How to Drink Beer Outside & Save Small Businesses

Most of us don’t milk cows or forage for our own food as we once did. We shop in warm grocery stores and sleep under down comforters. We’ll aprés-ski outdoors at a ski slope around a roaring fire pit to look cool with our friends but otherwise, let’s face it, we are delicate.

How to Drink Beer Outside & Save Small Businesses. HeidiTown (1)
Don’t forget your mask! Might River Brewing

When dining and drinking beer was forced outside due to COVID-19 mandates, many of us were worried. Colorado winters get frigid, especially after dark which rolls in around 4:15 p.m. these days. 

RELATED: A Christmas Beer Tasting

I worried about the small businesses that would be affected, some run by our friends, and I was worried about myself. I didn’t want to drink a cold beverage or eat a meal in 20-degree weather. Only a crazy person would do that, the kind of person who scales high mountains and participates in polar plunges. Otherwise, NOT ME.

How to Drink Beer Outside & Save Small Businesses. HeidiTown (4)
With the front & back door open, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse‘s warehouse was approved as outside dining by the county but the state said no. Now they have a BIG tent that I am trying out this weekend.

What would I do in the evenings? I am an extrovert and nothing has proven that more than the last nine months. I need people, buzz, action, and without it I am depressed. So what would we do now? Well, for one thing, we weren’t going to stop going to breweries. 

Our first time out, I put on snow pants over my warm Sorrel boots. I wore a warm beanie, good gloves, and a sleeveless coat with a furry hood. It’s part of my cute aprés-ski attire. I thought two layers of long sleeve shirts would be enough. It’s not enough, not when the temperature is below freezing. Even with a patio heater above me, I looked longingly at the coat sleeves around me.

How to drink beer in Colorado. HeidiTown.com
Should have worn a coat with sleeves.

I  had learned my lesson, a coat with sleeves was a must. 

So, the next time we went out I was prepared. We even got a spot next to the fire pit at a local brewpub. At one point, I took off my jacket because it was so warm in the tent.

How to Drink Beer Outside & Save Small Businesses. HeidiTown (5)
AKA Kitchen/Rock Coast Brewery

On our third outing, I made a fantastic discovery: hand warmers. You know the kind. We put them in ski gloves or ski boots on the mountain. This was a truly fun excursion, made even more fun by the fact that I hadn’t left the house in days. 

How to Drink Beer Outside & Save Small Businesses. HeidiTown (7)

We hit three breweries, experienced drinking beer in outdoor tents, and bought crowlers at each stop. For those who don’t know, a crowler is an oversized can that can be added to the beer fridge to drink at a later time. 

RELATED: More Than Just Beer – Big Beers Offers a Complete Culinary Experience

This Christmas, many of us, myself included, will not see our parents. This Christmas, there will be no parties, no hugs, no carols. Not to mention that small business, something I know about first-hand, is hurting. 

How to Drink Beer Outside & Save Small Businesses. HeidiTown (2)
Verboten Brewing

So this is how you drink beer outside and help small businesses: go, drink, buy.

Dress warmly (including hand warmers), and buy more than you drink. In addition, buy some brewery swag as Christmas presents. Who doesn’t love a brewery t-shirt?

How to Drink Beer Outside & Save Small Businesses. HeidiTown (8)
Inside the tent at Zwei Brewing.

By the way, I honestly don’t even know if I would have written this blog post without the stimulation of going out and being around people. I need people. And the fact is, most of us do. So go forth! Drink beer! Buy stuff! It will be good for you and good for the breweries.

It’s a win/win. Stay healthy, citizens, and happy holidays!

1 Comment


  1. Nice big Stout on a cold day sounds fine by me!!

    Reply

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