“Beer tastes better after an adventure”
What is one of the most Coloradan activity you can think of? Think about it. Does it involve craft beer? Does it involve being outdoors in the mountains? Probably.
Thanks to UpSlope Brewery from Boulder, CO, they have initiated the best of both worlds: good beer + mountains. This year we attended their 4th annual Backcountry Taproom where they made a makeshift tap room in the middle of the wild.
Where: Located in Fraser, CO at the top of Grand Park. We live in Denver so it was a short 1.5 hour drive from the city.
Tickets were only 15$ (ages 21+) which included 4 drink tickets of various 12 oz year round styles to choose from.
The event was from 11am to 4:30pm but check in was 10am.
We arrived Saturday to the cute town of Fraser around 11am. While they had food provided by Smokehouse BBQ, we decided to pack our own snacks to fuel us for the day. With our water and snacks we set out on the trail to find the UpSlope taproom.
The trail was an easy uphill walk around 2.5 miles each way with tons of fall foliage to admire.
We arrived to the taproom and there we were surrounded by mountains in complete solace from the urban world. There were two drink stations set up with tons of tasty beers to choose – from lagers to saisons to IPA’s. The area was full of people with dogs, instruments, camping chairs, hammocks – so exciting!
It was pretty chilly (for me), so as I’ve come to learn, layering in Colorado is essential. The climate can change so much in a day! The sun feels great but once a cloud passes by your world turns upside down as far as chill factor.
The event partnered with ‘Leave No Trace’ a nonprofit organization that protects the outdoors by teaching people how to enjoy it responsibly. Though there were hundreds of people drinking in the wild, there was an emphasis to keep our beautiful nature clean and free of our human footprint.
It was such a fun event full of fresh air, good beer, and good company. Such a cool experience and I’m definitely looking forward to returning next year!
Recommendations
Go to UpSlope Brewery – Backcountry for more details on next years event
