“Beer Here!” Exhibit at Colorado History Museum

November 26, 2019 Mike

Since we’re a Colorado Beer and Brewing blog, you probably already guessed that we’re not only really interested in beer, but also in the local history and related local happenings.

When I heard that the History Colorado Center ( 1200 Broadway, Denver, CO, 80203) had an exhibit about the history of Beer in Colorado called “Beer Here! – Brewing the New West”, well I just had to head up there and check it out. One note, the exhibit is ongoing until August 9th 2020, so you still have plenty of time, but don’t put it off too long.

The exhibit follows the history of beer in Colorado from the early Saloon days, to prohibition and the boot legging days, through to the reemergence of brewing after repeal day (the repeal of prohibition on December 5th, 1933), and the rise of the homebrewing movement and craft beer explosion.

It’s really an entertaining exhibit, and for a big beer nerd, I even learned some things. For example, I didn’t realize that the KKK was huge in Colorado during prohibition (glad that’s over).

Homebrewing History

If you’re into homebrewing, and you know I am, then you’ve had to have heard the name Charlie Papazian. Also known as the godfather of homebrewing, Charlie published what has been to me the bible of homebrewing, “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing” in 1984 (which has been revised over the years and had it’s fourth fully revised edition published September 30th 2014).

The exhibit features quite a bit of homebrewing memorabilia, to include a replica of Charlie’s kitchen, his brew pot, and a several really interesting photos.

Charlie Papazian's Kitchen — Replica of Charlie Papazian’s Kitchen

Charlie Papazian's Brew Kettle — Charlie Papazian’s Brew Pot

Historical Colorado Breweries

Of course, no Colorado Beer history exhibit could be complete without a lot of Coors information and memorabilia, and this one doesn’t disappoint there. The exhibit includes lots of classic adds, posters, and even a TV with a classic console television (that’s what we used to call a tube son) running Coors commercials. I know they’re a huge conglomerate now, but their place in Colorado Beer History, and the amount of good they did for Colorado Beer is undeniable.

The exhibit doesn’t miss out on other historical breweries though, and also includes Tivoli, as well as other breweries, both current and closed.

Tivoli Beer Crates — Tivoli Beer Cases and Barrels

Exhibit Finale

I really haven’t done any justice to the exhibit, and it’s something that you should see for yourself. I don’t want to give too much away, and there’s no way that I could cover everything that is contained in it.

At the end there is a great looking display of brewery glasses in wooden shelves that is really quite magnificent, and I did want to share a picture of it (below).

Colorado Brewery Glasses display — Colorado Brewery Glass Display

I’m sure it’s not entirely comprehensive, there were at least a few breweries here in the Colorado Springs that I didn’t see glasses for, but I could have just missed them. I also don’t know when the glasses for the display were collected, which might have excluded some, but nonetheless it was pretty impressive. I found many breweries from Colorado Springs, and it sure was pleasing to the eye. If you’re interested in seeing who I found, there’s a gallery at the end with photos of the Colorado Springs Brewery glasses.

Just to wrap it up

I’m sure you figured it out by now, but I really enjoyed the exhibit, and I recommend visiting the History Colorado Museum and the “Beer Here!” exhibit. In addition to this exhibit, there were many others that were also very well put together and informational, with many nuggets of information to learn about. I took the family up to Denver and we made an afternoon of it, including a nice lunch. It was a good day.