Beer lovers rejoice! A new taphouse opened up downtown bringing a new variety of beers to enjoy. Stout Street Social is a new raw bar, taphouse, sushi parlor and burger joint that opened up in the Embassy Suites building right across the street from the Convention Center. The fact that the Convention Center holds the Great American Beer Festival is not lost on the bar. The bar requires its servers have to a first level beer certificate from the Cicerone Certification program and even pays for it. Now that shows priorities.

Vanessa Combs is the restaurant’s Bar Manager and already a Certified Cicerone. A home-grown Boulder girl, she worked in the Boulder beer scene during college at CU where she learned the business at Backcountry. She will attempt her Master Cicerone certification in Chicago this spring. If successful, she could become Colorado’s first Master. There are only nine Master Cicerones in the world right now.

Stout Street has 60 beer taps with 15-20 beers that rotate at any given time. If you can’t find a beer you like here, then something might be wrong with your taste buds. For those who prefer to sip a bottle, there are over 15 choices and an extensive “Cellar” collection with beers from all over the world. On Drink Denver’s visit, Combs had just tapped Denver’s first Ninkasi keg, Tricerahops IPA, from Oregon. The bar also has two “Social” taps. Currently, the Social Gold tap poured Boulder Beer’s Buffalo Gold Blonde Ale and the Social Seasonal poured Boulder Beer’s Slope Style Winter IPA. 

For something a little different Stout Street has a beer cocktail menu featuring four unique drinks with a beer twist. The Lambic Sangria features Lindermans Peache Lambic, tequila, peaches and citrus and is garnished with peach slices making for a sweet and easy-drinking beverage. The Caipbeerinha features Cachaca with the Social Gold and mint. Highway 36 also uses a Boulder Beer, the Nitro Shake, which is mixed with WL Wheeler Trace Bourbon, and honey liquor. The Snakebite features another Boulder brewery, Upslope’s Craft Lager mixed with hard cider and blackberry liquor.

Combs says she hopes to organize beer flights and beer and food pairings in the future. With so many different beers to choose from, it will take some planning. For something other than beer, there is also a thorough sake and wine list.

For Happy Hour, enjoy $3 Social Beers of the Month, $4 martinis and $5 and $6 wines by the glass. The Oyster & Raw Bar features $5.95 veggie rolls, $6.95 California Rolls and $8.95 Spicy Tuna Rolls. The Spicy Tuna Rolls are filled with avocado and spicy mayo with a wasabi drizzle, just spicy enough to entice without going overboard. There is also a Prime Rib Happy Hour featuring Prime Rib Sliders for $1.95 each and a Prime Rib Plate for $9.95. Other tasty treats include the crispy and buttery Brussel Sprouts for $4.95 and a plate of chilled and creamy Deviled Eggs also for $4.95. A Late Night menu is available for hungry night owls.

Another perk to Stout Street Social is that the bar really is social. Besides meeting friends, use the hashtag #stoutstreetsocial on your Twitter or Intagram accounts and the posts will show up in real time on the large, “social” TV in the restaurant. Stout Street Social also makes it easy to visit with FREE valet parking for lunch guests and discounted parking at night for dinner and theater guests. Just use the Embassy Suites valet.

Stout Street Social, 1400 Stout St.; 720-214-9100

Photos by Carrie Dow (Vanessa Combs, Lambic Sangria, Spicy Tuna Roll)