Oskar Blues (JOSH NOEL, Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Tribune recently ran a fascinating article about a beer tour of Denver and Boulder, Colorado.  If you’re looking for a short trip in the U.S., reading this article may help you decide what to do.

The Napa Valley of beer? The Munich of the West? They like to say both out here. And it could well be true. The state has the second most breweries in the nation and fifth most per capita.

How that came to be is an oft-examined question, and the most common answer is this: Many Front Range residents aren’t from the area. They converge here in search of the mountains, a laid-back lifestyle and life’s finer things — like making and drinking good beer.

So with a vague plan of the breweries (and one bar) we wanted to hit, my drinking partner and I began at Great Divide Brewing Co. Bluegrass played on the speakers, and the warm, grassy smell of hops filled the air. We each tried the allotted four free (and healthy) tastings of what was on draft and in bottles before I settled on a Yeti, the thick, dark stout the brewery is best-known for.

I’ve spent some time in Denver, and just being in the city means you’re in for great beer.  With Labor Day weekend coming up, it’s not too late to book a flight and head west.