Coopersmith's Pub & Brewery
Day 3 in Fort Collins, I had a feeling, would be a banner day. I had the opportunity to visit 3 impressive establishments. I started the day out right by visiting Coopersmith's Pub & Brewery. Positioned in the heart of Fort Collin's Old Town, the pub has quite a following. I have been to Coopersmith's many times since my brother-in-law Brian has moved there and enjoy their line of beers. So, I was looking forward to meeting with Head Brewer Dwight Hall.
Dwight, shown above, was more than accommodating and showed a great pride in his craft as he gave Brian and I the full tour.
The building where Coopersmith's resides has two sides. As you can see, there is Pubside and Poolside. In each side, there is some type of brewing going on.
This is Pubside, where the bulk of the initial brewing is developed. Here are the brew kettles brewing some of Fort Collins best micro beer. This is a very popular pub and if you want to sit down to a nice meal and pair it with one of your favorite Coopersmith's beer, this is where you want to be. There is call ahead seating where you can call a half an hour before you arrive to keep you ahead of the seating.
Behind the bar is a current list of beer showing patrons what is on tap currently, and like most of the more upscale micro breweries serve only their beer. The Pubside menu features traditional English pub fare and has something for everyone from the vegetarian to the hard core beef eater.
The bar and back bar are made of Hawaiian or Brazilian KOA wood which lends a tiger print type wood grain look.
A view of the brew kettles from the bar on Pub side.
Fermenters located in the coolers below the Pub along with the grain and malt supply.
Poolside features more of the sports bar type of fare. From Pizza and calzones to burgers and sandwiches, Poolside is the best place to be if you want to host a party or join a pool tournament. Either way, Coopersmith's has you covered. A Fort Collins mainstay since 1989, Coopersmith's plans on being here a long time. By the way, if you are wondering which of their beers is most popular? It is the Punjabi Pale Ale, an IPA made exclusively with plenty of Cascade Hops with a full body flavor. Enjoy your visit to Coopersmith's. I do!
I have to say that I agree to Lucky Joe's claim and really can't put it any better way than they have; it is "a friendly Irish Pub in an Old Western Saloon". Located in Old Town Square, Lucky Joe's is a friendly saloon.
From the goblet embedded into the marble step in the entrance into the saloon, to the wood floors and long bar, you will enjoy the atmosphere of a drinking establishment that is lit just right and has that old time feel.
The brick walls, in like most all of the bars and taverns here in Fort Collins, are a very nice touch and lend a feeling of history.
With a couch next to the fireplace in the back of the saloon, you can relax with your favorite libation and or person for a nice comfortable conversation. Everything in Lucky Joe's is done up right and is another of my go to places when I visit here.
The saloon is decorated in your classic pub-style decor including beer signs and old bottles but there were a few things I found most interesting. I loved the photo above. It's a great shot of Linden Street in Fort Cooling in 1904. Below is the original stained glass when the saloon was known as the Old Town Ale House.
Lucky Joe's has been at this location since 1995, and speaking with manager Patrick Kiza who had been there for 10 years at the time, explained to me that the back bar was built in Nebraska.
The most interesting piece I found at the bar was actually in the bar! About 8 feet from the end of the bar in an imprint of a lady playing what looks to be a harp. Patrick had no explanation for it but it was fascinating non the less. 
Patrick pictured here with Elizabeth the bartender. Thanks to both of them for making me feel at home while I was there.
The first time I had a Fat Tire Amber Ale, I knew that this was to be a brewery that was going to have to be reckoned with! When I started writing about my favorite bars and taverns and micro breweries, New Belgium was tops on my list of those micro breweries. So the very first time I visited their brewery, Jeff Lebesch and his wife Kim Jordan had already moved into their current location in 1995. I took the tour and tasted the samples of their absolutely awesome Belgian-style beers. My biggest regret was not knowing about New Belgium Brewing until then because if I could have chronicled the brewery from it's start until today, it would have made for a great piece. Luckily though, I got a chance to see this brewery grow, and I mean GROW!
