The Onion Used a Fort Collins Brewery to Poke Fun at Craft Beer

Fort Collins' craft beer scene is one of Colorado's best; the city has a wide variety of beers and a wide variety of attitudes. You would be hard-pressed to find one that takes itself too seriously, which is great when one gets featured in The Onion.

When Did The Onion Begin Publication?

It was in 1988 that people began giggling at the funny stories that The Onion puts together. For example: "Report: 83% of Americans Just Want to Put on a Pair of Sunglasses and Say, 'Let's Do This.'" That's good stuff. Did you know that from 2013 until 2024 they didn't have a print edition?

In September of 2025, The Onion's print edition had an article which was a review of a "New hometown microbrewery." The brewery: Tree Ring Brewing. Fort Collins does not have a Treee Ring Brewing, but it does have Equinox Brewing, just off of Old Town Square, south of Mountain on Remington.

READ MORE: One Colorado Brewery's Name Sounds Like a 70s Blockbuster

Equinox became the sixth craft brewery in Fort Collins when it opened in 2010. Fifteen years later, they found national fame when The Onion used a a photo of their exterior to represent Tree Ring Brewing. You can change the name, but that building is too distinctive; clearly, it's Equinox.

Boerne, Texas, where this fictitious Tree Ring Brewing is located, is about 30 miles northwest of San Antonio. They do have six of their own microbreweries; I wouldn't take pop shots at any of those, either.