It was just a matter of time before it happened. Finally someone has combined Denver’s love for dogs with its passion for craft beer. The city's first bar with a dog yard is officially open for business and DrinkDenver couldn’t be happier.

Catherine “Cat” Peters and her husband were at their local dog park one cold Denver day when they each had a thought.

“Wouldn’t it be great to buy a coffee at the dog park?” said Cat’s husband.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we could buy a beer?” Cat responded. With that a great idea was born.

The Bark Bar is a true neighborhood bar, according to Bar Manager and Partner Michael Faber. The bar has 12 taps featuring Colorado’s best brews and the bar has another 68 beers available all in cans. Faber says the bar recycles more than 90 percent of its waste and the canned beer is a big part of that.

The beer is from near and far including one of our favorites, Maui Brewing from Hawaii. Beer lovers “can” also find Abita, Anderson Valley, Flying Dog, Goose Island, Kona, Magic Hat and Sierra Nevada next to Colorado favorites like Boulder Brewing, Crazy Mountain, New Belgium, Oskar Blues, Ska and Upslope. Faber says his next goal is to add some European imports to the list.

Along with all these great beers, The Bark Bar is a full service bar featuring wine and cocktails. The bar’s specialty cocktails include Bark Bar Salty Dog, made with grapefruit-infused vodka, fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice and salted rim served on the rocks. Patrons can also enjoy The Pomeranian made with white rum, triple sec, fresh-squeezed lemon, grapefruit juice and topped with pomegranate juice, the Colorado Bulldog made with vodka, Richardo’s coffee liqueur, topped with milk and splash of Coke, or the Bloodhound made with bloody mix and roasted chili-infused vodka.

Another unique feature of the Bark Bar is the place can also double as the local coffee house with a full line of hot and cold coffee drinks including espressos, cappuccinos and macchiatos. Add some liquor for a hot toddy.

As for the pooches, there are two outside places they are allowed to go. The dog yard is fully fenced with the ground covered in wood chips. There's enough space to throw a ball and for Fido to get some much needed exercise. One large tree and one tree stump are available for peeing and there is a picnic table for owners to hang out and mingle. The Bark Bar provides bio-degradable poop bags and all poop, along with the used coffee grounds are composted contributing to the bar’s recycling efforts. A small outdoor patio with tables is available for guests to sit and drink with their dogs, however, dogs must be on a leash at all times in this area. Dogs are not allowed inside, state law.

Guests are required to fill out a registration form for each pooch they want to bring to the bar. It confirms the dog has had all shots and that owners are responsible for it at all times. Standard dog park rules, like picking up your dogs’ mess and making sure everyone behaves, apply to the off-leash yard. Guests can also bring in their own food or order food from nearby restaurants if they get hungry. Dog meals from Bowser Beer and Brew Bones biscuits are available to keep the dogs happy.

The Bark Bar is open Sunday through Thursday 10 AM to 10 PM and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM to Midnight. Happy hour is daily from 4 to 7 PM. Special events include Tripod Tuesdays. Pet parents who bring their 3-legged dogs received 25 percent off all beverages all day. All human patrons must be 21 and over.