Bicyclists complete 48-hour Fort Collins craft beer tour

Craft beer drinking buddies Stephen Adams and Soren Nicholson recently made a bucket list journey.

The pair celebrated Nicholson’s birthday by sampling beer at every Fort Collins brewery taproom within 48 hours, starting Sept. 22 and wrapping up Sept. 24.

Adams, who lives in Denver and operates a blog called Colorado Craft Beer Geek, and Nicholson, who resides in Fort Collins, planned out the approximately 30-mile route ahead of time. 

They biked to all but one of the 19 stops — they drove to D.C. Oakes Brewhouse & Eatery on the southeast side of town. They tried a flight at each stop, sampling 125 beers throughout the journey.

They didn't go to C.B. & Potts or Soul Squared Brewing because, while both have Fort Collins breweries, those sites don’t currently have taprooms open to the public.

“When I come up to Fort Collins, it is hard to pick which brewery to go to,” said Adams, who lives in Denver. “I always want to do them all.”

Adams' blog tracks new brewery openings across the state. He claims to have visited every Colorado craft brewery and typically visits new locations within a few weeks of when they open.

Adams has more than 6,000 unique check-ins on the beer drinker app Untappd. He recently published a blog entry about the bike tour.

“I have long enjoyed good beer,” Adams said. “After years of traveling to breweries casually, it became my passion.”

Follow Jacob Laxen on Twitter and Instagram @jacoblaxen.

48-hour Fort Collins brewery bike tour 

Friday

1. Maxline Brewing Co. at 2724 McClelland Drive

2. Purpose Brewing & Cellars at 4025 S. Mason St.

3. Zwei Brewing Co. at 4612 S. Mason St.

4. Gilded Goat Brewing Co. at 3500 S. College Ave.

5. Rally King Brewing Co. at 1624 S. Lemay Ave.

Saturday

6. D.C. Oakes Brewhouse & Eatery at 3581 E. Harmony Road

7. Jessup Farm Barrel House at 1921 Jessup Drive

8. Funkwerks at 1900 E. Lincoln Ave. 

9. Horse & Dragon Brewing Co. at 124 Racquette Drive 

10. Snowbank Brewing Co. at 225 N. Lemay Ave.

11. Odell Brewing Co. at 800 E. Lincoln Ave.

12. New Belgium Brewing Co. at 500 Linden St.

13. Equinox Brewing Co. at 133 Remington St.

14. Coopersmith's Pub & Brewing at 5 Old Town Square

Sunday

15. Black Bottle Brewery at 1611 S. College Ave.

16. Pitcher's Brewery at 1100 W. Drake Road

17. Intersect Brewing Co. at 2160 W. Drake Road

18. McCllelan's Brewing Co. at 1035 S. Taft Hill Road

19. Three Four Beer Co. at 829 S. Shields St.