Our Fort Collins taproom blends the warmth of European taverns with the simplicity and elegance of the craftsman-style. Spacious, warm and inviting, classic and modern, with an upstairs mezzanine that overlooks the Brewhouse. Read about the Design & Layout, Front Bar, Back Bar, Outdoor Patio, Our Goats, and Mezzanine below.
Design & Layout | Open yet Warm & Inviting
When you walk into the Gilded Goat, the first thing you'll notice is how different the atmosphere is from your typical Fort Collins taproom. We have no concrete floors, beetle kill pine, industrial piping, and corrugated aluminum. Instead, in careful consideration of lighting, acoustics and layout, we designed a taproom that blends the warmth of European taverns with the simplicity and elegance of the craftsman-style.
Front Bar | Classic yet Modern
The front and back bar is modeled after several antique saloon-style bars we considered. We loved the classic look of the early 1900's bar style, yet we wanted to incorporate some contemporary design features, features like symmetry, simplicity, natural materials, and woodwork; a clean design with distinct features.
The front bar is 25 feet long with quarter sawn oak panels and trim. The bar top is made from reclaimed mixed Malaysian hardwoods with the help of Micah of Defiance Hardwoods in Denver. Beautiful chengai, balau, merbau, kempas, and meranti woods were planed, sanded and finished with six coats of poly. We added a repurposed brass footrail and red-oak Chicago-style elbow rail milled here in town at Sears-Trostel. The ends of the front bar and the back bar are visually framed with reclaimed, distressed white pine porch posts, like you would see from an early 1900s home. The stainless work compliments the functionality of the bar and was all done or acquired locally.
The bar has under-mounted LEDs, purse and coat hooks, and phone charging stations. The result is a highly functional yet classic front bar that captures the essence of our design objectives.
Back Bar | A Gilded Look
The back bar utilizes a similar design: book-end salvaged porch posts, quarter sawn oak cabinetry with twin stainless tap areas. Gold faucets are topped with custom tap handles that match the bar. The taps are surrounded distinctively with crème colored subway tile. The glassware is displayed on glass shelves within the back bar that are top lit with LED’s.
An original oak phone booth, made in 1939 and originally located in a hotel in Sidney Nebraska, is neatly tucked into the back bar wall. It is fully functional and creates great photo opportunities for those who have never seen or used a phone booth.
Outdoor Patio | The Summer Hangout
Our Fort Collins outdoor patio is an extension of our taproom in terms of design and function: simple, clean, and comfortable. Cool in the summer and warmed by our furnace heaters in the winter, it's a great place to bring your pups and rewind from the week.
The Goats | Our Mascots
The Gilded Goat features four handsome mascots in the taproom. The Gilded Mountain Goat was found at an antique store in Denver. The stained glass barrel-end over the back bar was designed by local stained glass artist Marsha Biteman. The beautiful IBEX was donated by a customer, and the bronze goat bust was donated by artist Cammie Lundeen in Loveland.
Mezzanine | Event Space with a Bird's Eye View
Our Fort Collins taproom is wrapped by a second floor mezzanine for additional seating and to accommodate groups & events. Special lighting is used in the gallery style space to highlight local artists, beer memorabilia and featured artwork. The Fort Collins event space overlooks our 7-barrel brewhouse and quality control lab, where you can often drink one of our beers while watching the brewers in action.
