Congratulations to Toshi Ueta, the newest Colorado Brewery Master having completed “The Quest” of visiting every Colorado brewery!
Sadly, I haven’t met Toshi in person yet, but I hope to share some beers with him soon.
I am happy to welcome him to the Colorado Brewery Master family and, as I have done previously with the other Masters, was pleased to ask him some questions about his journey.
Who is Toshi Ueta?
I am a professional astronomer and a budding home brewer and beer judge. Born in Japan and moved to the US in the late 20th century (makes me feel old by saying this 😉 ), I have been living in Colorado since 2006.
I have always liked beer, especially malty ones. Coming from Japan I grew up with Asahi, Kirin, and Sapporo – my special treat was always Yebisu (when I was not having sake, of course).
My first exposure to US “craft” beer was probably Shiner Bock, just because I lived in Austin, Texas, after I moved there.
Fate brought me to Brussels, Belgium at the beginning of this century, and I lived there for two years. Then I was exposed to the world of Belgian beer, but found myself fascinated by wine more than beer at that time. Still I grew fond of other beer styles such as Karmeliet (hoppy), Kasteel (strong), Rochefort (abbey), and Lindemans (kriek). My exposure to Belgian beer during these two years in Brussels expanded my palate enormously, especially for sours.
I was exposed to the first craft brewery boom in the US in the 2000s when I lived in CA and didn’t quite like those “in-your-face hop bitterness” beers—so I didn’t get into it. But I frequented Gordon Biersch across the street from where we lived when we got a chance while raising a baby.
Fast forward to 2021 after COVID, as I was chauffeuring my daughter around for Color Guard competitions in the suburbs around Denver, it occurred to me to hit a nearby brewery to kill time while I waited – it was Frolic in Westminster if I remember correctly. My Quest unofficially started at that time.
I visited breweries in the Denver suburbs during weekends – sometimes my wife with me and sometimes alone. During summer months when I would housesit while my family spent time in Japan, I took longer road trips to visit those farther away.
At one point I purchased Hop Passport to make myself go visit places, aiming to be the first to visit all the Colorado breweries they listed. But it didn’t work out. Around the same time, I came to know the Colorado Brewery List (CBL) and started logging my visits. Also, I did my own manual Google map search to look for breweries that are not listed in the CBL.
About a year and a half ago, something again hit me and I got an idea of brewing my own beer – so I grabbed a home brew kit and then I bought the Pinter system (it was on Kickstarter). Instead of subscribing to their beer mixes, I started concocting my own wort to put in the Pinter cask. Then I participated in a beer brewing class at the Brew Hut, a local homebrew supply shop. The class was taught by members of the “Foam on the Range” (FOTR) homebrew club, which is supposedly the oldest homebrew club in town. Soon after I became a “Foamer” myself (joined the club). This past summer a couple of FOTR members who are BJCP judges ran a set of BJCP beer judging classes and it was really fun. I’m trying to become a BJCP-certified beer judge (I earned a Level One Cicerone in the meantime). I have participated in homebrew competitions as a steward and a judge.
Some of the homebrew club members were fascinated by my Quest, and their encouragement helped propel me to keep going and finally complete it.
When and what was the first Colorado brewery that you remember visiting?
Probably Rock Bottom at Centennial/Park Meadows, just because it is one of the closest breweries to where I live. Must have been around 2006 when my family moved to Colorado. Back then Resolute and Lone Tree were not open yet. I must have visited Wynkoop in Downtown fairly early on.
If my recollection serves me, my first “conscious” visit to Colorado breweries was when I tended my job colleague from Japan to a brewery tour in FoCo, in 2014. We hit Funkwerks, New Belgium, Odell, and Fort Collins Brewery.
When and where did you accomplish the status of having visited every Colorado brewery?
November 2025, when I visited WestCo in Grand Junction. I was pretty much done at the end of this past summer (Strange Craft BV and Herks Werks/Spare Keg were remaining) and was determined to complete – then WestCo opened. I took advantage of this warm winter weather to make a trans-Rocky Mountain drive because I didn’t want to let it linger into 2026…
What are some of your favorite memories of your quest?
Driving around Colorado both on and off the beaten paths, especially those that I wouldn’t have passed otherwise, like little towns in Yampa Valley (Meeker, Craig, Heyden), North Fork Valley (Paonia), Lake Fork Valley (Lake City), and Four Corners (Dolores, Mancos), and Northeastern Plains (Sterling, Holyoke, Yuma).
Some breweries in these unassuming places happened to be quite nice and cozy to my surprise (excuse my saying so) – like Dolores River Brewery in Dolores, Mountain Merman Brewing in La Veta, Florence Brewing Company in Florence.
Even in Denver and its suburbs, I drove around in different neighborhoods and was fascinated by different characters of these neighborhoods that I wouldn’t have known otherwise.
I like visiting places (having been to all continents but Antarctica) and it also helped me to get going with the Quest.
What are your favorite styles of beer and your top breweries in the state of Colorado in terms of your beer taste?
I tend to like malty beers in general. But through the Quest and my becoming a BJCP judge I developed my liking to all kinds – and re-learned goodness in more balanced IPAs that came after the second craft beer boom in the 2010s.
Lager: Bierstadt, Prost – always true to the style
Czech Lager: Cohesion – also always true to the style and the ambience
IPA: Novel Strand, milieu, Full Frame, Westbound and Down, Cerebral – always astonished by the depths and breadths of hop varieties, aromas, and flavors
Stout: Bull and Bush, Bent Barley, Left Hand – I would stop by when craving
Amber: Second Dawn (Steel Horse old Fat Tire Replica – the Amber I grew fond of after moving to CO), Telluride Brown
Kriek: Strange Craft – to me the best Kriek outside of Belgium, reminds me Lindemans Kriek
Belgian: Bruz – always bring me back to Belgium
Gluten-Free: Holidaily – they are really less-filling!
Ambience: Comet Brews, Left Hand Longmont, Call to Arms, Elizabeth Brewing Company, Crystal Springs, Cellar West Erie, Jessup Farm, Mancos Brewing, Stodgy, Lady Justice
What are some of your favorite destination breweries?
Any of those listed above I would stop by whenever I have errands nearby or I would make errands to have an excuse to drop by.
Besides those; Pints Pub, CODA, Wild Blue Yonder, 105W.
FoCo visits are always fun – want to come back to Stodgy, Mythmaker, and Salt Road.
I used to like FH Beerworks in COS, but they are closed.
The Colorado Farm Brewery is a place where you really feel like you’ve arrived at a true destination when you get there.
What is your favorite hang-out brewery? (Where are folks most likely to run into you?)
Resolute in Centennial, where I’m a mug club member this year, and Lone Tree Brewing at Lone Tree. They are in my neighborhood. Also, I occasionally visit another local place, 3 Freaks, but less often. Very disappointed when Halfpenny – another local favorite – closed.
FOTR does have a monthly “Foam on the Road” brewery visit and I will be often found wherever they go.
What advice would you offer others trying to become a Colorado Brewery Master?
Plan well – especially for the remote and mountain breweries with limited hours. Begin your day by visiting the ones that open early, and finish with those that stay open late. Planning these optimized routes is fun, but don’t dwell on checking boxes while on the road – act on the spur of the moment and don’t be afraid to take detours.
And most importantly, enjoy the journey itself – it’s not only about the beers.
Congratulations again to Toshi for finishing “The Quest.” I very much look forward to sharing some beers with him 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).