Rejoice, all ye beer drinkers, for thy cups overfloweth! Nearly 30 breweries have opened in Denver since February 2013, the last time we comprehensively covered the Mile High City beer scene. Here, we highlight 10 of our favorites—and take a look at local beer trends, seven beer-cations, and the end of suburban beer deserts.
What’s behind the explosion of new breweries in Denver?
When Great Divide Brewing Co. planted its production facility in a 5,000-square-foot former dairy processing plant at 22nd and Arapahoe streets in 1994, Denver had exactly six craft breweries. Today, over 50 live within Denver’s city limits—more than many states can claim—and Great Divide is expanding to a five-acre campus in RiNo to meet demand.
Sure, craft brewing is a national trend, but it’s also a particularly Colorado thing. Consider: While craft beer accounts for 11 percent of all beer made nationally, in Colorado, about 20 percent of all beer made comes from craft brewers—an impressive feat when you consider we’re also home to Coors. Colorado also ranks third nationally in total craft breweries (235…and counting), breweries per capita (6.1 per 100,000 legal-age residents), and total barrels of craft beer produced annually (almost 1.7 million, or roughly 421 million pints). And we lead the nation in craft beer sales per capita.
The reasons behind this explosion are as varied as the taps at Falling Rock Tap House, but brewers seem to agree on a few elements. After a few pioneers (Boulder Beer, Wynkoop Brewing Company) established the brewpub model in the late 1970s and ’80s and GABF was created in 1982, others joined the movement: Great Divide (1994), Bull & Bush Brewery (1997), and, in Aurora, Dry Dock Brewing Co. (2005). Now, a couple of decades in, those early breweries have bred a second generation of talented and knowledgeable beer makers. Many who cut their teeth at these established Denver breweries have begun opening their own spots.
It doesn’t hurt that the birth of hip neighborhoods in former warehouse wastelands has created havens for Denver’s booming population of thirsty millennials who want to drink craft beer—and walk or bike home. Further, whether it’s beer or coffee or booze or handmade leather goods, Denverites worship at the same altar of local artisanship that Portland and Brooklyn residents do.
Colorado’s liquor laws have also made it easier to develop a brand beyond the brewery: Since supermarkets can each only sell beer above 3.2 percent ABW at one of their locations in the state, liquor stores have become launching pads for many smaller breweries. “Mom-and-pop stores have been very good about carrying a broad selection,” says Paul Gatza, director of the Boulder-based Brewers Association. “So even the smallest breweries have had a place to get their beers distributed.” This is also part of why the Colorado Brewers Guild officially opposes any change to the law that would allow supermarkets to carry full-strength beer.
But can this seemingly exponentially expanding industry sustain such growth? Probably not, says Great Divide founder Brian Dunn. At some point, the market will become so competitive it will be difficult for new breweries to break in. “But,” says Dunn, “about 65 percent of all draft beer sold [in Denver] isn’t craft beer. So that leads me to think there’s still a lot of room for growth.” Here’s hoping.
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