If you go a few blocks north of Coors field, away from the bars that offer ladies night until midnight and frat boy hangouts you will find yourself in the River North Arts District of Denver.

Arguably one of my favorite neighborhoods in Denver; not only will you be amazed by the creative and colorful murals at every corner, but you will find an abundance of Breweries, Distilleries, and Quirky bars all within walking distance….or at least a quick scooter ride down the road.

In case you haven’t already gathered, I love this part of town so to make sure I give credit where credit is due and give you all the great recs of what to hit when you come to town, I will do a few volumes ensuring you will have all the info you could possibly need.

I get asked all the time where to go in Denver and I always start by saying head to River North and look for the multi colored building that is Our Mutual Friend. Known as OMF by the locals this is a great place to start if you’re looking to try some awesome NE England IPA’s, but you also want a mix of other styles as well. You will always find a nice selection available so you can have your light crushable Lagers as well as your dark roasty Stouts, and everything else in between. My suggestion is to grab yourself a flight so you can sample multiple styles and head outside to take in some Denver sunshine; and don’t forget to snap a quick #BeerSelfie with the colorful walls behind you.

**Pro tip: If you visit OMF on the weekend hit OwlBear for some great smoked meats and BBQ. But beware, you’ll want to go early, because like all great BBQ places, it tends to be sold out later in the day. Fellow Denver foodie Downtown Craft swears they have the best Brisket in town. If you head over to his website you can see the OwlBear Vlog which should get you in the mood for smoky, meaty goodness more than a vegetarian can try to write about it.

Walk literally a block over and you will find Ratio Beerworks where you can grab another beer and hangout on their awesome patio. These guys make some kick ass traditional IPA’s but also offer a variety, so you again you can find something for everyone. I’m not sure if they do flights here, as I tend to always grab a pint of whichever IPA is on draft, and rest assured I have always been extremely pleased with my selection. The nice thing about Ratio is that there’s plenty of space so you’ll be comfortable wherever you choose to settle down and enjoy your beer!

Directly across the street is a hip bar / space called Finn’s Manor. You will always find a killer tap list here, but they also excel are creating some delicious craft cocktails. While they don’t have a kitchen, multiple local food trucks call Finn’s home, so you can grab a Casey bottle or 3F to compliment your Poke bowl or Caribbean plate. If Poke is your thing you absolutely should not miss Stokes Poke, I blame these guys solely on my newfound Poke obsession and I’m not mad about it. The cool thing here is they usually have live music on the weekends. Last time we caught the music is was a sweet instrumental band, and I have to say that drummer was the man! Keep your eyes peeled because if there ever is any beer events in town (GABF) Finn’s always has amazing tap takeovers so you will not want to miss it!

Right next door to Finn’s is Odell Brewing’s Rino taphouse. I am sure many of you know of Odell as I believe they have some distribution out of state, but to me when I think of big Colorado breweries, I think of Odell. Of course everybody has heard of New Belgium, and ironically both breweries call the town of Fort Collins home, but to me, I feel like Odell is THE brewery of Colorado. So you can imagine my delight that they opened a Rino taphouse, and also a reason why you should add them to their list. The Rino taphouse is a gorgeous space, with wood paneled walls, and they also have a quaint little patio to enjoy in the summer time. The cool thing is that not only can you order staples brewed up in Fort Collins, but they also have specialty beers brewed right here in Rino. These beer can only be found here, so it is pretty cool that they have their own identity and creative license. And of course you must remember to take a pic with the beautiful hop drawing on the side of the building.

Well that is it for Rino Volume 1. Make sure to subscribe or at least check back soon because next time I am also including some must see Distilleries and Restaurants. That means there will be plenty more places you are going to want to add to your to do list for when you plan your next trip to Denver! Until next time…Cheers!