Located about 45 min north of Denver in Longmont, stands Left Hand Brewery. Of the plethora of breweries in Colorado, Left Hand was at the top of my list to tour and they did not disappoint.
When you first walk in you enter the tasting room. Unlike Texas, in Colorado you can buy beer directly from the brewery. So unfortunately, you don’t get free beer like we do on our brewery tours. This was the one downside of Colorado’s laws. But all their beers were priced $3 – $5, which is very reasonable considering its craft beer. And the tour was free. And the tasting room is open week long, so you can just go hang out and get a cheap craft beer anytime you want. So overall not a bad deal.
I got the Wake Up Dead Russian Imperial Stout. It was dark, very complex, and with 10.2% ABV, it had a significant burn. Definitely a sipper, but a great brew none the less. Mrs. Suit got the Good Juju ginger beer. Unlike the ginger beers you might have tried before, this was an actual “beer” coming in at 4.5% ABV. This was very refreshing. The ginger added a unique but welcome taste.
With our glasses filled, we took the tour. It was a small group of only about 6 people, much more enjoyable and intimate than the hundreds on a St Arnold‘s tour. We put our safety glasses on and first learned some history.
Left Hand started back in 1993 as Indian Peaks Brewing Company. Later they found out the name was already being used so they changed to Left Hand in honor of an Indian chief from the area. Actually there are several things in the area named “Left Hand” such as parks and roads. Fun tour fact 1: they are legally still called Indian Peaks Brewing but do business as Left Hand.
Left Hand was very different than any brewery I’d been to before in Texas. First, it’s not in a giant warehouse. It’s a small wooden building surrounded by other small buildings and giant fermenters outside. We went from room to room seeing the different processes. Fun tour fact 2: the brewery was converted from an old meat packing plant, which made the layout make more sense. Fun tour fact 3: There’s a disco ball hanging in the brewing room. Apparently it gets too loud to hear timer alarm, so when something needs attention, they flip a switch and the place lights up alerting the brewer.
The tour ended at the bottling station, and we got to have a free beer right off the line that didn’t cap right. Overall, a very enjoyable experience. Good beer, friendly people, and not crowded. That’s all I require in a brewery.