Breckenridge Brewery is an American brewing company based in Littleton, Colorado. Select beers can be found in 42 US states. The company was purchased by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2016 and resold to Tilray in 2023.[1]
 | |
| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder | Richard Squire |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | USA |
Key people | Todd Usry (president) |
| Products | Beer |
| Owner | Tilray |
| Website | breckbrew |
History
editFounding
editBreckenridge Brewery was founded in Breckenridge, Colorado, by Richard Squire in 1990.[2] It was Colorado's third craft brewery.[3] 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.[4][5]
Expansion
editIn 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.[3] 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.[3] 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.[6] 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.[7][8] 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.[5][9]
Breckenridge Brewery ranked #50 on the Brewers Association's 2014 list of the largest US craft breweries,[10] and #47 on the 2015 list.[11] The Brewers Association ranked Breckenridge Brewery as Colorado's fifth-largest craft brewer by barrels produced in 2015.[12] Early on, Breckenridge Brewery produced roughly 1,000 barrels of beer per year.[5] By 2015, the company was producing over 70,000 barrels of beer,[13] with its beers sold in 35 states in the US.[14]
Purchase by Anheuser-Busch InBev
editOn 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.[13][15] The acquisition, completed in 2016, included Breckenridge Brewery's production brewery and Farm House restaurant in Littleton, as well as its brewpub in Breckenridge.[14] In an open letter to Breckenridge Brewery consumers, Usry said the brewery would continue to make its own decisions regarding the beer it creates.[15]
Partnerships
editEvery 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.[16]
Since 2013, Breckenridge Brewery has regularly collaborated with Never Summer Industries for the creation of limited edition Artist Series snowboards and special release beers.[17][18]
List of beers brewed
edit| Beer | Category | Available | Style | ABV% | IBU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agave Wheat | Mainline | Year round | Unfiltered 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 | Brown Ale | 6.0% | 21 |
| Christmas Ale | Seasonal | Winter | Winter ale | 7.1% | 22 |
| Snow Glare Hoppy Wheat | Seasonal | Spring | Wheat ale | 6.0% | 23 |
| Summer Pils | Seasonal | Summer | German Pilsner | 5% | 15 |
| King's Dish | Small Batch | Limited | Burton ale | 6.8% | 55 |
| 471 Small Batch IPA | Small Batch | Year Round | Double IPA | 9.2% | 70 |
| 72 Imperial | Small Batch | Limited | Imperial chocolate cream stout | 7.2% | 11 |
| Palisade Peach Wheat | Seasonal | Summer/Fall | Wheat Ale | 5.3% | 7 |
| Hazy Pilsner | Seasonal | Saaz dry-hopped Pilsner | 5% | 30 | |
| Hop In Hand - Idaho 7 | American IPA | 7.7% | |||
| Hugs & High Fives | American Lager | 5.3% | |||
| Imperial Porter | American Porter | 7.5% | |||
| Juice Drop Pineapple Orange | Mainline | Year Round | New England IPA | 7.2% | 44 |
| Mile High City Golden Ale | CO Exclusive | Limited | American Ale | 5.5% | 20 |
| Oatmeal Stout Ver. 2.0 | Oatmeal Stout | 6% | |||
| Peanut Butter Stout | American Porter | 5.9% | |||
| Peerless Summer IPA | American IPA | 6.4% | |||
| Summer Pils Shandy | Mainline | Year Round | Fruit and Field Beer | 4.3% | 10 |
| Vienna Lager | Vienna Lager | 5% | |||
| Buddy Pass Whiskey Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout | Small Batch | Limited | American Imperial Stout | 10.5% | N/A |
| Juice Drop Hazy IPA | Mainline | Year Round | Hazy IPA | 7% | 60 |
| Strawberry Sky | Mainline | Year Round | Kolsch | 4.8% | 23 |
References
edit- ^ "Tilray Brands Announces Agreement to Acquire Eight Beer & Beverage Brands from Anheuser-Busch, Fueling Tilray's Future in the U.S. Craft Beer Industry". 7 August 2023.
- ^ Elizabeth J. Goodgold, "Brand-Spankin' Brew," Entrepreneur, January 2003.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ a b Alicia Wallace, "Breckenridge Brewery sold to giant Anheuser-Busch's 'High End'," Denver Post, December 22, 2015.
- ^ a b "Anheuser-Busch buying Colorado's Breckenridge Brewery," Chicago Tribune, December 22, 2015.
- ^ a b "Anheuser-Busch InBev Buys Large Colorado Craft Beer Brewery," The 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.
