We got into Breckenridge, CO a little after 2 p.m. after taking a very scenic drive down from Steamboat Springs earlier in the day. Actually, we had planned to stop in Vail for lunch, but the town was literally shut down due to a bicycle criterium that was going on that particular day. (We thought it was strange to shut the main exits into Vail down for a mid-week bike race.) We soldiered on to Frisco, stopped there for a moment, then headed down to Breckenridge. Going along the main drag through town, we were somewhat horrified to see a number of stores and restaurants that seemed to cater to tourists. But at the end of the strip, we found something that I wanted to try - the brewpub for the Breckenridge Brewery.
In the late 70's and into the 80's, Richard Squire was a Rocky Mountain ski bum, but a renaissance kind of ski bum. By day, he was flying down the mountain runs of Colorado and Utah, but at night, he would brew beers that he'd share with his friends. While living in Breckenridge in the 80's, Squire came up with an Amber Ale that his friends thought was outstanding. Laws were changing in Colorado allowing for on-site sale of brewed beers and a couple of brewpubs had already opened in the state and Squire thought the might like to do something in Breckenridge. Encouraged by friends and family, Squire - along with two partners, Ed Cercovnik and Todd Usry - found a building in Breckenridge where he opened the Breckenridge Brewery in February of 1990 as - they claimed - the third microbrewery to open in Colorado. (CooperSmith's in Fort Collins may dispute this - as would Odell Brewing Co. - which claim to be the 3rd and 4th microbreweries to open in Colorado after they both opened days apart in November of 1990.)
From the start, Squire wanted his beers and food he served to be fresh and innovative. Quality ingredients in both were a key to his rapidly growing reputation for having some good beers and equally good food. Weekenders and vacationers to Breckenridge helped fuel the popularity of Squire's beers so much that in 1992 he and his partners opened a bottling operation in downtown Denver - the first microbrewery to do so in the state of Colorado. By 1996, Breckenridge had grown out of their first Denver facility and moved a couple miles south into a new brewing facility.
Squire was initially helped in his venture by a Denver lawyer, Ed Cerkovnik. Cerkovnik had been practicing law in Denver since 1984, but ended up quitting his law firm in 1994 to oversee Breckenridge Brewing's rapidly growing business. And one of Squire's first employees was a young delivery driver by the name of Todd Usry. Usry eventually worked his way up through the company to become the Director of Brewing at Breckenridge.
In 2010, Breckenridge Brewing Co. and the Wynkoop Brewing Co. merged their holdings in both breweries and restaurant properties under one umbrella - orchestrated by Cerkovnik whose specialty during his legal days were corporate mergers. Between Breckenridge and Wynkoop, they were the 50th largest craft brewer in the nation - eventually distributing in 35 states - and they had nearly a dozen restaurants that they ran in Colorado.
As the Breckenridge and Wynkoop cooperative grew, Squire took more of a backseat in the day-to-day operations. Usry had been the Director of Brewing for awhile and he announced that the company was going to open a large brewing facility in the Denver suburb of Littleton. That facility opened in May of 2015 and was situated on 12 acres of land along the South Platte River. It also featured the Farm House restaurant which became a popular destination for food and beer in the Denver area.
When the Littleton facility was opened, the new facility had the capability of doubling the annual output of beers and poised Breckenridge to be distributed across the continental U.S. But not all the partners of the Breckenridge/Wynkoop joint venture were on board with the growth spurt they saw in the future. That's when The High End - Anheuser-Busch/InBev's craft beer acquisition group - came calling with an offer. In early 2016, Breckenridge Brewery was sold to A-B/InBev for an undisclosed amount. The High End was just interested in the Breckenridge Brewery and the original brewpub in Breckenridge. Breckenridge/Wynkoop kept hold of its restaurant/brewpub properties which include one of my favorite - if not my favorite - burger joint, The Cherry Cricket in Denver.
