell beers from various years. The bottling, keg and new canning lines are showcased. The tour concludes with a free sample in the taproom.

1900 E. Lincoln Ave., (970) 482-3865

Facility production:  About 6,000 barrels a year. The brewery recently entered a distribution alliance with New York's Brooklyn Brewery and San Francisco's 21st Amendment Brewing.

Schedule: Fridays and Saturdays at 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. No reservations are required, but attendees are asked to arrive 10 minutes early.

Length:  30-45 minutes

Description:  This brewery, which specializes in saisons, goes over everything to know about the funky Belgian-style beer on its tour. Attendees learn the history of the saison style as well as the coincidences that led to the start of Funkwerks. While Funkwerks launched in 2010, the facility previously housed H.C. Berger Brewing and Fort Collins Brewery. Tour-goers see the barrel room, milling room, brewhouse, fermenters and small bottling line. Attendees typically get two or three free samples on the tour. 

Horse & Dragon Brewing

124 Racquette Dr., (970) 631-8038

Facility production:  About 1,500 barrels barrels a year.

Schedule:  Saturdays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. No reservations are required. Weekday tours are available upon request between noon and 6 p.m. 

Length:  20-30 minutes

Tour description: The brewery that launched in 2014 goes over its quick ascension during this tour. Attendees learn the many meanings that inspired the brewery's unique name. Special attention is also given to the brewery's active barrel-aging program. Attendees are encouraged to bring a pint with them on the tour.

Purpose Brewing & Cellars

4025 S. Mason St., (970) 377-4107

Facility production:  Under 1,000 barrels a year.

Schedule:  Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 11:30 a.m. Only 10 spots are available. Reservations are available for purchase at purposebrewing.com .

Length: 1 hour

Description: Fort Collins' newest craft brewery is launching formal tours this weekend. Longtime New Belgium brewmaster Peter Bouckaert and former 1933 Brewing head brewer Zach Wilson are the experienced duo behind the new operation. Bouckaert and Wilson personally walk customers through a cellar experience that includes four tasters of the beers on tap, two tasters of beers straight from the barrel and a cheese plate to pair with the drinks. The two brewers share the inspiration for each beer, always made in small batches.

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Located on the corner of 30th & Larimer in Denver’s historic Five Points neighborhood, enjoy outdoor patios, firepits, and one of the many Five Points exclusive beers brewed onsite with our 10-barrel pilot system.

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Come visit our 10-barrel pilot brewhouse, taproom and pizza kitchen in the Sloan's Lake neighborhood at the corner of 17th and Perry.

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Fort Collins  is home to more than  20 craft breweries , including the fourth largest craft brewer in the U.S., New Belgium Brewing Co. With new Fort Collins' breweries popping up all over the city, there is always something fun to enjoy. On any given day, tourists and locals alike flock to the craft breweries to enjoy a cold and frothy craft beer and some quality down time. Adding to the craft scene are craft cideries, which also happen to be gathering a big following in the Fort Collins community. So, if you find yourself in need of quenching your thirst, make your way on out to explore the range of craft beverage offerings in Fort Collins.

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Cideries have emerged to find their place in the robust Fort Collins brewing scene. Summit Hard Cider and Branch Out Cider, both found at Scrumpy's Hard Cider Bar, produce high-quality products...

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New Belgium Brewery Tour – Fort Collins

New Belgium is Colorado’s largest micro-brewery and home to the famed Fat Tire beer. It opened in 1991 and quickly grew a following. The brewery is located minutes from downtown Fort Collins in a modern, wind-powered facility.

On the tour, enjoy live story-telling, beer tastings, art-gazing, and more fun around the brewery. Tours are open to all ages and run year-round. They are by reservation only and are led in small groups of about 20 people. Spots are reservable up to 2 months in advance.

When you first enter the brewery, you do so through the New Belgium Liquid Center. A wide selection of microbrews is on tap, from the common Fat Tire and Sunshine to the lesser-known Lips of Faith beers. There’s also a small gift shop and a counter to check-in for the tours.

