YOUR AD HERE »

US beer critic names Frisco’s Outer Range a top new brewery

Outer Range Brewing is a dog-friendly brewpub in Frisco that opened last December and was recently named one of the top new breweries of 2017 by a beer critic with Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine.
Hugh Carey / hcarey@summitdaily.com |

Outer Range Brewing opened to rave reviews last winter in Frisco, and now a critic at a national craft beer magazine has named it one of the best new breweries in the U.S.

“If I could pick a brewery to slide into at the bottom of a ski slope, it’s Outer Range Brewing — the Rocky Mountain brewery making serious waves at 9,000 feet,” wrote Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine’s Jordanne Bryant.

Bryant rounded down on the altitude, but she rounded out her top three picks of 2017 by highlighting Scofflaw Brewing in Atlanta, American Solera in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Outer Range.



“The modern rustic brewery and picturesque backdrop make visiting an experience all of its own,” the beer critic continued, “but beers such as In the Steep and Hydrologic make the trip that much more worth it. Who drinks New England-style IPAs after a ski run? I do if they’re from Outer Range.”

The owners of the brewery welcomed the praise. In turn, they heaped credit on their workforce, family, friends and loyal customer base when they shared the good news on the brewery’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts.



Brewery co-founder Emily Cleghorn, who opened Outer Range with her husband, Lee, and another business partner, Ryan Chang, in December, said when they opened that the brewery would specialize in IPAs and Belgian-style ales.

With that in mind, it’s not hard to imagine the Cleghorns were equally excited, if not more so, to see one of their IPAs recently earn a 96 out of a possible 100 rating from the same craft beer magazine.

“This is as exciting for us as being on the critics’ list for sure,” Cleghorn said of Hydrologic Session IPA being rated above highly regarded beers from big-name craft breweries like Prison City Brewery and Pub in Auburn, New York; Silver City Brewery out of the Pacific Northwest; and Trillium Brewery, based in Massachusetts.

“For Hydrologic to get this recognition is pretty awesome … and to get a 96 is pretty incredible for a nine-month-old brewery,” the owner said.

Hydrologic was produced in a limited quantity as one of Outer Range’s small-batch beers that went straight to the can. At the brewery, they enjoy putting out cans of beer that have never before been experienced on tap, and Outer Range regularly hosts can-release parties to celebrate when a new brew is ready. The next can-release event is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Outer Range is open 3-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday — except on Tuesdays when the brewery is closed — and from noon-11 p.m. Friday-Sunday at 182 Lusher Court, near Whole Foods. For more, go to OuterRange.com.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.