Congratulations to Kevin & Andrea Kelly, the newest Colorado Brewery Masters having completed “The Quest” of visiting every Colorado brewery!
I met Kevin & Andrea at Kukaro Brewing in Fort Morgan soon after they released their first beers. I really enjoyed our brief visit and look forward to seeing them again soon.
I am now happy to welcome them to the Colorado Brewery Master family and, as I have done previously with the other Masters, was pleased to ask them some questions about their journey.
Who are Andrea & Kevin Kelly?
While not natives, we both have lived in Colorado since the early 1970’s when our families relocated here so we definitely consider ourselves Coloradans. We met while working at S&P Global and have been married for 34 years. We both have recently retired after 35+ year careers at S&P Global.
When and what was the first Colorado brewery that you remember visiting?
[Kevin] Back in the late 1980’s the Boulder Beer Company and the Wynkoop Brewing Company were the first two Colorado breweries I ever visited.
[Andrea] Around 1983, I did a tour of Coors Brewery in Golden.
The first brewery we visited together was the Hall Brewing Company [now closed] in our hometown of Parker in 2014, which basically was the start of our quest.
When and where did you accomplish the status of having visited every Colorado brewery?
On August 16th we had a pint at Chrysalis Barrel Aged Beer in Paonia which allows us to say we have visited all 436 currently open Colorado breweries & brewery taprooms listed on the Colorado Brewery List website.
Overall, we have visited 560 breweries & brewery taprooms in Colorado including 124 brewpubs which have since closed.
What are some of your favorite memories of your quest?
Visiting (and tasting) every corner of Colorado.
The quest actually came about as an off-shoot from an earlier journey.
It all started in 2014 when we spent 5 years exploring Colorado by visiting and having a beer in all 750 cities, towns & communities in Colorado. Along the way we enjoyed a pint at 137 Colorado brewpubs.
Wishing to continue to explore Colorado we thought back to those 137 brewpubs and it made us curious as to how many there were in Colorado and that is how our latest endeavor started.
The last city we visited was Telluride with a stop at the Telluride Brewing Company which looking back, we now consider the brewery where we kicked off our latest quest.
Spanning both quests we drove over 33,000 miles, crossed 67 mountain passes, explored 25 Colorado scenic and historic byways, visited 42 national parks, monuments, historical sites, landmarks and national forests and of course had a pint at 560 Colorado brewpubs.
What are your favorite styles of beer and your top breweries in the state of Colorado in terms of your beer taste?
[Kevin] I’ll try any style once but honestly, I have never quite acquired a taste for IPA’s so I lean towards Belgian and wheat ales as well as the occasional pilsner and kolsch, depending what looks the most interesting on the menu.
For Belgian beers, Bruz Beers is a must and Westbound & Down Brewing Company always has a nice variety of beers that fit my taste.
[Andrea] Sours will always be my go-to beer, if available. If not, then a fruited, wheat or cream ale.
I had some great sours at Salt Road Brewing in Fort Collins, Outer Range Brewing Co in Frisco, and Bruz off Fax in Denver, among many others.
Main Street Brewery & Restaurant down in Cortez has a honey raspberry wheat so good that each time we were in the four corners area we made a side trip just to grab a six pack.
Both Peculier Brewing locations were the perfect stops for us with a variety of ales and sours and the Fort Collins location happened to have been the 500th brewery we visited.
What are some of your favorite destination breweries?
When asked to name our favorite brewpub the honest answer is the one we are currently sitting in and simply savoring a beer that was a brewer’s passion and generously shared with us.
Some of our favorites around the state include Casey Brewing in Glenwood Springs as well as the aforementioned Telluride Brewing Company on the Western Slope.
For getting out of town to beat the heat we enjoyed visiting the Strange Craft Taproom in Buena Vista and the Outer Range Brewing Company in Frisco.
Closer to home Breckenridge Brewery in Littleton, New Terrain in Golden and New Belgium in Fort Collins have great patios.
I’d be remiss if I did not mention the unexpected gems of Mountain Merman Brewing Company in La Veta and the Yampa Valley Brewing Barrel Room in Craig.
What is your favorite hang-out brewery? (Where are folks most likely to run into you?)
Oddly enough we do not actually spend much time at breweries outside of when we are visiting the ones on our list so we do not have a “home” brewpub. We have for the most part visited each brewpub only once.
Although now that we have more time to simply hang out, you might just run into us at the Lone Tree Brewing Company in Parker.
What advice would you offer others trying to become a Colorado Brewery Master?
Don’t set deadlines and simply enjoy the quest. That said, definitely a lot of planning is required, so using the Colorado Brewery List is a must. It quickly became our go-to resource for details on Colorado breweries. Being able to see locations, confirming hours/day of operations, etc. made it easy to map out which breweries/cities could reasonably be accomplished in a day or a long weekend. Before heading out on longer trips, double-check brewery websites and social media to confirm their hours. I’d also recommend creating a spreadsheet to track your progress, visits, openings, closing, notes, etc.
Finally, never hesitate to have a conversation with owners, brewers and beer tenders when the opportunity presents itself as they are passionate about beer and their community and can share a wealth of insight to make your journey and experiences that much more enjoyable.
Congratulations again to Kevin & Andrea for finishing “The Quest.” I very much look forward to sharing more beers with them in the future.
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Are there any other Colorado Brewery Masters out there that I have missed? If you have been to every Colorado brewery or are close to doing so, I would love to hear from you!
Do you want to learn more about the other Colorado Brewery Masters? Check out this CBM blog page which has all of the articles about us, (except me but you can read a bit about my initial quest here).