Located on S. Main in a building with a brick facade, a small second story terrace and a patio off to the side, we pulled into the small parking lot at Breckenridge Brewery. (see map) We were lucky to find one spot open and after maneuvering into the tight spot we went inside the restaurant. We wondered how bad it would have been to find parking in the area during the lunch or dinner rush.
Inside, we were greeted by a hostess at a front counter that featured a lot of Breckenridge Brewery swag and tchotchkes for sale along with shelves of t-shirts behind the counter. The main bar area was to the left and featured large tanks behind the corrugated metal-faced bar. There was a step up area that led to the outside patio and a small room off to the side of the bar.
We were seated in that small room at a table in the middle of the room and given food menus to look through. Our server for the meal, a young lady by the name of Teresa who was pretty neutral with her personality came over to greet us. She asked us what we wanted to drink and we told her we needed a minute on that.
So, here's a full disclosure - I've never been that big of a Breckenridge beer fan. Their original Avalanche Amber Ale is good, but it doesn't really trip my trigger. Their Vanilla Porter is very popular, but I don't like porters all that much and I definitely don't like vanilla in my beer. However, to our surprise, they had beers from other craft breweries available - most, if not all, were owned by the same High End craft beer section of Anheuser-Busch/InBev. My wife and I each got an Omission pale ale, part of the Craft Brew Alliance that includes breweries such as Kona, Redhook, and Widmer Brothers that A-B bought 1/3 of their shares in 2010.
The food selection at the Breckenridge Brewery wasn't all that extensive, but they had burgers, sandwiches, salads, appetizers and some hearty food items to choose from. (Entrees such as a beef tenderloin filet, pork chops and pesto gnocchi are available after 4 p.m.) I thought about getting the Las Vegas burger that was topped with Swiss cheese, smoked bacon, an avocado slice, and onion strings. The reuben was also enticing, as was the steak melt sandwich that was topped with provolone cheese with sautéed mushrooms and onions. I really didn't know what I wanted.
My wife got the smoked salmon that was served on a bed of fresh spinach along with pecans, dried cranberries and goat cheese. Grilled asparagus was also included in the salad. She had her choice of dressings and she ended up with the balsamic vinaigrette.
My eyes kept wandering back to a part of the menu that featured their larger portion "Brewhouse Favorites". Something in that group piqued my interest - the elk meat loaf. I'm always sort of enamored with elk meat since our trip to Estes Park a few years back and I thought I'd give it a try. It featured two large slabs of elk meat loaf on a bed of mashed potatoes topped with onion straws and a brown stout gravy.
Elk meat is pretty lean and can be sort of tasteless. I'm sure that if it's baked in an oven, pretty much all the moisture that is in it can be cooked out. Chopped portobello mushrooms and ground bacon were mixed in with the meat loaf and it was glazed with chipotle-berry concoction to give it a bit more flavor. It appeared that the slabs were lightly grilled, as well. But honestly, it didn't help. It's not that it was bad, to me it was just all right. I just felt it was lacking a bit in the overall flavor.
My wife's smoked salmon was - she thought - very good. It was a large smoked salmon filet that had a smoky outer shell with tender and moist salmon underneath. We traded bites of the elk meat loaf and the smoked salmon and, as it always nearly happens, the ordered the better of the two choices.
The portions were also huge. There was no way that I was going to get through two slabs of the elk meat loaf along with the onion straws and the mashed potatoes. My wife left a lot of greens in her bowl as she concentrated more on the tasty smoked salmon. When Teresa came around to ask if we wanted boxes, we declined. Actually, even if we weren't traveling, I probably wouldn't have taken the rest of the elk meat loaf.
So, that was our visit to the original Breckenridge Brewery. Portions were large, the service was neutral and efficient, atmosphere was the typical Colorado laid-back experience. Parking was challenging, especially for the size of the place coupled with patio seating. I know people really like the beers at Breckenridge Brewery, but I haven't been a big fan of them over the years. Even though Breckenridge Brewery is now owned by a large corporate entity, it was still a nice place with above average food and a good Colorado brew pub vibe.