Wynkoop Brewing Company

Colorado's first brewpub, opened in 1988 in the J.S. Brown Mercantile building by a group of partners that included John Hickenlooper, later Denver's mayor and the state's governor. The beer helped kick-start Lower Downtown's revival, and the upstairs billiards hall still gives the place the feel of a working saloon rather than a monument. Start any Denver beer pilgrimage here — this is where the state's craft story begins.