R&R MPA, a Mexican Pale Ale by Renegade Brewing.
I have been a fan of the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant since first moving to Colorado 15 years ago. I’ve always enjoyed their margaritas, food, patios, and atmosphere. And now, as a craft beer drinker, there is even more to love. All six of the Rio’s locations have (or soon will) at least one beer on tap that was created exclusively for them by a local brewery.
Veggie Quesadilla
The Ft. Collins location was the first to tap these special beers, by Odell and Coopersmith’s. Coopersmith’s brewed Rio Trigo, a wheat beer with blood oranges. And Odell created Battalion, a tequila barrel-aged imperial stout with dark chocolate, cinnamon, house-roasted poblanos and dried chipotles, as well as Sangre de Chueco, a tequila barrel-aged imperial Vienna lager with agave nectar, blood oranges, and lime. The Rio in Denver recently tapped Renegade’s R&R MPA, a Mexican Pale Ale made with El Dorado hops, a full-flavored citrus forward pale.
Mexican beers and local beers on tap
The other four locations will soon tap the beers that have been brewed for them. At this point the breweries involved are: Lone Tree Brewing (at the Lone Tree Rio), Sanitas Brewing (Boulder), and Wiley Roots Brewing (Greeley). The Steamboat location does not yet have a brewery partner finalized, but it is in the works.
While these breweries are currently participating in this new craft beer program, The Rio is also open to working with other local breweries as well. It is great to see Colorado companies supporting each other. I absolutely love this idea and am looking forward to trying as many of these new creations as possible!
