Pints Pub holds a special place in our hearts. Jeff and I visited Pints on our first date more than 13 years ago. After meeting at happy hour, I told Jeff I was pretty new to the area and hadn’t gotten out too much. He offered to take me out on the town, and that first night out we stopped at three Denver bars. Our first stop was at Heavenly Daze, which I think was actually a brewery at the time (fate!) but closed and has since been replaced by The Rackhouse. Next, we went to Soapy Smiths, a club that closed shortly after our visit and after changing hands a few times over is now housed by Euclid Hall. Our last stop that night was to Pints Pub, where we shared our first dinner together. I was so happy to visit and see that the place hasn’t changed a bit since our first visit, so long ago. It was seriously like stepping back in time to our early days. (Aw, pretty sappy stuff!)
Return to Pints Pub Brewery & Freehouse
We visited Pints on Saturday for a quick lunch and a few pints of beer before we met up with friends. We both had time for only one beer each, so we picked ones we knew we’d love. Jeff had the Lancer IPA. The Lancer is a live cask-aged ale from the hand pump, and like traditional English ales is served a little warmer than we’re used to in the U.S. The beer was a dark amber with a nice hop aroma but not much bitterness. The beer was full-bodied with a good dose of malty sweetness, not as strongly hopped as your traditional IPA. We both enjoyed it, but I could tell it wasn’t as hoppy as Jeff would have enjoyed. My beer was the Phonebox Red Ale, which they touted as their “everyman brew.” It was a deep red, with a butterscotch scent and sweet caramel malt flavor. It was delicious!
Food at Pints Pub is also very good. We both stuck to the Wimpy burgers, which were anything but wimpy! I had the L.A. Wimpy with dill Havarti cheese and avocado… so good! Jeff had the Blue Wimpy with blue cheese. Both were served with “chips” (fries) which I smothered in enough malt vinegar to make my eyes water! Yum!
Although we stuck to beer, I feel I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention that Pints Pub is probably better known for their extensive Whisky selection. They have hundreds of bottles of whiskey to choose from, adorning all around and above the bar. According to their menu, they offer the largest selection of whiskey outside of Britain (and I believe them!) They have various styles of whiskey, made in various regions. They have several bottles older than me, and many more outside my price range! I’m not a whiskey drinker myself, but seeing all the bottles makes me wonder what I’m missing out on by sticking to beer. There’s always next time!
Cheers!