There is just so much to tell about this fascinating brewery, but for the sake of time here is the condensed version. Jeff was an electrical engineer and homebrewer and loved to take trips to Belgium to learn the art of Belgian brewing. He did this while biking his way around Europe. Kim was a social worker and together in 1990 started a basement brewing operation in their home that would soon explode into one of the most popular micro breweries in Colorado. Brewing their first 2 beers, Fat Tire and Abbey. Fat Tire is most popular, and Amber Ale named for Jeff's bike trips through Belgium. The Abbey is a brown dubbel very complex yet very satisfying. This has won more awards than any of their beers. Within 2 years, their 8 1/2 barrel system, which produced little below 1,000 barrels in 1992. It was the second brewery in Fort Collins, Odell Brewing Company was the first. Kim and Jeff bottled the beer and with the help of their young son Zack helping with the bottling, Kim would deliver the beer to their accounts in the family station wagon. While the basement brewing system began to burst, they opened a second locationin a railroad depot before finally moving into their current location on Linden Street.
When you visit the brewery, you get 4 samples of beer to try. The tour has expanded since I first visited mainly because the brewery has expanded! And this is where the tour begins. Right as you walk in, you are greeted to a long bar and tables and served your favorite New Belgium beer fresh from the brewery.
My personal guided tour was led by Bryan Simpson,Media Relations Director for New Belgium (shown above) and we had a great time. As you can see, everyone here is pretty laid back and their work, well it really isn't work. Every employee loves their job and you can see it as you walk around the brewery. Most of all, I was stunned to see the expansion!
As we made our way upstairs, there is another bar handing out samples along the tour and everything is just done up so well.
The fermenters. 
Second floor, top of the brew kettles. 
This is just to give you an idea of how large the brew kettles are. These extend down to the 1st floor.
Because of the expansion, they built a whole new building just for their bottling. And it is a huge facility for a micro brewery.
Some of the art, New Belgium bottles converted into lighting in the bottling facility.
Part of the bottling line. I just want to add that besides being a completely green company involved in the reduction of greenhouse gasses, keeping healthy watersheds by only using four barrels of water to produce one barrel of beer. That may sound like a lot but the larger industries use more water. They even built their own water treatment facility in 2002. There is more to what New Belgium has done to help maintain a healthy environment and I encourage you to go to www.newbelgium.com to learn more. The other thing that I think is vital in maintaining a healthy work environment is your employees and New belgium does something that a lot of companies don't. and they are impressive. Once you have worked for one year, you recieve a fat-tire cruiser bike and ownership, sharing 32%. After 5 years of employment, Jeff and Kim take these employees to Belgium to tour the breweries.
5 Old Town Square
Ft. Collins, CO 80524
Day 3 in Fort Collins, I had a feeling, would be a banner day. I had the opportunity to visit 3 impressive establishments. I started the day out right by visiting Coopersmith's Pub & Brewery. Positioned in the heart of Fort Collin's Old Town, the pub has quite a following. I have been to Coopersmith's many times since my brother-in-law Brian has moved there and enjoy their line of beers. So, I was looking forward to meeting with Head Brewer Dwight Hall.
Dwight, shown above, was more than accommodating and showed a great pride in his craft as he gave Brian and I the full tour.
The building where Coopersmith's resides has two sides. As you can see, there is Pubside and Poolside. In each side, there is some type of brewing going on.
This is Pubside, where the bulk of the initial brewing is developed. Here are the brew kettles brewing some of Fort Collins best micro beer. This is a very popular pub and if you want to sit down to a nice meal and pair it with one of your favorite Coopersmith's beer, this is where you want to be. There is call ahead seating where you can call a half an hour before you arrive to keep you ahead of the seating.
Behind the bar is a current list of beer showing patrons what is on tap currently, and like most of the more upscale micro breweries serve only their beer. The Pubside menu features traditional English pub fare and has something for everyone from the vegetarian to the hard core beef eater.
The bar and back bar are made of Hawaiian or Brazilian KOA wood which lends a tiger print type wood grain look.
A view of the brew kettles from the bar on Pub side.
Fermenters located in the coolers below the Pub along with the grain and malt supply.
Poolside features more of the sports bar type of fare. From Pizza and calzones to burgers and sandwiches, Poolside is the best place to be if you want to host a party or join a pool tournament. Either way, Coopersmith's has you covered. A Fort Collins mainstay since 1989, Coopersmith's plans on being here a long time. By the way, if you are wondering which of their beers is most popular? It is the Punjabi Pale Ale, an IPA made exclusively with plenty of Cascade Hops with a full body flavor. Enjoy your visit to Coopersmith's. I do!Lucky Joe's Sidewalk Saloon2
5 Old Town Square
Fort Collins, Colorado 80524
I have to say that I agree to Lucky Joe's claim and really can't put it any better way than they have; it is "a friendly Irish Pub in an Old Western Saloon". Located in Old Town Square, Lucky Joe's is a friendly saloon.
