List of breweries in Colorado
Breweries located in Colorado offer an extensive variety of beer types that are distributed on local, regional, national, and international levels. In 2012, the state was home to 161 breweries, brewpubs, and three wholesalers, collectively employing 5,000 individuals directly. Additionally, more than 22,000 jobs were supported in related fields such as retail and wholesale.[1] When including suppliers of ingredients and equipment, Colorado's brewing sector contributed over $2.5 billion in business and personal tax revenues. Consumer spending generated an extra $118 million in tax income.[1] The Brewers Association placed Colorado third nationally for craft brewery count and sixth per capita with a total of 154 breweries in 2012.[2]
According to the Beer Institute, Colorado led the nation in gross beer production in 2006, producing upwards of 23 million barrels. The state is also home to four of the top fifty largest brewing companies nationwide.[3]
For perspective, by the conclusion of 2013, the United States had 2,822 breweries, including 2,768 craft breweries categorized into brewpubs, microbreweries, and regional craft breweries.[4] That same year, the brewing industry employed approximately 43,000 workers across the country and had an economic impact exceeding $246 billion.[5]
Breweries
- 3 Freaks Brewery – Highlands Ranch
- 300 Suns – Longmont
- Adolph Coors Company – Golden; recognized as the largest single brewery worldwide with an annual output reaching 22 million barrels
- Anheuser-Busch InBev – Ft. Collins
- Asher Brewing Company – Boulder
- Avery Brewing Company – Boulder
- Beyond The Mountain Brewing – Boulder
- Black Bottle Brewery – Fort Collins
- Bootstrap Brewing Company – Longmont
- Boulder Beer Company – Boulder
- Breckenridge Brewery – Littleton; purchased by Anheuser-Busch in 2015
- Brewability – Englewood
- Call to Arms Brewing Company – Denver
- Camber Brewing Company – Fraser
- Cannonball Creek Brewing Company – Golden
- Collision Brewing Company – Longmont
- Declaration Brewing Company – Denver
- DeSteeg Brewing – Denver
- Dillon Dam Brewery – Dillon
- Dry Dock Brewing Co. – Aurora
- Eddyline Brewery – Salida
- Elk Mountain Brewing Company – Parker
- Flyeco Craft Brewing – Denver
- Fort Collins Brewery – Fort Collins
- Front Range Brewing Co. – Lafayette
- Great Divide Brewing Company – Denver
- Grossen Bart Brewery – Longmont
- Hogshead Brewery – Denver
- Kokopelli Beer Company – Westminster
- Left Hand Brewing Company – Longmont
- Little Machine Beer – Denver
- Living the Dream Brewing – Littleton; taproom inaugurated in 2014
- Locavore Beer Works – Littleton; taproom launched in 2014
- Mad Jack's Mountain Brewery – Bailey; taproom opened in 2016
- Mountain Toad Brewing – Golden
- New Belgium Brewing – Fort Collins; noted as the first wind-powered brewery in the U.S. and the largest globally of its kind
- Oasis Brewing Company – Denver
- Odell Brewing Company – Fort Collins
- Oskar Blues Brewery – Lyons and Longmont
- Paonia United Brewing Company – Paonia
- Paradox Beer Company – Divide
- The Post Brewing Company – Lafayette
- Rails End Beer Company – Broomfield
- Seedstock Brewery – Denver
- SKA Brewing – Durango
- Snowbank Brewing – Fort Collins
- South Park Brewing – Fairplay
- Three Barrel Brewing Co. – Del Norte
- Tommyknocker Brewery – Idaho Springs
- Upslope Brewing Company – Boulder
- Walnut Brewery – Boulder
- WestFax Brewing Company – Denver
- Wibby Brewing – Longmont
- Wiley Roots Brewing Company – Greeley
- Wonderland Brewing – Broomfield
- Wynkoop Brewing Company – Denver
Pop culture
In the film Dumb and Dumber, Lloyd refers to Aspen, Colorado as "a place where beer flows like wine."
Denver has earned the nickname "the Napa Valley of beer," a phrase that gained traction through the Sheraton Hotel chain's 2008 "Chief Beer Officer" campaign, according to the Denver Business Journal.
According to local lore, Denver's earliest permanent building was a saloon. Although a historically notable saloon and brothel once stood at 2009 Market Street, the precise site of the city's first enduring structure is not definitively known. The abundance of saloons in early Denver highlights the city's deep-rooted connection to brewing and hospitality sectors.
See also
- Beer in the United States
- List of breweries in the United States
- List of microbreweries
- Bibliography of Colorado
- Geography of Colorado
- History of Colorado
- Index of Colorado-related articles
- List of Colorado-related lists
- Outline of Colorado