The Boulder Beer Company was Colorado's first microbrew and the forty-third licensed brewery in the United States. [1] It was founded on September 25, 1979 by David Hummer, Alvin Nelson, and Randolf Ware. [2] Ware and Hummer were physics professors at the University of Colorado Boulder and home brewers. [3] When the laws surrounding home brewing were relaxed, the brewery originally started on a farm in a "goatshack." [4]
The Boulder Beer Company was originally known as the Boulder Brewing Company and went public in 1980, raising over $1.7 million. A decade later, in 1990, the company changed its name to Boulder Beer Company when Gina Day took the company private. In 1993 the company again renamed itself as the "Rockies Brewing Company." In 2002, the Rockies Brewing Company entered into a strategic agreement with Rock Bottom Breweries allowing Rock Bottom to brew and sell their Singletrack Ale.
In 2005, the company again changed its name back to the Boulder Beer Company. [5]
On January 6, 2020, the company announced a plan to sell its brewpub and focus on contract brewing. [6]
On January 18, 2020, Boulder Beer closed its brewpub located at Wilderness Place and announced the site would be up for sale. [7]
In 2020, Sleeping Giant out of Denver, CO took over the rights of Boulder Beer, with original owners and brewmasters still being involved in decisions going forward. Osterman, a Boulder local himself, came of (legal) age on Boulder Beer and couldn’t imagine a world without beer from the Colorado brewery that started it all. Conveniently, Matt already ran a brewery silently famous for helping multiple Colorado brewers increase production beyond their current capacities. So taking the full reigns of Boulder Beer was an easy, full heart decision for him.
At the beginning of 2021, Boulder Beer revealed a new brand design, logo, and look all created by fellow Boulderites. They brought back old favorites like Mojo, Shake, and Hazed and Infused as well as introducing new names like SKO (originally Buffalo Gold Beer) and new concepts like Bubbly By Nature, and one of a kind Bubbly IPA.
The Boulder Beer Company is also known for being civic minded. In 2008, it became a sponsoring partner in Boulder's "10 for a Change Challenge," a program designed to reduce energy consumption by 10% via eco-friendly improvements for increased energy efficiency. In addition to being a sponsor for the challenge, the Pub is already PACE Certified (Partners for a Clean Environment) using bio-diesel fuel, recycled/compostable "to go" containers, and recycling. The brewery uses 100% recycled 6-pack carriers and non-petroleum based inks. [8]
Every year, the Boulder Beer Company participates in "Beer 4 Boobs," a nationwide charity program raising money for the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. [9] They also host an annual "Goatshed Revival" Beer Festival in honor of their first brewery that was in a shed shared by goats. Part of the planning of the revival is a homebrew competition wherein homebrewer compete to have the Boulder Beer Company brew and distribute their homebrew. [10] Proceeds from the Goatshed Revival are donated to the Community Food Share, a non-profit organization feeding the community's poor.
In 1994, Ernst and Young awarded Gina Day, the owner of the company, with their Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
| Beer | Competition | Category | Year | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never Summer Ale | 2004 World Beer Cup | Strong Ale | 2004 | Gold Medal |
| Sundance Amber Ale | 2000 World Beer Cup | 2000 | Silver Medal | |
| Sweaty Betty Blonde | 2004 US Beer Tasting Championships | Southwest (Wheat Beer) | 2004 | Best of the Rockies |
| Planet Porter | Great American Beer Festival | 1992 | Gold Medal | |
| Planet Porter | World Beer Championships | 1997 | Silver Medal | |
| Singletrack Copper Ale | All About Beer Magazine | 2000 | Voted Best of the Best | |
| Singletrack Copper Ale | World Beer Cup | 2002 | Silver Medal | |
| Singletrack Copper Ale | World Beer Cup | 2004 | Bronze Medal | |
| Pass Time Pale Ale | World Beer Championships | 1997 | Silver Medal | |
| Buffalo Gold | World Beer Cup | 2000 | Silver Medal | |
| Pass Time Pale Ale | World Beer Championships | 1997 | Silver Medal | |
| Hazed & Infused | Boulder Brewfest | 2003 | Bronze Medal | |
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis on enthusiasm, new flavours, and varied brewing techniques.
The U.S. state of Oregon is home to more than 200 breweries and brew pubs that produce a large variety of beer.
