Every summer our family drove a long road trip out to Lake Michigan to visit the Grandparents. I would stare out the car window or read an atlas while waiting for my Game Gear batteries to recharge. This left my mind to wander and I’d impatiently think about the glory that would be there for me once we arrived at Grandma’s House – chocolate chip cookies, all forms of home cooking, 70’s furniture, knickknacks on every shelf, the nostalgia of a young life and the inexplicable feeling of being home even though I was far from it. These are experiences that I know I will never have in the same way as in those golden years. But now I know that I can get close, at least in some capacity, at in local Denver Brewery coincidently named Grandma’s House.
We sat on a well-worn couch, in front of an old wood panel Magnavox TV and sipped on a few beers. I started off with the easy drinking Vienna lager called Gringazo. Mario Kart was set up on a big flat screen mounted above. I swear the sentimentality pumped out from the heating vents into the room.
I found it hard to hear my friend because it was BINGO night. Folks were fired up and half drunk. The buzz of a good BINGO game is insatiable. “15! The next number it 15!” Yelled the man running the show. But we decided not to play in order to focus on our conversation and take in the ambiance. We discussed my review of Grandma’s House, the crazy election/circus and other pertinent aspects of modern life.
I can remember those summers nights spent in Wisconsin where I listened to my parent’s debate the merits of a different Clinton running for President. Those felt like simpler times but with everything has relative magnitude depending on your age. Those were flash-in-the-pan-memories that I find important just like my visit to Grandma’s House.
Grandma’s House is a collective brewery and allows other brewers to chip in. I don’t know who created their Five on Rye IPA, but I thoroughly enjoyed the rye finish while I listened to the small crowd hustle and bustle as numbers were yelled out. “34! The next number is 34!” The bar room was filled with rocking chairs and throw rugs and ugly lamps. It teetered on the line between cramped and cozy. But all the aesthetics were on point.
My experience at Grandma’s House wasn’t quite the same as those fading star type nights on Lake Michigan. I didn’t get any cookies or home cooking. There weren’t any Grandma hugs. But I assume with enough alcohol involved that bear hugs would ultimately ensue. What I did get was delicious beer in a comfortable atmosphere and that’s really all I ask for these days. If my Grandma was alive today I think she would approve of Grandma’s House on South Broadway as a substitution place of refuge in a life going too goddamn fast to hold on to.
Grandma’s House
Website: grandmasbeer.co
Address: 1710 South Broadway, Denver, CO 80210