A Denver Taproom With a Beer Bath Down the Hall

Denver isn’t short on taprooms. On Larimer and Blake Streets alone, Ratio Beerworks, Odell Brewing’s Five Points Brewhouse, and Bierstadt Lagerhaus sit a few blocks apart, and each one pours its own beer. 

But have you ever seen a taproom with a beer bath down the hall? Oakwell Beer Spa is a social day spa and taproom where you pour Colorado beer from several breweries yourself, pay by the ounce, then carry your drink into a private suite with a warm herbal bath and an infrared sauna. 

You’ll need a reservation to enjoy a private spa suite, but Oakwell’s taproom is open for walk-ins. You can come in and enjoy a drink without a spa booking, or make a day of it with an appointment for relaxation. Here’s how it works.

How the self-serve taproom works

Oakwell’s self-serve taproom works with the tap of an RFID card. 

At check-in, guests 21 and up get an RFID card. Your Beer Therapist will also provide an insulated tumbler to keep your drinks ice-cold, whether you plan to hang out in the taproom or enjoy a private suite. 

Explore our taps, which display tasting notes and price per ounce for each option. When you find one you like, scan the card at any tap, pour as much or as little as you like, and come back for a refill when you’re ready. 

When you leave, return the card to the front desk and pay for what you poured with a debit or credit card. It’s that easy.

Because you pour your own, you can stop after a couple of ounces of an IPA and a couple of ounces of a sour, then go back for the one you liked. To make the most of your trip to the taproom, we recommend starting with a lighter option, like a pilsner, before moving on to hoppier, heavier beers. 

Seating is first come, first served, and when the taproom is full, spa guests get priority, since it’s where they hang out before, during, and after their time in the suite.

Several Colorado breweries pour from one wall

Oakwell Beer Spa serves only Colorado-based beer and craft beverages. The selection changes over time, from IPAs and pilsners to sours and ambers, plus red and white wine, cider, kombucha, and a full menu of non-alcoholic drinks.

Oakwell Beer Spa isn’t a brewery spa in the literal sense, because the beer on the wall comes from local breweries. Still, it’s a great way to try options from different local breweries, side by side. It’s an easy way to do a self-guided brewery tour in Denver without all the walking and stops. 

How it compares with nearby RiNo breweries 

A brewery’s taproom is where you taste its beer at the source, and the RiNo breweries do that well. Oakwell isn’t trying to replace the great breweries down the street. Here’s what sets us apart: 

• Beer on tap. Ratio Beerworks, Odell Brewing, and Bierstadt Lagerhaus each pour their own beers, and no one else’s. Oakwell Beer Spa pours standout beers from several Colorado breweries at once.
• Trying a few. Other breweries offer flights and samples, but Oakwell allows you to pour any amount yourself, priced by the ounce.
• Food. Ratio has food trucks through the week and lets you bring your own food, and Bierstadt serves pretzels and schnitzel. Oakwell has charcuterie boards, chocolate bonbons, and light snacks but no meals, and outside food isn’t allowed.
• After the last pour. What do you do after enjoying the last pour? On a self-guided brewery crawl, you go home or grab dinner. But at Oakwell, you can enjoy a private suite with a warm herbal bath, an infrared sauna, and a rain shower.

We still recommend visiting a brewery to sample beer at the source. But you can also visit Oakwell to sample beer from several Colorado breweries in one place. Each person can pour as much as they like, and then end the day with the perfect relaxation of a private suite. 

Take your drink into a beer bath

At Oakwell, you check in and pour yourself a drink before going into your suite. You can add a zero-gravity massage after your soak and then head back to the taproom to sample more of your favorites. 

Every spa package includes 90 minutes in a private suite with a warm herbal bath, an infrared sauna, a rain shower and a relaxation deck, used in any order and at your own pace. 

Oakwell’s metal tumblers keep your drinks ice-cold. If you run low, simply ring the room service bell in your suite for service. However, if anyone in your group is under 21, nobody in the group can bring drinks into the suite. 

Drink in moderation in the heat: sip slowly, drink water between pours, and step out if you feel dizzy or lightheaded. Cold drinking water is always available.

For a group, the Garage Party combines up to three connected suites for up to six guests, and the taproom makes it easy to sample Colorado specialties from inside your own private suite.

Find Oakwell near RiNo and Highlands Ranch breweries

Oakwell Beer Spa Downtown Denver is at 3004 N Downing St, at 30th Avenue in Five Points. It’s an 8-minute walk from Spangalang Brewery on Welton Street and 12 minutes from Ratio Beerworks and Odell’s Five Points Brewhouse on Larimer Street; Our Mutual Friend is 15 minutes away and Bierstadt Lagerhaus 17. 

Park in the lot at 31st Avenue and Marion Street, or on Downing Street or 30th Avenue, where street parking is unmetered.

Oakwell Beer Spa Highlands Ranch is at 6660 Timberline Road, Suite 100, on the east side of Highlands Ranch near Quebec Street and Lincoln Avenue, with free parking right outside. Of the Highlands Ranch breweries, Prost Brewing’s biergarten is about a 10-minute drive away and Living the Dream Brewing is about 14 minutes away.

We want you to have fun, but please don’t drink and drive. If you’re stopping at a brewery too, book a rideshare or pick a designated driver.