I was so excited about the opening of River North Brewery, just 2 blocks from my loft. I stopped by over the weekend to check it out during their grand opening.
The taproom is quite small, with around 6-8 barstools and about 5-6 tables. It’s a nice little space but was overly crowded. I’m not sure if it was only because it was opening weekend or if this will be the case every day. River North had 4 beers on tap: a Belgian Wit, a Saison, a Belgian Pale, and a Black IPA. All beers are served in plastic cups, which was a huge turn-off. As I’m not a fan of Belgian beers, I decided to go with the Black IPA. Well, that too was a Belgian style though there was no indication of it on the menu. It wasn’t bad, but I did not care much for it since it was obviously made with Belgian yeast. I am disappointed in this new brewery, as it seems they are most likely not going to brew anything that doesn’t use Belgian yeast. But I will keep checking in to see if they add anything new to the lineup. I hear they might try a Double IPA in the near future. As a hop-lover, I have high hopes for the Double IPA…but we’ll see.
I don’t think I’ll be spending much time at River North. But I would definitely recommend trying it out, if you enjoy Belgians. I think they make a quality beer–just not my style. I’m always happy to see new little breweries in Denver, so stop by and have a beer…you might love it.
UPDATE: They are now serving beer in actual pint glasses.
Colorado Beer Girl 
On opening night, serving your beer in plastic cups makes a lot of sense. less time spent on washing glasses and more time spent on serving customers…
Honestly, shouldn’t the beer be more of your focus than the service container? What are your feelings on cans?
Though plastic cups was in my title, I only wrote one sentence about it in the actual post (and then added an update about it). I do not find it personally enjoyable to drink quality beer out of plastic, so I merely shared my opinion.
I prefer draught beer in a glass or drinking from a bottle. I normally pour beer that comes in cans.
Thanks for the post!
You could have led with the part about how you think we make quality beer! (even if it is Belgian-style) Ouch! We assure you we are serving in glass now 🙂
@River North Brewery:
Sorry! First impressions are very important, and the first two things I noticed were the cups and that all the beers were Belgians. I did not expect for 100% of them to be Belgian style when I heard about a new brewery in the neighborhood.
Since this is my personal blog I try to be as honest as I can without being too harsh. I updated my title though, just for you!
We are neighbors after all. Stop by again for a pint and our beers may grow on you 🙂
Cheers,
Matt