Platte River Ride

The recent springtime weather motivated me to take a short brewery ride and warm up for summer riding and patios. This 5.5 mile loop goes from Seedstock Brewing Company to Prost Brewing to Strange Craft and finally back to Seedstock but you could start at any of them and make the loop, and realistically a different sequence would let you put the uphill to Seedstock somewhere other than the end. All of the breweries are easily accessed from the Platte River Trail and there are also a number of light rail stops in the area for those who prefer not to drive.

Seedstock, on Colfax at Lowell, features a German- and Czech-heavy taplist. Expect to see Pilsners, Dunkels, and Bohemian beers along with a sprinkling of other beer styles for variety (including an IPA). Despite the randomness of the surrounding neighborhood the brewery feels very chill and has a good-sized patio that is nicely sheltered from Colfax. Aside from the beers, I didn’t find anything exceptional about Seedstock – just a good, solid place to kick back with a brew.

Leaving Seedstock, head south on Lowell for a couple blocks til it dead-ends at 13th, turn left and then go straight ahead for another couple of blocks into the park where you can pick up the Lakewood Gulch Trail. Five minutes on that and you’ll come to the Platte River where a left turn has you heading for REI. That’s where things get a little tricky due to the trail closure at REI. Cut through the REI parking lot to 15th & Platte (where you can stop at My Brother’s Bar for some solid refreshment if desired).  You then have two choices – 1) Take 15th over I25 and go right on Central (more traffic and street riding but easier to find) or 2) Take Platte half a block to the Highland Bridge on your left and go up & over I25 and then right on Central. Either way, right after the street curves left you’ll find Prost.

Prost is a relative oldster in the craft beer scene and has a well-deserved reputation for serving authentic German beers, and only German beers. They feature a consistent list of seven traditional beers and a rotating seasonal or two. The brewery has a large, if loud, indoor taproom but with the beautiful spring weather we found a table outside on the generous patio and enjoyed the sun and great view of downtown. As usual, the German beers tasted fantastic and Prost serves them in traditional German portions including ein Mass (a liter). The only disappointment was a missing food truck but some of our party walked across the park to Avanti for good eats. One caution, depending on when you’re reading this: the neighborhood is undergoing massive change including the closure of Prost’s parking lot last year. As such, you may run into unexpected detours or closures (a la the trail at REI) and find difficulty parking if you drive here.

Finally we headed off to Strange by simply retracing our route back to the Platte River Trail and then heading back south just past where we joined on the Lakewood Gulch Trail to turn left by the power plant onto 13th. Go one block east to Strange.

Strange’s signature beer is Cherry Kriek but the brewers make a diverse and always-changing lineup from IPAs to stouts to farmhouse and fruit. Although the menu is unpredictable it would take an awfully picky drinker to not find something to his or her liking. The taproom has a real community feel and it seems like lots of the customers are regulars and know each other and the bartenders. The only drawback is the small taproom, although in the warmer months an expansive beer garden out back provides a great hangout or place to play lawn games. Regardless of where you sit, I’ve always found Strange to be a comfortable place to kick back some interesting beers. They also have regular food trucks so if the ride has left you hungry now’s a great time for a snack.

Finally back to Seedstock. Essentially it  involves retracing your steps back to the Platte River Trail, going right for a few hundred feet then left on the Lakewood Gulch Trail and uphill to Seedstock.

Happy biking and drinking!