Not long ago I heard Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It While It’s Hot” blaring on the 16th Street Mall outside the Rock Bottom Brewery. Somehow the juxtaposition of the two seemed fitting.
The song is all about how hard Snoop is. (“I’m a gangsta/But ‘yall knew that/The big boss Dogg/Yeah, I had to do that.”) Really, Snoop’s about as hard as a spoonful of mayonnaise. Which brings us to Rock Bottom, a joint that is all about supposed localization – and its beer. While Rock Bottom and its four Colorado locations aren’t quite local – it has locations in 14 other states, and counting – I reserve judgment on the bar, known and loved best for its microbrews, until my sister Kit, an expert beer drinker and a member of the chain’s Mug Club, has her say.
“Rico, any beer lover can respect breweries that know what they’re doing,” Kit e-mailed me Wednesday. “It just tastes so good going down … the Single Track is my favorite.”
As a beer-hater, I admire Kit’s passion for the brew, which she lovingly calls “God’s nectar.” We had plans for a movie last weekend, but her pre-movie ritual is a bite and a beer at Rock Bottom in Westminster (10633 Westminster Blvd., #900; 720-566- 0198) before hitting the megaplex. But it took her longer than anticipated to finish her third beer, so we kept talking, catching up over the somewhat-questionable service we were getting at the secluded end of the bar.
“When I sit over there, the service is always much better,” Kit promises, tapping her Mug Club card nervously against the attractive bar. I believe her. I’ve been to my share of Rock Bottoms, and while the service and product are solid, I prefer independents.
But with drink being central to a place’s true quality, I defer to Kit, and therefore Rock Bottom isn’t such a bad place to be.
Staff writer Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-820-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
Funky: The downtown location, on the corner of 16th and Curtis streets, has one of the better patios on the mall. With summer looming, keep an eye out for the concert schedule. Last year they brought in Liz Phair – !!? – but mostly it’s Opie Gone Bad-esque bands.
Skunky: Rock Bottom, no matter the location, is the kind of bar often littered with laptops and PDAs – not the environs you want to rock at happy hour.