From the goblet embedded into the marble step in the entrance into the saloon, to the wood floors and long bar, you will enjoy the atmosphere of a drinking establishment that is lit just right and has that old time feel.
The brick walls, in like most all of the bars and taverns here in Fort Collins, are a very nice touch and lend a feeling of history.
With a couch next to the fireplace in the back of the saloon, you can relax with your favorite libation and or person for a nice comfortable conversation. Everything in Lucky Joe's is done up right and is another of my go to places when I visit here.
The saloon is decorated in your classic pub-style decor including beer signs and old bottles but there were a few things I found most interesting. I loved the photo above. It's a great shot of Linden Street in Fort Cooling in 1904. Below is the original stained glass when the saloon was known as the Old Town Ale House.
Lucky Joe's has been at this location since 1995, and speaking with manager Patrick Kiza who had been there for 10 years at the time, explained to me that the back bar was built in Nebraska.
The most interesting piece I found at the bar was actually in the bar! About 8 feet from the end of the bar in an imprint of a lady playing what looks to be a harp. Patrick had no explanation for it but it was fascinating non the less. 
Patrick pictured here with Elizabeth the bartender. Thanks to both of them for making me feel at home while I was there.New Belgium Brewing
500 Linden
Fort Collins, Colorado 80524500 Linden
The first time I had a Fat Tire Amber Ale, I knew that this was to be a brewery that was going to have to be reckoned with! When I started writing about my favorite bars and taverns and micro breweries, New Belgium was tops on my list of those micro breweries. So the very first time I visited their brewery, Jeff Lebesch and his wife Kim Jordan had already moved into their current location in 1995. I took the tour and tasted the samples of their absolutely awesome Belgian-style beers. My biggest regret was not knowing about New Belgium Brewing until then because if I could have chronicled the brewery from it's start until today, it would have made for a great piece. Luckily though, I got a chance to see this brewery grow, and I mean GROW! There is just so much to tell about this fascinating brewery, but for the sake of time here is the condensed version. Jeff was an electrical engineer and homebrewer and loved to take trips to Belgium to learn the art of Belgian brewing. He did this while biking his way around Europe. Kim was a social worker and together in 1990 started a basement brewing operation in their home that would soon explode into one of the most popular micro breweries in Colorado. Brewing their first 2 beers, Fat Tire and Abbey. Fat Tire is most popular, and Amber Ale named for Jeff's bike trips through Belgium. The Abbey is a brown dubbel very complex yet very satisfying. This has won more awards than any of their beers. Within 2 years, their 8 1/2 barrel system, which produced little below 1,000 barrels in 1992. It was the second brewery in Fort Collins, Odell Brewing Company was the first. Kim and Jeff bottled the beer and with the help of their young son Zack helping with the bottling, Kim would deliver the beer to their accounts in the family station wagon. While the basement brewing system began to burst, they opened a second locationin a railroad depot before finally moving into their current location on Linden Street. My personal guided tour was led by Bryan Simpson,Media Relations Director for New Belgium (shown above) and we had a great time. As you can see, everyone here is pretty laid back and their work, well it really isn't work. Every employee loves their job and you can see it as you walk around the brewery. Most of all, I was stunned to see the expansion! As we made our way upstairs, there is another bar handing out samples along the tour and everything is just done up so well.The fermenters. Second floor, top of the brew kettles. This is just to give you an idea of how large the brew kettles are. These extend down to the 1st floor.Because of the expansion, they built a whole new building just for their bottling. And it is a huge facility for a micro brewery. Some of the art, New Belgium bottles converted into lighting in the bottling facility.Part of the bottling line. I just want to add that besides being a completely green company involved in the reduction of greenhouse gasses, keeping healthy watersheds by only using four barrels of water to produce one barrel of beer. That may sound like a lot but the larger industries use more water. They even built their own water treatment facility in 2002. There is more to what New Belgium has done to help maintain a healthy environment and I encourage you to go to www.newbelgium.com to learn more. The other thing that I think is vital in maintaining a healthy work environment is your employees and New belgium does something that a lot of companies don't. and they are impressive. Once you have worked for one year, you recieve a fat-tire cruiser bike and ownership, sharing 32%. After 5 years of employment, Jeff and Kim take these employees to Belgium to tour the breweries.
