The first brewpub me and Mrs. Suit hit up in Colorado was Phantom Canyon Brewing Company. It sits smack in the middle of downtown Colorado Springs in a cool looking old building. We were there somewhat early for dinner and the place was empty except for a few people at the bar… and the full brewery in the corner.
Our main reason for coming early was to catch their amazing happy hour: $2.75 pints of their craft brew, 3 to 6 pm and 10 pm until close everyday. You can’t beat that deal. Food was great and service was friendly, but this is HBR so I will get to the beers.
First beers we got were the Streamliner IPA and the Hefeweizen. The Streamliner was a strong IPA with a distinct sweetness to it. The Hefeweizen was strong on the banana, very similar to Karbach’s Weisse Versa. After dinner we got the Crosscut Wood-aged Ale and Jebus Braggot. These were strong, sipping beers. The Crosscut is a dark ale aged in whiskey barrels. It had very complex flavors ranging from dried fruit to bourbon. The Jebus was a mix between a beer and mead. It was very thick and sweet, having a distinct honey flavor. Overall, all 4 beers we tried here were very good and I would recommend them all.
Coming from Houston, home of zero brewpubs, this was quite the experience. It’s pretty cool to sit and eat dinner next to the fermenters your beer came out of. Happy hour was really good too. Most happy hours in Houston knock a buck off $6 pints of Bud Light. This place had house-made craft brews for $2.75. And more importantly, the staff was also fully aware of their happy hour – something you often have to fight for in Houston. They even warned my wife we she ordered the Jebus that since it was a 10% speacialty brew, it would cost more… and by more they meant a mere $4.50. You order something that strong in Houston and it will cost you $10 a pint!
More Colorado reviews are forthcoming, but this experience was pretty much repeated across the state. Our city could stand to learn a few things from here I think.