The Coors Brewery Review

Welcome sign at the bus pick-up/drop-off area

Almost five years ago to the month (June 2006) I visited my first brewery as part of my very first cross-country road trip.  The Coors brand had (and has) always held a certain mystique for me: it's something I have always associated strongly with my father and, I suppose, it is something that I identified with "the west" and Colorado in particular.  I had long since imbued both places with an aura of destiny, knowing full well that, someday, I would make my way out to both.  My father had spent some years out there in his twenties and so taking a journey out to Colorado and points west represented an opportunity for me to follow in his long-dusted over footprints: a moment to catch up with his past at some point in my future.

Intermingling temporal presences aside, I knew that the Coors brewery was located somewhere near Denver and, since we would be spending some time there during our road trip, my wife (then-girlfriend) and I were both looking forward to visiting it.  The story surrounding our visit to the Coors brewery is deserving of an entry unto itself but I would rather focus instead on solely our experience at and assessment of the Coors brewery.  Suffice to say, only ninety minutes prior to arriving at the Coors brewing facility, I was driving down a 14,000 foot mountain peak with no brakes (from the 10,000 foot mark to the 7,000 foot point near I-70).  Having just hiked to the top of the peak (Mt. Evans) from the parking lot near the summit, I was feeling the effects of heavy altitude sickness while trying to navigate a roadway wide enough for exactly 1.5 vehicles with a four or five-thousand foot drop to my immediate right (guardrails?  Ha!).  The view from the top was spectacular and well-worth it:

Me feeling like I am sitting atop the world
at the peak of Mt. Evans in Colorado, June 2006

Now, on to the the review!

Free shuttle bus pick up/drop off area

The Coors brewing facility is located in Golden, Colorado, just a stone's throw outside of Denver.  (Please note that I will offer suggestions for other things to see and do within a reasonable driving distance of the brewery at the conclusion of this review.)  Golden is quite easy to reach from I-70 (the major east/west highway that cuts across Colorado) and the brewery, itself, is easily located once in Golden. Both the tour AND parking are completely free and, on top of that, you receive free transportation from the parking lot to the actual facility (saving you a lengthy walk in the process).  When we arrived there was a lengthy line (not shown in the right-hand photo) waiting for the bus but the duration of the wait was quite brief; apparently there was just a very large number of people visiting the facility that day (and, I would imagine, every day in the summer--free beer!?)

Upon arriving at the actual facility, you will find a number of great photo-ops available, particularly in front of a giant copper mash tun:

Two happy campers with bellies full of free Coors beer!

Once inside the brewery, a friendly staff member will assist you with signing up for a tour.  They run numerous ones throughout the day from Thursday through Monday, so, as long as you arrive somewhat early on any of those days, obtaining a spot on a tour shouldn't be too difficult.  Tours, themselves, are differentiated by different brands of beers brewed by Coors.  So, instead of being on the "three o'clock" tour, you might be on the "Coors Light" tour or the "Coors Original" tour like my wife and I wound up on.  The tours themselves are exactly the same regardless of the beer label you are handed; said labels are used simply as a creative way of designating the different tours, making use of otherwise useless items, and, depending upon the person taking the tour, they represent a cheap souvenir!

While you wait for your tour to begin, you can peruse a variety of exhibits that are set up in the lobby many of which feature old photos or unique artifacts of Coors Americana.  I was surprised to find that Coors--at one point in its history--made malted milk.  The railroad has been an integral component of the Coors brewing process as it served both to bring in raw materials and to transport finished goods to all-points beyond Golden.

The tour itself was relatively brief but very informative.  Aside from the very knowledgeable tour guide, a wealth of information could be obtained from numerous and often extensive visual displays ranging from short films to photo exhibits with physical representations of the objects discussed (as seen below in the first photograph).

Hands-on exhibit featuring some of the critical ingredients in
the beer-making process

One of the numerous informative exhibits

The tour guide would stop at predetermined locations throughout the brewing facility to provide some oral history about the Coors brewing company, Golden, Colorado, and other relevant people and places.  Often there would be an interactive display that would either play a brief film further illustrating the guide's point(s) or display a Powerpoint-esque presentation that would add a visual element to what was being said.  Generally, the tour guide's information as well as the opportunity to ask questions would be given during these sessile moments of the tour.

As everything is located in one facility, you can really see a wide variety of places that are all critical in the brewing process, including the mash tun area and the quality control office (which reminds me of "Mission Control" for NASA!). 

Copper tuns

Houston...we have a problem...we're out of beer!

At the conclusion of the tour, all participants are invited to enter the Coors Lounge where free samples of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages can be enjoyed.  If memory serves me correct, at the time of our tour, my wife and I were given tokens for three eight or ten ounce samples of whatever beers they happened to have on draft that day.  I know that a variety of soda was available, all of which were Pepsi (I believe) which had a contract deal to work in conjunction with Coors.  The Lounge itself was a great place to enjoy said free brews in the company of friends who came along for the tour or perhaps new friends that you made along the way.  A large amount of seating is available in the spacious and inviting room and there is a lot to take in (mostly in the form of neon signs representing the various brands under the Coors (now Miller-Coors) umbrella).


 

One of my free samples

Drinking a Coors Light under the
appropriate neon sign

Guess what I'm drinking here!!

Yes, I really DID move under each sign
depending up on what I was drinking!

After the tasting lounge, you are invited to visit the gift shop, which is AMAZING; there was an incredible array of items for sale when we went.  I believe we actually began our pint glass collection at the Coors facility but I could be wrong.  Either way, there's a Coors Light glass in the collection!

??????

Finally, this particular location photographed above has an interesting history all its own and was covered during the tour (said history pertains specifically to the Coors brewery location).  See if you can discover its importance on your OWN tour to the brewery!


GRADING

I give the Coors Brewery Tour an A+ because of its cost (it's free), its scope (it encompasses a HUGE amount of history and information), its generosity (almost two free pints per person), its great assortment of souvenirs in its gift shop, and, finally, its BEAUTIFUL location.  This brewery comes HIGHLY recommended!


BEERS SAMPLED ON THE TOUR
Coors Light
Coors Original
Blue Moon Belgian White
Killian's Irish Red


WHAT ELSE TO DO IN THE AREA

The city of Golden (in which the brewery is located) is a cute, quintessential western town that is TOTALLY worthy of exploration in its own right.  When we were there, my wife and I were on a pretty tight schedule as we had visited the 14,000 foot mountain in the morning, the brewery in the early afternoon, and we were then heading to dinner further east before attending a Colorado Rockies game.  Unfortunately, we were unable to give Golden a full looking over but perhaps on a return visit.

Without further ado, though, here is a list of places I would suggest visiting or things I would recommend doing in conjunction with visiting the Coors brewery:

--Explore the city of Golden, Colorado

--Take the scenic drive to Mt. Evans / Echo Lake about 30-60 minutes west

--Visit Buffalo Bill's grave (along I-70)

--Attend a Colorado Rockies game in Denver

--Have dinner at Historic El Rancho and try the Rabbit & Rattlesnake sausage! (http://www.historicelrancho.com/dinner.htm)

--Otherwise just enjoy the splendor that is the Rocky Mountains and the great state of Colorado!


--Beer Whisperer Matt


For further up-to-date information on the tour or about Coors brewing in general, follow this link:

http://www.millercoors.com/golden-brewery-tour.aspx