The tour lasts 60-90 minutes and offers plenty of beer samples along the way. See the New Belgium website for openings, you can reserve tours online within 2 months. Two other brewery tours in town include the micro-brewery, Odell and the giant Budweiser .

Address: 500 Linden St, Fort Collins , CO 80524

Phone: 970-221-0524

Season: Year-round

Website: newbelgium.com

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Opened in 1988, our Fort Collins Brewery brews 33 different beer brands. In 2018, it became the second brewery with the capacity to support our emergency drinking water program. The team periodically pauses brewing to produce and can emergency drinking water, enabling us to better support our neighbors in need from coast to coast.

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The #1 brewery in Colorado, according to reviews—plus, see the runners-up

Posted: April 27, 2024 | Last updated: April 27, 2024

Highest-rated breweries in Colorado

Just a few decades ago, the list of breweries to visit in any given area were small—perhaps a handful around larger metro areas and a few more tucked away in rural spots. Thanks to the craft brewery revolution, though, no one need look too hard to find a bounty of venues to visit. Retail sales of craft beer in the U.S. grew from $10 million in 2011 to $29 million in 2019, according to Statista , with the COVID-19 pandemic creating the first dip in sales in 2020 after increases every year. In 2019, small and independent brewers put 26.3 million barrels of beer into the world, according to the Brewers Association , representing inroads into the beer market share.

Most breweries don't just roll out the barrels, though. They also offer tours, which has become an increasingly popular activity for those 21 and over. Businesses capitalizing on areas where craft breweries are clustered nearby package tours and provide transport. Like wine tastings at vineyards, visitors can taste a brewery's products. In-demand beers and small-batch brews can be events in their own right, with beer lovers lining up to get limited-release beers. If nothing else, brewery tours are usually a cheap way to drink a lot of beer. Stacker compiled a list of the highest rated breweries in Colorado on Tripadvisor .

#30. Zwei Brewing

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (55 reviews) - Address: 4612 S Mason St Ste 120, Fort Collins, CO 80525-3794 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#29. Three Barrel Brewing Co

- Rating: 5.0 / 5 (29 reviews) - Address: 475 Grand Ave, Del Norte, CO 81132-2204 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#28. City Star Brewing

- Rating: 5.0 / 5 (48 reviews) - Address: 321 Mountain Ave, Berthoud, CO 80513 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#27. Green Mountain Beer Company

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (18 reviews) - Address: 2585 S Lewis Way Unit 110, Lakewood, CO 80227-6560 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#26. Gravity Brewing

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (27 reviews) - Address: 1150 Pine St Unit B, Louisville, CO 80027-1463 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#25. Butcherknife Brewing Company

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (39 reviews) - Address: 2875 Elk River Rd, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487-5076 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#24. St. Vrain Cidery

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (16 reviews) - Address: 350 Terry St Suite 130, Longmont, CO 80501-5403 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#23. Soulcraft Brewing

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (52 reviews) - Address: 248 W Rainbow Blvd, Salida, CO 81201-2347 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#22. Lumpy Ridge Brewing

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (64 reviews) - Address: 531 S Saint Vrain Ave, Estes Park, CO 80517-7416 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#21. Breckenridge Brewery

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (278 reviews) - Address: 2920 Brewery Ln, Littleton, CO 80120-2850 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#20. Grist Brewing Company

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (46 reviews) - Address: Commerce Center CIR Suite 300, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#19. The Very Nice Brewing Company

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (39 reviews) - Address: 20 Lakeview Drive, Unit 112, Nederland, CO 80466 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#18. Longtucky

- Rating: 5.0 / 5 (10 reviews) - Address: 350 Terry St Suite #120, Longmont, CO 80501-5403 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#17. Storm Peak Brewing Company

