Focus on the Beer Top 10 Beer Spots in Colorado Springs: #2 Phantom Canyon Brewing Co

Here is #4 from the Focus on the Beer list of the top 10 beer spots in the Colorado Springs area. We started at #10 and are working our way down to #1 in the upcoming weeks. The rest of the Top 10 can be found here. Let us know what you think!


#4 Beer Spot of Colorado Springs: Phantom Canyon Brewing Co

Opened in 1993, Phantom Canyon was one of the only craft beer spots downtown for many years. It gained a very good reputation during the 90's and slowly lost that reputation in the mid to late 2000's. Thanks to Alan Stiles, the head brewer for the last two years, Phantom Canyon is step-by-step gaining the reputation it had and continues to improve with each passing month.

The Beer: Phantom has between 8-11 beers on tap. They usually have two beers on cask, the Zebulon's Peated Porter and a rotator beer. You can always expect the usual suspects of Cascade Amber, Hefeweizen, Queen's Blonde Ale, Railyard Ale, and Streamliner IPA, but Alan usually has three to four seasonals and specialty beers on tap or on cask. Alan also enjoys making beer for his Revival Series, a series of historic beers that have disappeared in the brewing industry. Phantom has one bottled beer with very limited availability, the Winston Smith's Barleywine aged in Stranahan's Whiskey barrels, which we reviewed this year and found to be a very tasty beer. The Flanders Red, Methuselah Rookie Card, was released in March and was immediately sold out within an hour.

The Food: Phantom has a full service kitchen and many people go to Phantom just for their food. They have some great appetizers. Try the hummus or calamari. Their soup is fabulous. You can't go wrong with the Blonde Ale with smoked gouda soup or the pork green chili. They also have some traditional pub fair including fish and chips, porter brats, mac and cheese, and chicken pot pie. They have around a dozen entrees that range from $11-$25.

The Atmosphere: Phantom Canyon resides in a 1901 historic building that used to be a railroad office building and later a hotel. The inside is full of dark woods and turn of the century charm. Phantom has two levels for two different personalities. The main floor boasts a large open area with tables and large windows. The brewing equipment is in one corner, there is also a very large antique saloon-style bar with a big mirror. The 2nd floor contains a billiard hall. There are scattered high tops for eating and a smaller bar for drinking but most people are here for the games. There are 13 pool tables, two fooseball tables, two dart boards, and big screen TVs. Here you will find a younger crowd on the weekends, and it does get busy. We like to play darts and find the small area with the dart boards to be a perfect spot for hanging out and putting back a few sipping beers.

Menu of the flagship beers at Phantom Canyon

Overall: Phantom Canyon is one of the premier beer spots in the downtown area. Alan Stiles is doing all the right things to put Phantom Canyon back on the Colorado beer map. He has also contributed to the overall Colorado Springs beer culture by allowing the local homebrew club to hold meetings there and hosting a Community of Brewers benefit for Patrick Tuffield, a local brewer who was injured on the job. So next time you are downtown Colorado Springs, check out Phantom Canyon. It boasts over 10 of it's own taps with good diversity and originality. The food is delicious and extensive. The atmosphere has something for everyone whether you want to kick it at the bar, have a nice meal with friends in a formal setting, or just want to down some pints and play darts.

Phantom Canyon

2 East Pikes Peak Ave.
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
719.635.9930

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