We are hardy folk in Denver. I know this because of the ice cream.

See, back East, once school comes back into session and the theme parks transition to a weekend-only schedule, the ice cream vendors (and the goods they peddle) roll themselves up and put themselves away “for the season,” assuming their frozen sweets won’t find fans during the cold months.

Not so in Denver. We scoop, slurp and lick away all year, crisp autumn nights and impending October blizzards be damned.

This year-round affliction makes us experts in the consumption of ice cream, and there is no faster crash-and-burn than a Denver ice cream shop selling subpar goods.

Which is why you can expect Red Trolley, a new(ish) ice cream shop in the Highland neighborhood, to be around for the long haul.

Handmade ice creams, sorbets and gelatos with flavors like brown butter, peaches and cream, and Rocky Ford melon (an addictive concoction which contains only melons, honey and salt) mark the folks behind this upstart as artisans. But it’s the undeniable yum-quotient of the malted shakes and house-made waffle cones that will win the hearts, minds and loyalty of Denver’s proud ice cream snobs, er, aficionados.

Don’t go to Red Trolley if you’re in a rush, or expect to forget what you were all fired up about once you step inside the cozy, wood-paneled room and start eyeballing the case and contemplating flavors. Taste a couple, zero in on one, then eat your cone near or on premises, because once you’re done you’ll likely ask for a pint to go. Or two, because even if you plan on saving it for that dinner party this weekend, you’ll find yourself rummaging through the freezer during a Letterman show commercial break.

(Here’s a great thing: Red Trolley has Root Beer Float Happy Hour, 3-6 p.m. daily, when root beer floats, made with Wynkoop root beer, go for 2 bucks per.)

We in Denver alternately define ourselves as a Broncos town, as a cow town, as a new-energy town, as a New West town. But in the right light, even if that light is low, golden and autumnal, we look a whole lot like an ice cream town.

– The Red Trolley –

Ice cream and coffee. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2639 W. 32nd Ave., 303-433-7200; theredtrolley.com

– Tucker Shaw