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (67 reviews) - Address: 1885 Elk River Plaza, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487-5177 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#16. Downhill Brewery

- Rating: 4.0 / 5 (47 reviews) - Address: 18921 Plaza Dr Unit 104, Parker, CO 80134-9679 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#15. Jessup Farm Barrel House

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (50 reviews) - Address: 1921 Jessup Dr, Fort Collins, CO 80525-2551 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#14. High Hops Brewery

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (97 reviews) - Address: 6461 State Highway 392, Windsor, CO 80550-3010 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#13. Wibby Brewing

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (40 reviews) - Address: 209 Emery St, Longmont, CO 80501-5910 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#12. Resolute Brewing Company

- Rating: 4.0 / 5 (18 reviews) - Address: 7286 S Yosemite St Suite 110, Centennial, CO 80112-2204 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#11. Launch Pad Brewery

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (21 reviews) - Address: 884 S Buckley Rd, Aurora, CO 80017-3174 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#10. 105 West Brewing Company

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (38 reviews) - Address: 1043 Park St, Castle Rock, CO 80109-1585 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#9. Odell Brewing Company

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (494 reviews) - Address: 800 E Lincoln Ave, Fort Collins, CO 80524-2507 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#8. Avery Brewing Company

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (179 reviews) - Address: 4910 Nautilus Ct N Suite 104, Boulder, CO 80301-3242 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#7. Hideaway Park Brewery

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (53 reviews) - Address: 78927 US Highway 40, Winter Park, CO 80482 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#6. Broken Compass Brewery & Tap House

- Rating: 5.0 / 5 (247 reviews) - Address: 68 Continental Ct, Breckenridge, CO 80424-8510 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#5. Coors Brewery

- Rating: 4.0 / 5 (1838 reviews) - Address: 1221 Ford St, Golden, CO 80401-1132 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#4. BURLY Brewing Company

- Rating: 5.0 / 5 (37 reviews) - Address: 680 Atchison Way Suite 800, Castle Rock, CO 80109-3106 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#3. Rock Cut Brewing Company

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (268 reviews) - Address: 390 W Riverside Drive, Estes Park, CO 80517 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#2. Left Hand Brewing Company

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (314 reviews) - Address: 1265 Boston Ave, Longmont, CO 80501-5809 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#1. New Belgium Brewing

- Rating: 5.0 / 5 (1251 reviews) - Address: 500 Linden St, Fort Collins, CO 80524-2457 - Read more on Tripadvisor

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When North Texas brewery closes April 27, Fort Worth will be ‘a lot less funky’

Funky picnic tried to save itself several times. it’s time to call it quits, the co-founder said..

By Sarah Blaskovich

9:21 AM on Apr 24, 2024 CDT

Fort Worth brewery Funky Picnic spent the past six months “continuing the fight” to try to stay open, co-founder Samantha Glenn told The Dallas Morning News . But after lower-than-expected sales in March, which is, historically, Funky Picnic’s best month, the brewery will close permanently after service on April 27, 2024.

The restaurant’s nearly 5-year run, from June 2019 to April 2024, took place mostly during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. Glenn said, tearfully, that Funky Picnic reached its limit after years of deferred rent and loan payments, up and down sales, inflation, and years of trying to innovate with food, beer and liquor to attract more customers.

“During COVID, people really did change their habits,” she said. “You used to go out three times a week, now you go out one time a week. … If you’re only going out a third of the time, you’re going to lose two restaurants that now don’t have the business to stay open.”

It’s a familiar story in North Texas .

She looks back on Funky Picnic’s fleeting beginnings. “It’s a completely different landscape than when we opened in 2019,” she said.

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Glenn and co-founder Collin Zreet announced the closure on April 8, 2024, to give customers time to re-visit the brewery and to give staffers time to find new jobs.

“I’ve had so many grown men cry at me,” Glenn said, allowing herself a laugh. Regulars have told stories about first dates, rehearsal dinners and weddings at Funky Picnic. Some visited weekly, for trivia or drag brunch.

