In the ongoing Brewers Association Annual Report thread, I learned about a new (well, new to me) brewery Tivoli and apparently a beer they produce called Outlaw Light. Apparently Outlaw Light accounts for something like 85% of Tivoli’s beer production. Tivoli is listed as the 18th largest craft brewery so they must be selling a lot of Outlaw Light beer. I have heretofore never heard of this beer. I went to see how it is discussed on BA and I found that for a light lager it is rated pretty highly: 80 (Good). Below is how @seakayak discusses this beer (with highlighting in bold by me: -Look: Hazy pale yellow with a huge creamy cap of foam that lasts. -Aroma: Lemongrass hops, grainy malts, and mineral water. -Taste: Bright lemony hops, deep almost smoked-grain malts. -Feel: Light and slightly prickly, slippery and quick sliding down. -Overall: Superior light lager with a delicious flavor, almost like a Kölsch. I also found a good writeup about this beer with some extracts from that linked article below: “Outlaw is a Kölsch-style light beer — fermented cold with a hybrid German ale yeast and built with Magnum hops and pilsner malt. It lands at 4.2% ABV and 105 calories. Clean, crisp, and priced to move. While it drinks like a domestic lager, the Kölsch yeast gives it a slightly different backbone — a point of subtle distinction in a sea of sameness. More importantly, it’s brewed fast and efficiently, allowing it to hit a competitive $21.99 price point for a 24-pack in many markets. We’ve seen it as low as $17 online.” And: “Outlaw’s rise isn’t luck — it’s been earned through relentless focus, Outlaw hustle and a product that delivers every time,” said Opsahl, CEO of Outlaw and Tivoli Brewing Co. “We set out to make a light beer that punches above its weight — full of flavor, priced right and built for the people who live life their own authentic way. We’re not chasing fads, but instead answering real demand. We’re building something sustainable — a national brand rooted in genuine connection.” Also: “In less than two years, Outlaw has gone from a Colorado startup to a near-national brand. It’s now sold in 45 states and will be available nationwide by the end of 2025. The brand has landed in major retail chains — Walmart, Costco, Kroger, Whole Foods, Safeway, HEB, Circle K, Buc-ee’s, and more. It’s also building share in music events and big-box retailers across Texas, Florida, and the Midwest. As we mentioned, Tivoli projects a 200,000-bbl run rate by the end of the year just for its Outlaw brand, but what we didn’t mention is that’s something like 65 times its 2022 output (if we consider Tivoli only produced 3,000 bbls of Outlaw in 2022). Outlaw has entered 2025 at full throttle, doubling its first quarter sales-to-retailer volume performance (case equivalents) from last year and pushing toward coast-to-coast availability by year’s end.” https://www.craftbrewingbusiness.co...beer-brand-continues-to-break-the-macro-mold/ It does indeed appear that Outlaw Light is a craft beer industry success story. In today’s very competitive beer industry where we regularly read about decreasing sales, craft breweries closing, etc. it sure seems that Tivoli has ‘caught lightening in a bottle’ here. Cheers!
I'll keep an eye out for this one. I'm always on the lookout for sub 5% abv beers that can still bring solid flavor. And Kolsch is the one style of beer my wife consistently enjoys, so she may be into it as well. Thanks for the suggestion.
I tried it 4 years ago. Not bad. I'd prefer to see it on draught over the Busch Light that seems to be everywhere.
Have you and your wife tasted Von Trapp Kolsch? Not as inexpensive as Outlaw Light, but a tasty beer IMO. Cheers!
I've seen this beer around and just assumed it was an offshoot of one of the big macros, slightly intrigued by it now. A good candidate for NBW should I be able to find a single at some point.
I was thinking the exact same thing! I sincerely doubt I will be able to find a single of this beer but I suppose you never know? Cheers!
I'm not sure if they do but maybe they sell the giant 24 oz cans as an option, I will check the store next time I go beer shopping.
I believe we have, at some point. I don't remember it specifically, but I do know that I've enjoyed all of the Von Trap brews I have tried.
This beer's scenario sounds like a quick buck marketing-driven beer, and I suspected that Tivoli brews only Outlaw and Outlaw Lite. No so. Their brewery page shows them brewing 39 different beers. They're NORMAL! https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/37509/
Tivoli is a weird case where they bounced around as a brand, then a brewery, and now they're mostly back to just being a brand. The BA listing is for their now closed brewery on the CU Denver campus. From memory, their packaged stuff was contract brewed elsewhere even when it was open. Now they're just a brand again. Outlaw is brewed at a large contract facility down in La Junta as well as a few other contract facilities (like City in La Crosse, WI) elsewhere. Their path is pretty unusual by any standards.
While these are not my preferred styles, I do wish Tivoli, Garage Beer, and others all the success in the world in taking over the shelf space now occupied by Bud Light, Busch Light, Mich Ultra, and all the rest of the omnipresent AB swill. <Insert gratuitous "Dream On" video>
The reference to Tivoli caught my attention. I grew up near Denver and remember the beer. I also remember the old brewery building - a landmark. I also remember the flood that did them in. I didn’t know how big they were nor that they were reconstituted and moved to La Junta - which is way out there on the plains from Google: The brothers immediately faced hardship when the Platte River flooded in 1965, damaging the brewery. One year later, a labor strike set the business back exponentially. In April 1969, the Tivoli Brewery closed for business. Until Tivoli closed, it was the second oldest continuously operating brewery in the country with Pennsylvania's Yuengling brewery being the only brewery with an existence surpassing that of Tivoli.
Not sure where the search engine Google got that info, but it contradicts industry and CO histories. According to the Colorado Encyclopedia: 1864 agrees with American Breweries II (Van Wieren) founding year for what initially was called the Colorado Brewing Co. on 10th & Larimer Street in Denver. Just off-hand, older breweries still around in 1969 included Ballantine (1840), Heileman (1858), Pabst (1840), Schaefer (1842), A. Schell (1860), Schmidt of Phila. (1860), Stegmaier (1858), Schlitz (1849), Stroh (1850).
$11.49 for 12 at the local TW. Maybe cheaper even closer to home. At that price, I’d buy it to try and give it to my 20-something nephews if it’s too light for me.
Tried Tivoli Outlaw at a restaurant/taproom back in September 2022. I thought it was one of the weakest, wateriest, flavorless 'beers' I had the misfortune to blow $ plus a tip on. Couldn't even muster a one star & ended up giving it a 0.50. Now, maaaybe it was the first pour of the day & might've still had water in the lines but I'll probably never take a chance on any more Tivoli brews again.
The growth from 3,000 barrels in 2022 to a current 65 times that and an almost nationwide presence is astonishing. I wonder who is on their sales & marketing team that would be able to drive that level of growth in a tightening beer market, and how they are accomplishing it.
