Placing one of the former storage containers at The Barrel Boulder at the end of September

By Jennifer Pund
BOULDER
The Barrel is growing. The popular Estes Park craft beer, wine and spirits garden created from shipping containers is adding a second, similar location in Boulder at the Twenty Ninth Street Mall. Owners Ingrid and Lou Bush are “excited” to get moving on the project and plan to have a similar feel and atmosphere as the mountain location.

The couple didn’t go looking for the new opportunity, it came to them. “It just really happened organically. We didn’t approach them,” Ingrid explained. “They came to us and asked us. We started talking back in August of last year, and started rolling last September.”

According to Ingrid, mall management recognized the success of their Estes Park location and their knowledge of the business. “We just kept talking over the winter and finally pushed ahead about January, and then we got our liquor license approved June 15.” Since then, they’ve just been waiting to open, which is scheduled to occur in October.

“When you look at the plans, we are only a part of it,” Ingrid said. “Behind us they are going to put some big umbrellas and games like corn hole, cowboy golf and a couple other things out there. We are in the front portion of the plaza, so we get more of the view looking out to the foothills.”

The Boulder location will focus on hard-to-find brews. “Pretty much any tourist in Boulder has had a Fat Tire. They’ve had Left Hand Milk Stout,” Ingrid said. “Those are great beers, but we are looking for the ‘beer geek’ beer like ones that I’ve only heard about, I’ve only read about it.”

Photos courtesy The Barrel

At 50 taps, the Boulder location is slightly smaller than Estes Park, but will be more specialized. “We will have a few seasonals so people coming in that just want a beer—a 90 shilling or a Snapshot—we will have one of those on, but a lot of our taps will be dedicated to the higher-end beers… that only come once in a while.”

The couple are opening the Boulder Barrel following the success of their location on Elkhorn Avenue in Estes Park. “We have been highly successful. People love it,” Ingrid said. “People love the atmosphere. People really enjoy it, and in Colorado you want to be outdoors.

The Boulder location’s atmosphere, like in Estes Park, is open-air with community seating, umbrellas and bar stools. “High class, but laid back,” Ingrid said. Unlike in Estes Park, which closes for the season in October, the bar can open any day of the year, even in winter.

“We are excited,” Ingrid said. “I am excited to start bringing in some really beer geeky beers. We want to [bring our customers] the beers that no one else is drinking.”

The Barrel at Twenty Ninth Street Mall is located at 1710 29th St. in Boulder. Visit www.thebarrel.beer or find them on Facebook for more information.

The Barrel Estes Park is located at 116 E Elkhorn Ave. Find them on Facebook, too

Originally published in the October 2016 issue of the MMAC Monthly

LIVE MUSIC AT THE BARREL ESTES PARK
Saturday, Oct 1 2:30 – 5:30 pm Mike O’Connell
Saturday, Oct 1 6 – 5:30 pm Tony Arenas
Sunday, Oct 2 1 – 4 pm Romero Unplugged
Friday, Oct 7 5 – 8 pm Dahlby & Nadine
Saturday, Oct 8 12 – 3 pm Tony Arenas
Saturday, Oct 8 4 – 7 pm Craig Satterfield Trio
Sunday, Oct 9 1 – 4 pm Erin Dahlby
Friday, Oct 14 6 – 9 pm Tahosa
Saturday, Oct 15 12 – 3 pm Elise Fair
Saturday, Oct 15 4 -7 pm Ran Off The Rooster
Sunday, Oct 16 1 – 4 pm Romero Unplugged
Thursday, Oct 20 – 4 – 7 pm Tony Arenas
Friday, Oct 21 4 – 7 pm Romero Unplugged
Saturday, Oct 22 12 – 3 pm Great Blue
Saturday, Oct 22 4 -7 pm Greg Miles
Sunday, Oct 23 3 – 6 pm Ran Off The Rooster
Friday, Oct 28 6 – 9 pm Tahosa
Saturday, Oct 29 12 – 3 pm Tony Arenas
Saturday, Oct 29 4 -7 pm Jim Jamm Jimmy
Sunday, Oct 30 1 -4 pm Romero Unplugged