Colorado grocery stores sell beer and wine, but they generally do not sell hard liquor. Since March 2023, a grocery or convenience store with the right license can stock full-strength beer and wine alongside food. Distilled spirits like vodka, whiskey, or rum are available only at a small number of grocery locations that hold a special license capped at eight per company statewide. In most cases, buying a bottle of bourbon still means a trip to a standalone liquor store.
What You Can Buy at a Colorado Grocery Store
Two changes opened grocery shelves to full-strength beer and wine. Senate Bill 16-197, passed in 2016, removed the old 3.2% alcohol-by-weight cap on beer sold in grocery stores effective January 1, 2019.1Colorado General Assembly. SB16-197 Liquor-licensed Drugstores Multiple Licenses Before that, grocery stores could only sell watered-down “three-two” beer.
The second shift came with voter-approved Proposition 125 in November 2022. It created a new fermented malt beverage and wine retailer license and automatically converted existing beer-only licenses to the combined license on March 1, 2023. Overnight, grocery stores that had only carried beer could begin selling wine as well. To qualify for the license, a store must earn at least 20% of its gross annual revenue from food sales, with fuel, tobacco, and lottery products excluded from that calculation.2Justia Law. Colorado Code 44-4-107 – Fermented Malt Beverage and Wine Retailer License
Why Spirits Are Rare in Grocery Aisles
Distilled spirits require a different license entirely. The liquor-licensed drugstore (LLDS) license under C.R.S. ยง 44-3-410 allows a retailer to sell the full range of alcohol in sealed containers, including whiskey and vodka. Two hard limits keep these licenses rare. No single entity can hold more than eight LLDS licenses statewide, and as of April 10, 2025, Colorado stopped issuing new LLDS licenses altogether.3Colorado Department of Revenue. Colorado Liquor Code – Article 3, Title 44
That is why one King Soopers might carry a full liquor aisle while another location a few miles away only stocks beer and wine. The chain used its limited LLDS licenses on specific high-traffic stores and cannot obtain more. For most shoppers, spirits still mean a stop at a dedicated retail liquor store.
Sales Hours
Colorado law limits off-premises alcohol sales to between 8:00 a.m. and midnight every day of the week, regardless of when the store itself opens or closes.4Justia Law. Colorado Code 44-3-901 – Unlawful Acts – Exceptions – Definitions The window applies to beer, wine, and spirits sold in sealed containers. A 24-hour grocery store must block or lock down its alcohol section during the overnight gap, and most stores program their registers to reject alcohol transactions outside the legal window automatically.
Colorado does not add separate Sunday restrictions or mandatory holiday closures on off-premises retail sales. If the store is open and the clock reads between 8:00 a.m. and midnight, beer and wine are available.
You Cannot Use Self-Checkout for Beer or Wine
This one catches shoppers off guard. Colorado law specifically prohibits buying beer or wine through a self-checkout kiosk. The statute requires an employee of the licensed retailer to assist with and complete the entire transaction whenever fermented malt beverages or wine are involved.2Justia Law. Colorado Code 44-4-107 – Fermented Malt Beverage and Wine Retailer License Scanning your own ID at a self-service register is not enough. If beer or wine is in your cart, use a staffed lane or have an employee take over the self-checkout terminal to process those items.
Age and ID at the Register
You must be at least 21 to buy any alcohol in Colorado. Retailers verify age with a valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license, state ID card, passport, or military identification.
Colorado has rolled out a digital driver’s license through the myColorado app, and executive branch agencies accept it as valid identification. Whether a private retailer accepts a digital ID for an alcohol purchase, though, is up to the store. Carrying your physical ID remains the safest bet if you don’t want to be turned away at the register.
Grocery Store Alcohol Delivery
Colorado licensed retailers can deliver beer and wine, but the rules are tighter than many shoppers expect. The store must first obtain a separate delivery permit from the state licensing authority and, if required, the local licensing authority.5Legal Information Institute. 1 CCR 203-2, Regulation 47-1101 – Delivery and Takeout Sales by Retail Licensees
Third-party delivery services are prohibited from delivering alcohol in Colorado. The delivery must be made by an actual employee of the licensed retailer, not a DoorDash or Instacart driver. That employee must be at least 21 and must have completed Colorado’s seller-server training program.5Legal Information Institute. 1 CCR 203-2, Regulation 47-1101 – Delivery and Takeout Sales by Retail Licensees
At the door, the employee must verify that the recipient is 21 or older and log their name and ID number. Nobody under 21 can place or receive an alcohol delivery. The retailer must keep delivery records for at least 60 days.5Legal Information Institute. 1 CCR 203-2, Regulation 47-1101 – Delivery and Takeout Sales by Retail Licensees