“I know we did everything we could to keep the doors open. We pushed our personal debts and finances as far as we could,” Glenn said.

“We were able to give five years. And that’s a long time.”

Funky from the start

Funky Picnic’s co-founders started as homebrewers, entering competitions like Brew Riot in Oak Cliff and Labor of Love in and near Deep Ellum. Funky Picnic’s motto, then and now, is “craft beer for every taste,” Glenn said.

After Funky Picnic opened, it became known for its peanut butter stout, ESB and German-style pilsner. The Mexican lager is another fan favorite, brewed initially to replace the Modelo enjoyed by kitchen staffers.

Glenn and Zreet didn’t have experience running a bar or a kitchen, so they hired a chef and a brewer to run the business in Near Southside, a blossoming neighborhood in Fort Worth in 2019. A few years in, the co-founders added a full bar to accommodate those who didn’t want to drink beer. It was a choice that seemed to make sense: Craft beer saw a boom in Dallas-Fort Worth in the 2010s, but sales slowed .

Funky Picnic was designed to be family-friendly, where kids could bring games to the tables and the menus were designed by a local artist and meant to be colored on. Glenn made sure there were changing tables in both the mens’ and womens’ bathrooms.

According to Glenn, customers loved the TABC, a turkey, avocado, bacon and cheddar sandwich, and the Cluck Norris, a fried chicken sandwich with avocado and bacon. The brewery’s “picnic food,” as Glenn put it, eventually evolved to include more dinner fare like burgers, wings and pizzas.

The kitchen is bringing back the Jailhouse Burger in the brewery’s final days. Inspired by Elvis Presley, who loved eating a peanut butter, bacon and banana sandwich, the Jailhouse Burger is a beef patty topped with bacon, peanut butter, bananas, honey and mozzarella. It’s both good and weird, Glenn said, just like the brewery. She likes to pair it with their housemade peanut butter stout.

Tricky business

The bar’s one-year anniversary, in June 2020, coincided with the mandated closure of bars across Texas for coronavirus safety. Funky Picnic didn’t shut down because it was a restaurant and was allowed to remain open. But the anniversary was anticlimactic.

Parts of 2021 and 2022 saw better sales, Glenn said. They needed more room and took over the former Black Cat Pizza, which shared an address with the brewery, in 2022.

“We knew it was risky,” Glenn said. But it also allowed for private events.

Then consumer spending slowed because of inflation.

“In October 2023, we really saw people start to tighten up,” she said. “We had a $20,000 drop in sales from September to October. We knew November was going to be difficult, and we weren’t sure at that point if we could even get to the December [2023] events.”

They turned to Instagram, asking for help . Sales doubled for 10 days, Glenn said.

But then January and February 2024 were slow. And March 2024 — “usually our best month,” Glenn said — was 20% lower than expected.

With three years left on their lease, they picked April 27, 2024 as the closing date. “ Fort Worth is about to be a lot less funky ,” they posted online.

Funky Picnic’s staff will sell items online and in person in an effort to recoup some of the losses. Glenn she said she’s grateful to the many staff members who worked until the end. She doesn’t expect to relocate or reopen Funky Picnic.

“We’ll be dealing with the debts of Funky Picnic for a while,” Glenn said.

Funky Picnic is at 401 Bryan Ave., Fort Worth. It will stay open for lunch, dinner and drinks until the end of the day April 27, 2024.

An auction is live online now to sell furniture and other large items. The yard sale is from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 28, 29 and 30, 2024. They will sell “everything,” co-founder Samantha Glenn said: glassware, plates, tables and more.

For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on X (formerly Twitter) at @sblaskovich .

Sarah Blaskovich , Senior Food Reporter . Sarah writes about restaurants, bars and culture in Dallas. Follow @sblaskovich on Twitter and ask her what to do, where to eat or where to drink in your area.

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