ITTN’s Katie joined a wonderful evening with travel press in Dublin’s Open Gate Brewery with Visit Denver! Key representatives from Visit Denver tourism board, just back from Brand USA in Switzerland, alongside Black Diamond and Olivia Buckley, Head of Communications for Aer Lingus hosted the evening.
With Denver International Airport (DEN) supporting 233 non-stop flights to domestic and international and cities, this is a hub for connectivity around the world. Aer Lingus operates their Dublin to Denver route since 2024, with four-times weekly flights to the city that boasts 300 days of sunshine every year. Press on the night were excited to enter the competition to win return flights between Dublin and Denver for two, won by journalist Catherine!
Press were also eager to learn more about the adventure available in the mile high city located on the western edge of Colorado. With proximity to four national parks and the famous Rocky mountains, visitors can enjoy hiking, biking, rafting, ski and horseback riding on day trips while exploring the world-class dining, history and culture in Denver City. The city is a street art capital, known for its thriving public art scene, where artists have brightened industrial landscapes with gorgeous murals.
Colorado is also renowned for its beer scene. The state is home to numerous breweries, from the world’s largest single-site brewery, the Molson Coors facility in Golden, to small-batch, craft producers like Boulder Beer, the first craft brewery in Colorado which opened in 1979. As such, the press evening was a celebration of this thriving beer scene, with guests enjoying Odell Brewing Company’s blonde ale ‘Peach Stand Rambler’ and ‘Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout’. Food was prepared by the Executive Chef for the entire Guinness corporation, and it was a memorable feast of American staples: warm pretzels, corn on the cob, southern fried chicken, croquettes and even a scotch egg thrown in for good measure!
To top off the evening, Emma from the Open Gate Brewery in Dublin took the group through a beer tasting of three key beers produced by the brewery. Open Gate is the home of experimentation in St. James Gate, with new and interesting beers tried and tested in the brewery visible from the bar. The first beer on the tasting board was a Guinness Red – not as highly roasted, with lighter coffee notes that makes for easy drinking. The second beer on the board is named Arthur’s Last Stout: this was the last beer Guinness produced before they went into dark beer production. Only recently remade, this beer recipe was taken from Arthur’s own book of recipes and dates back to 1799. On taste, Arthur’s Last Stout has a toasty tang, with biscuit and caramel flavours present.
The last beer on the board is a new output of the brewery, only coming on tap the day before and named Desmond’s Double IPA- with a lighter taste of pine and citrus, press were surprised to learn the IPA is 7.6%! This beer was named for Visit Denver on the night- after Desmond Guinness who is well known to have visited the mile high city with his wife to explore their breweries.
Visit Denver representatives and Black Diamond thanked the press for their ongoing support and made a special mention to travel agents for continuing to drive tourism and growth to mountainous city!
