Read about our stay in Cortez here!

MAIN STREET BREWERY AND RESTAURANT (Cortez)

Where do I start with this unfortunate place? The brewery is set in a grand old bar in an early 1900’s building, but it’s somehow quiet and depressing in there, with a boring variety of country music playing softly while we were there.  The food menu is laminated and too colorful, with too many (>0) pictures of the food they serve.

They’ve been brewing on location for 21 years, but we also weren’t taken with any of the beers. They had a Mango Pale Ale that Lauren somewhat liked, but she likes mango juice and beer and found what seemed like a 50/50 combo of the two enjoyable enough.

There’s a chance I’m not being fair, although that’s probably not the case. As a caveat against my negativity, I’ll note that they were out of their IPA when we were there; that never helps.

MANCOS BREWING COMPANY (Mancos)

Mancos Brewing Co comes across as a small, family run brewery in a little town just outside of Mesa Verde National Park. It’s a cozy spot, with seating for just 16 indoors, including a small 5-seat bar, housed in a former cabinet shop.

They opened their doors about 18 months ago, fronted by a head brewer who got his start at Moab Brewing Company. I was disappointed to find that they don’t brew a true American-style IPA or other hop-head beer, but we did like the Gold Lite Ale quite a bit, although that’s not normally my style.

They brew only six beers–with no seasonal offerings, at least when we were there–and they sell their beer for off-site consumption in 22 ounce bottles. They don’t have much distribution, but Mesa Verde National Park, known for its ancient Native American cliff dwellings, now sells Mancos’s Cliff Dweller Red Ale. Incidentally, Lauren and I don’t typically like Red Ales, but the saison hops in this one gave it a pleasant taste.

They also have a small food menu that is comprised mostly of sandwiches.