Brewer James Howat's background in microbiology allows him to tweak and tinker with time-tested recipes. The results are some of the best small-batch beers in Denver.

I love this place, just south of the old Gates rubber factory site, with a bar made from a repurposed airplane wing and terrariums on every table. And no TVs.

But the beer is the critical element at any small neighborhood brewery and Howat hits it out of the park with Prohibition-style cream ale, saisons, barrel-aged porters and stouts and all sorts of other beers that push the envelope.

James opened the brewery in Feb. 2014 with his wife, Sarah, and it quickly caught on with the locals in Platt Park. It's the first of five breweries slated to open by the end of the year on the south side of the city, and it's set a high bar for the ones that follow.

1290 S. Broadway, Denver
www.embracegoodtaste.com

After cutting his teeth home-brewing in his garage, Nick Nunns went pro and launched TRVE (metal-speak for “superlative”) in Denver's Baker neighborhood in summer 2012 with a novel funding concept. He sold $50 memberships that included a half-dozen growler fills and another half-dozen discounted growlers.

“There was an outpouring of support from the neighborhood,” says Nunns. “We sold out of 266 memberships in the first two days.”

The ploy staked TRVE with seed money to launch, and the brewer is now getting ready to offer 366 memberships for its second year. “We're already looking at expanding the brewhouse,” says Nunns, noting the taproom recently shut down on a Wednesday and Thursday. “Otherwise, we wouldn't have any beer for the weekend,” he explains.

“We like to think of ourselves as a bar that brews its own beer,” says Nunns. “We're just taking it one step at a time and focusing on brewing the best beer possible.”

227 Broadway, Denver
www.trvebrewing.com