Pikes Peak Brewing Company (Monument, CO) - 10 DEC 2014

Could Pikes Peak Brewing Company be the perfect small brewery taproom?  Let's see.

Fireplace - Check!

Comfy Chairs - Check!

Board Games - Check!

Variety of beers to accommodate all tastes - Check!

Beer names with local significance - Check!

Beer can holiday lights - Check!

Special glassware for each beer - Check!

Elephant Rock IPA.

Friendly, attentive staff - Check!

Crowler fills - Check! Check!

Crowler machine at work.

Out of all of the breweries in and around Colorado Springs, CO, we decided to visit Pikes Peak Brewing Company based upon personal recommendations AND a Groupon deal - two pints, two pint glasses, and two 32oz Crowlers - hard to beat that.

The folks there - employees and patrons - were all super friendly.  When we heard that they had filled up a bunch of Crowlers earlier in the day (because it is labor intensive to fill them on demand) we said to each other that we wished we could have seen them do it.  The bar tender overheard us, and went through the whole process for us even though they were already fully stocked.  What is a Crowler you may ask?  Well, a Crowler was developed by Oskar Blues Brewery and is a machine that will seal a growler-sized can right at the bar.  The beer will stay fresh just like a commercially available canned beer.  I'd heard about them coming to some places in Ohio, but had never seen one.   It was really cool to watch it in action.  First, the bar tender fills the empty can (no top) with whatever beer you want.  Then he places it in the Crowler machine on a rotating platform.  The pull tab top is placed on top of the can and the machine starts.  It spins the can rapidly and attaches the top to the can.  I was hesitant of the quality of the seal and so double and triple wrapped it in my luggage for the trip home, but it survived just fine.

When some of the regulars heard that we were from out of town, they were really curious how we liked the place.  They loved Pikes Peak Brewing Company so much, they couldn't bring themselves to recommend any place else in the area.  They were right.  There is much to love, and nothing to dislike (except for maybe the fact that a brewpub named after Pikes Peak is in a strip mall near the highway).  

We only tried a few of the beers, and they were all good.  I still have a Crowler in my refrigerator, but based on my experience here, I don't expect my opinion to change. 

Brewery visible through windows behind the bar.  Notice the shelves of glassware designed specifically for each beer.