Breckenridge Brewery
 | |
| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder | Richard Squire |
| Headquarters | Littleton, CO, United States |
Area served | USA |
Key people | Todd Usry (president) |
| Products | Beer |
| Owner | Anheuser-Busch InBev |
| Website |
breckbrew |
Breckenridge Brewery is an American brewing company based in Littleton, Colorado. Select beers can be found in 35 US states. The company was purchased by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2016.
History
Founding
Breckenridge Brewery was founded in Breckenridge, Colorado, by Richard Squire in 1990.[1] It was Colorado's third craft brewery.[2] In 1991, Squire brought on Todd Usry, who took over as brewmaster in 1994. Usry became director of production and sales in 2008, and was ultimately named the company's president.[3][4]
Expansion
In 1992, the brewery expanded operations beyond Breckenridge, opening a manufacturing facility in Denver adjacent to what would become Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies.[2] In 1996, Breckenridge moved the brewing, kegging and bottling of its beer to a new facility south of downtown. The original Denver location, Breck on Blake, remains open, with brewing no longer taking place there.[2] In 2010, Wynkoop announced a merger with Breckenridge to form the holding company Breckenridge-Wynkoop LLC. The company also owns the Wynkoop Brewing Company, Phantom Canyon Brewing, and several restaurants.[5] In January 2013, Breckenridge Brewery announced that its facility, by then producing 64,000 barrels of beer per year, was at max capacity and would be moving to a new brewery complex.[6][7] In June 2015, Breckenridge Brewery left Denver and moved into its new $36 million, 12-acre, 85,000-square-foot campus in Littleton, Colorado, which includes three buildings: a brewhouse and office building, a building for fermentation and packaging, and its 300-seat Farm House restaurant and beer garden.[4][8]
Breckenridge Brewery ranked #50 on the Brewers Association's 2014 list of the largest US craft breweries,[9] and #47 on the 2015 list.[10] The Brewers Association ranked Breckenridge Brewery as Colorado's fifth-largest craft brewer by barrels produced in 2015.[11] Early on, Breckenridge Brewery produced roughly 1,000 barrels of beer per year.[4] By 2015, the company was producing over 70,000 barrels of beer,[12] with its beers sold in 35 states in the US.[13]
Purchase by Anheuser-Busch InBev
On December 22, 2015, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced its intent to purchase Breckenridge Brewery from Breckenridge-Wynkoop LLC, as part of its High End craft and import beer brand unit.[12][14] The acquisition, completed in 2016, included Breckenridge Brewery's production brewery and Farm House restaurant in Littleton, as well as its brewpub in Breckenridge.[13] In an open letter to Breckenridge Brewery consumers, Usry said the brewery would continue to make its own decisions regarding the beer it creates.[14]
Partnerships
Every year since the inaugural 2012 Denver Comic Con, Breckenridge Brewery has collaborated with the convention to brew and sell a limited edition beer, with a comic-themed name chosen through an annual contest.[15]
Since 2013, Breckenridge Brewery has regularly collaborated with Never Summer Industries for the creation of limited edition Artist Series snowboards and special release beers.[16][17]
List of beers brewed
| Beer | Category | Available | Style | ABV% | IBU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agave Wheat | Mainline | Year round | Wheat ale | 4.4% | 13 |
| Avalanche Ale | Mainline | Year round | Amber ale | 5.0% | 19 |
| Breck IPA | Mainline | Year round | IPA | 6.3% | 66 |
| Breck Lager | Mainline | Year round | Lager | 4.5% | 14 |
| Lucky U IPA | Mainline | Year round | IPA | 5.7% | 68 |
| Mango Mosaic Pale Ale | Mainline | Year round | Pale ale | 5.5% | 29 |
| Oatmeal Stout | Mainline | Year round | Oatmeal stout | 5.0% | 36 |
| Vanilla Porter | Mainline | Year round | Vanilla porter | 5.4% | 16 |
| Nitro Vanilla Porter | Nitro Series | Year round | Nitrogenated vanilla porter | 5.4% | 16 |
| Nitro Lucky U IPA | Nitro Series | Year round | Nitrogenated IPA | 5.7% | 68 |
| Autumn Ale | Seasonal | Fall | Ale | 6.0% | 21 |
| Christmas Ale | Seasonal | Winter | Winter ale | 7.1% | 22 |
| Ophelia Hoppy Wheat | Seasonal | Spring | Wheat ale | 6.0% | 23 |
| Summerbright Ale | Seasonal | Summer | Wheat ale | 4.5% | 15 |
| King's Dish | Small Batch | Limited | Burton ale | 6.8% | 55 |
| 471 Small Batch IPA | Small Batch | Limited | Double IPA | 9.2% | 70 |
| 72 Imperial | Small Batch | Limited | Imperial chocolate cream stout | 7.2% | 11 |
References
- ↑ Elizabeth J. Goodgold, "Brand-Spankin' Brew," Entrepreneur, January 2003.
- 1 2 3 Lee Williams, "Behind the Scenes at Breckenridge Brewing Co., Denver, Colorado," Serious Eats, May 13, 2012.
- ↑ T. Ballard Lesemann, "Breckenridge Brewery celebrates 20 years," Charleston City Paper, July 28, 2010.
- 1 2 3 Loren Green, "Breck Brewery's Brewmaster Talks Expansion, Big Bottles and Leftover Salmon," Paste, July 18, 2015.
- ↑ Jonathan Shikes, "Breckenridge Brewery's Todd Usry Explains the Sale to Anheuser-Busch InBev," Westword, December 23, 2015.
- ↑ Eric Gorski, "Breckenridge Brewery building $20 million brewery project in Littleton," Denver Post, January 31, 2013.
- ↑ Loren Green, "Breckenridge Doubles Capacity, Opens New Restaurant," The Growler, June 9, 2015.
- ↑ Clayton Woullard, "Littleton hopes new Breckenridge Brewery becomes tourist draw," Denver Post, November 25, 2014.
- ↑ John Kell, "Anheuser Busch-InBev Buys Third Craft Brewer in 5 Days," Fortune, December 22, 2015.
- ↑ John Kell, "These Are America's 10 Largest Craft Breweries," Fortune, April 5, 2016.
- ↑ Steve Raabe, "Colorado places five craft brewers on list of nation’s 50 largest," Denver Post, March 31, 2015.
- 1 2 Alicia Wallace, "Breckenridge Brewery sold to giant Anheuser-Busch's 'High End'," Denver Post, December 22, 2015.
- 1 2 "Anheuser-Busch buying Colorado's Breckenridge Brewery," Chicago Tribune, December 22, 2015.
- 1 2 "Anheuser-Busch InBev Buys Large Colorado Craft Beer Brewery," New York Times, December 23, 2015.
- ↑ Jonathan Shikes, "Fight evil with the Fantastic Pour, a Denver Comic Con/Breckenridge Brewery beer," Westword, June 15, 2012.
- ↑ Kelli Lynn Hargrove, "Breckenridge Brewery & Never Summer team up to throw down for Opening Day, Nov. 8," Snowboard Magazine, November 7, 2013.
- ↑ Ben Landreth, "From Beer to Bacon, Sixteen Tastiest Events on the Culinary Calendar," Westword, November 6, 2015.