Altbier is a style of beer brewed in the Rhineland, especially around the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. It is a copper coloured beer whose name comes from it being top-fermented, an older method than the bottom fermentation of lagers.
Beer in the United States is manufactured by more than 7,000 breweries, which range in size from industry giants to brew pubs and microbreweries. The United States produced 196 million barrels (23.0 GL) of beer in 2012, and consumes roughly 28 US gallons (110 L) of beer per capita annually. In 2011, the United States was ranked fifteenth in the world in per capita consumption, while total consumption was second only to China.
Goose Island Beer Company is a brewery in Chicago, Illinois, that began as a single brewpub opened in 1988 in Lincoln Park, Chicago, and named after a nearby island. The larger production brewery opened in 1995, and a second brewpub, in Wrigleyville, in 1999 which later closed in 2015.
Ice Harbor Brewing Company is a brewery founded in Pasco, Washington in 1996 by two former workers at the Hanford Site. They entered this venture after buying the Meheen & Collins brewery.
Mendocino Brewing Company is a brewery founded in 1983 as the Hopland Brewery in the Mendocino County town of Hopland, California. The brewery expanded and moved its operations to a larger Mendocino County facility located in Ukiah, California in 1997.
The U.S. state of Vermont is home to several breweries, microbreweries, nanobreweries, and brewpubs that produce a wide variety of beer.
Great Lakes Brewing Company is a brewery and brewpub in Cleveland, Ohio. The first brewpub and microbrewery in the state, Great Lakes Brewing has been noted as important to Cleveland's local identity and as one of the initial forces behind the revival of the Ohio City neighborhood on the near West Side. In 2015, it was the 21st-largest craft brewery by volume and the 28th-largest overall brewery in the United States. The company was established in 1988 by brothers Patrick and Daniel Conway, both St. Edward High School graduates, in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood, located near St. Ignatius High School and the West Side Market. The brewpub and restaurant remain in their original locations, while production has expanded to adjacent properties.
Bell's Brewery, Inc. is an American craft brewing company, with operations in Comstock and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Bell's brews acclaimed beers such as Hopslam Ale, Oberon Ale, and Two Hearted Ale. It operates a brewpub and a store selling merchandise and homebrewing supplies at its Kalamazoo location. Begun as a homebrewing store in 1983, and producing beer since 1985, it is the oldest existing craft brewery in Michigan and the oldest craft brewery east of Colorado. As of 2021, it was the 6th largest craft brewery in the United States, and was the largest independently owned brewery in Michigan when founder Larry Bell sold the company to Lion Little World Beverages - an Australian subsidiary of the Japanese Kirin beverage group at the end of 2021. The company also owns Upper Hand Brewery, a separately operated division in Escanaba, Michigan.
21st Amendment Brewery is a brewery located in San Leandro, California. Their original location is a brewpub and restaurant in the South Park neighborhood of San Francisco, California, two blocks from Oracle Park. The brewery's name refers to the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which repealed Prohibition.
SweetWater Brewing Company is a craft brewery founded in 1997 by Freddy Bensch and Kevin McNerney in Atlanta, Georgia. SweetWater's beers are unpasteurized and distribution is limited to select states.
Dock Street Brewing Company is an independent craft brewing company with a 10,500 square foot brewpub and production brewery in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Philadelphia, USA. Established in 1985, it claims to be the first craft brewing company based in the Philadelphia area following Prohibition and one of the first in the country. The name Dock Street was chosen in honor of the seaport district of the same name in Philadelphia which was the largest producer of beer in the then-newly formed country in the late 1700s.
San Diego County, California, has been called "the Craft Beer Capital of America". As of 2018, the county was home to 155 licensed craft breweries – the most of any county in the United States. Based on 2016 sales volume, three San Diego County breweries – Stone, Green Flash, and Karl Strauss – rank among the 50 largest craft brewers in the United States. San Diego County brewers pioneered the specialty beer style known as Double India Pale Ale, sometimes called San Diego Pale Ale. Its beer culture is a draw for tourism, particularly during major festivals such as San Diego Beer Week and the San Diego International Beer Competition. San Diego County breweries including Stone Brewing Co., AleSmith Brewing Company and Ballast Point Brewing Company are consistently rated among the top breweries in the world.
Upslope Brewing Company is a brewery company in Boulder, Colorado founded in 2008. The company operates two breweries, both in Boulder, and produces several types of beer.
