Monday, August 01, 2011
A Great Beer Bar ClosesDenver beer aficionados got some sad news today, as Westword's Jonathan Shikes reported that Uptown Brothers Brewing has closed.
The bar just up the street from the Capitol never got the chance to live up to its brewing moniker, as owner Paul Lumbye was still readying to make his own beer. And that's a great shame, because if he was half the brewer that he was a beer buyer, it would have been a great product.
In a downtown scene increasingly filled with taphouses, Uptown Brothers made its mark with its unswerving loyalty to small and upcoming Colorado breweries. It was the place in town where you could most consistently find Black Fox or Asher Brewing beers, for instance. And just a week ago Saturday - my last visit to the bar - it was serving Crooked Stave and Renegade beers, before most people had heard those breweries were open.
Lumbye was always there with a smile and happy to talk beers, too. According to the Westword story, he's looking to try to sell Uptown Brothers to someone else who wants to continue the concept. I hope he does, for the sake of local beer lovers. But I also hope he finds his way back into this business somehow, for he deserves to have someone thank him for his dedication to local craft beer far longer than the 14 months we got to do that.
Labels: Uptown Brothers
