Grist Brewing Company
The Grist really is everything that you could ever want out of a Colorado brewery. They have three locations, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, and Sterling Ranch but my focus is on the Lone Tree location. When you walk into this place it’s almost like you’re in the Alice and Wonderland of beer! Their walls are adorned with custom paintings and art that helps set the ambiance of a borderline spiritual experience, but in a non-Pagan kind of way- I’m Catholic don’t freak out. The alter- (cough) I mean bar, is the center of attention quite literally because it’s in the middle of the room and is lit up with light fixtures that are actually sculptures! Stay with me here, I haven’t even got to the beer yet! Ahh yes the beer, my favorite is the Sucker Punch Sour which you have the option of mixing with your choice of syrup. You read that correctly, syrup! When I first saw people putting syrup in beer I was instantly perplexed- straight gobsmacked! I thought to myself, “What kind of flowery, pansy feline Tom foolery is this!?”. Then I tasted it- first the Sucker Punch Sour mixed with ginger lime syrup hit my palate in pure ecstasy explosion of flavor, almost simultaneously my own outstretched hand hit my awestruck face for not knowing about this before! It’s delicious and it turns out the Germans have been doing it way before I was just an itch in the seat of my great-great-grand-daddy’s pants! As it turns out, traditionally the Germans would mix a Waldmeistersirup (Woodruff syrup extract) or Himbeersirup (Rasberry syrup extract) in with Berliner Weisse to even out the bitterness! So this is a bit more common than one fella would expect! The more you know right? Anyway this isn’t all Grist has to offer, they have a variety of brews that are all pretty good and they even make beer cocktails which I have yet to try! I stick to the Sucker Punch Sour whenever I’m there since it’s my favorite. They have basic fares like pizza that you can order but I would recommend ordering in food from the nearby Grillin Wings & Things or the Rio especially because its attached next door. Bringing in you own food isn’t frowned upon here so don’t worry! Also this place is dog friendly if your dog is people friendly, so that’s pretty hard to beat!