Review: Avery Brewery Tour

On a recent trip to Colorado, I set a goal to try as much new beer as possible; Colorado is prime beer country and they had a lot to offer. We were making a short stop in Boulder, so I made it a point to hit the Avery Brewing Company.

The brewery has been opened for 4 months, as they just moved from their old location that tour guide Phil said was “a 7 car garage.” The 65,000 square foot facility has the brewery, gift shop, and 2 restaurants. While I didn’t try the food, the bartenders are very knowledgeable. They have 30 different beers on tap and the bartenders can recommend something based off what you typically like. The beer prices were affordable; they have options for pints and samples.

There are tours of the brewery; once a day, a tour guide will take you through a standard tour. They also allow self guided tours, as you can only walk above the brewery on walkways.

Phil was a very knowledgeable on the brewing process, even if it was a standard tour you could get at almost any brewery. He hung around answering questions after the tour was completed, which was a plus.

Some tidbits from the tour:

• All the leftover materials and waste are shipped to a local farmer. They are used to feed cattle; the farmer claims it fattens up the cattle and mellows them out.
• Production has jumped from 50,000 barrels at the old facility to between 80,000 and 100,000 at the new one.
• They built a lab in the new facility to create new strains of yeast and bacteria for brewing; Phil claimed they were currently using 6 strains of yeast, which was unique to their brewery (I question this, as Schlafly uses quite a few different strains).
• The lab equipment can tell what a beer will taste like before they brew it.
• Equated yeast to a fraternity part: eat, drink, reproduce. I thought it was a funny line.
• They don’t condone drinking at work, but “quality control is very serious.”

At then end of the tour, they do give you samples (we tasted Joe’s Premium American Pilsner).

The store had a nice selection of cold beers for purchase; I walked out with a six pack of Liliko’i Kepolo. They also had a nice collection of apparel and glassware in the store.

Overall, the brewery was a great atmosphere and worth checking out. I give it 4.5 stars out of 5.