Don't Leave the Spoke Too Soon

Denver International Airport's latest beer destination lies in an unlikely place. The A Concourse descends a set of stairs to the tarmac level; most of the airport's commuter flights depart from this tiny band of gates. On three Montana trips I waited impatiently for the prop plane that would finish my trip.

As Nancy and I waited for our return flight to Nashville, finishing our Albuquerque trip, the concourse attracted us for reasons other than short flights to Wyoming, Montana, and a handful of cities neither of us knew. The New Belgium Spoke sits near Gate 61 (and all the other gates in the lower 60s). It followed the New Belgium Hub, a larger pub built in B Concourse.

But the Spoke's atmosphere better fit a traveler not quite ready to go home. The commuter section of A Concourse is much quieter than the parts serving larger jets.There are plenty of beers, but none in such calm territory. 

The corner bar had a full range of New Belgium's seasonal and mainline offerings. With an hour to burn before a flight, it would be hard to do better than a Mothership Wit or 1554 Black Ale. They had the entire New Belgium line and yes, Coors Light.  Hard to blame New Belgium for the latter -- they would be turning away some customers if they ignored Coors.

I don't want to sound like a total greenhorn here; I'm well aware that microbrew taprooms have invaded airports across the country. The sleep part of A Concourse now has a showpiece. After spending a fair amount of time waiting there, it was nice to seem new energy courtesy of New Belgium.