Special Brown for the Brown Palace

Denver’s most iconic hotel gets an exclusive anniversary brew

By Steve Graham

Denver’s Brown Palace has hosted the Beatles, six presidents and the Unsinkable Molly Brown (a week after the Titanic sank). Now the iconic hotel is marking its 125th anniversary with an iconic beer. 

The Brown Palace will tap an imperial honey brown ale named Golden Age, brewed at Strange Craft Brewing Company. The brewery has its own historic distinction, as it was the city’s first modern one-barrel nanobrewery.

“This was a true collaboration with the Brown Palace,” said Strange Craft head brewer Tim Myers.

Much like maintaining 4-star service in a 125-year-old building, there was nothing simple about making the beer. 

“Brewing the 125th Anniversary beer for the Brown Palace was an exciting opportunity but also a huge challenge,” Myers said. “Five months is not much time to brew and condition a 12.5 percent Imperial Brown.”

The beer was brewed with water from the Brown Palace artesian well, which has very different chemistry than the Denver water Strange Craft typically uses, and includes honey from Brown Palace rooftop beehives. It was also aged in local craft whiskey barrels.

“Brew it with honey and age it in fresh Stranahan’s Diamond Peak barrels and the risk of it being too alcohol forward goes way up,” Myers said. “But I’m just crazy enough to attempt it.” 

The risk paid off.

“I’m really happy with the balance on this beer,” he said. “The aroma is all honey and whiskey barrel, while the flavor is all roast and chocolate. Smooth, sippable, delicious.”

Reservations are available for the Brown’s Strange Craft Beer 12.5 Percent Anniversary package, including one of the limited bombers of the Golden Age beer. The brew is also on tap at the hotel’s Ship Tavern.