I am not even ten reviews deep into The Denver Hopper project, and already, I am burdened with a need to shit on a brewery. I didn’t think it would come this fast. It was bound to happen in an imperfect world. But what is a boy to do when he is being optimistic about the places he goes and gets rowdy at? Fortunately, my hymen-breaking, public hating of a bar is a corporate brewery with a new stronghold in a place where it shouldn’t even exist. Out on the far side of the RiNo District is a new compound for the world famous Blue Moon Brewing Company and if you can I would avoid like syphilis and asbestos.
Maybe those words are unfashionably harsh and unprofessional but our service was handled in a similar manner. Looking around the place you would expect to be blown away by the experience. The aesthetics of the building off 38th and Chestnut are quite stunning. They have booths inside of giant concrete pipes with fancy lighting everywhere. It is a scene straight out Martha Stewart’s wet dream. But those things don’t bring the patron drinks or food in a timely manner. They also don’t hide the beers overwhelming, run of the mill, mass production, papier-mâché-like-taste. I was parched and a few friends were hungry and we were made wait.
Our first beers took 15 minutes to arrive and the hungry folks in our group ordered food. The staff was friendly but everything moved at a snail’s pace. Blue Moon Brewing Company had only been open for a week when we made our visit but that should mean they are even more attentive. I blame the management for this. They should have been helping out and maybe offering free beers after a person in our group didn’t get the food with the rest and he waited another 15 or 20 minutes. Over the top customer service strikes me as essential when a business is just starting.
The beers we had were unremarkable. I will drink Blue Moon’s Belgian White from time to time if it’s a hot day and the options are slim. But I presume the bar is a flagship of the Blue Moon brand and it let us all down. If you must, I would try the un-inspired West Coast IPA. It was drinkable.
There was no character to anything we experienced at Blue Moon Brewing Company’s RiNo headquarters. It’s was like going to a Denny’s but now they have beer,fancy lights and a corporate banquet hall. The beer was priced as if they were a brewery based out someone’s house. All the interesting parts of Blue Moon burned off long ago when I discovered better beer with more character. It’s like your friend who turned into another person once they found a lover and now they never call or try to maintain a friendship. Nothing I experienced was worth remembering except to warn my fellow Denver Hoppers. I don’t recommend you visit Blue Moon Brewing Company in RiNo. It’s not my cup of tea or glass of beer or really anything at all.
Blue Moon Brewing Company
Website: bluemoonbrewingcompany.com
Address: 3750 Chestnut Pl, Denver, CO 80216