Favorite Colorado IPAs?

Wait a minute...they now send their beers to Texas?!

Fuck that.

Texans, I know your petrochemical dollars help keep Colorado mountain real estate prices high and the highways clogged with gaudy SUVs (and your terrible skiing in jeans/Bogner provides me with chairlift entertainment), but you can't just come in to our mountain communities and steal our mountain beer too.

As us old-timey Coloradans like to say: "Keep Colorado beautiful: put a Texan on a bus."

Seriously though, bummer to hear that we may be losing Backcountry's IIPA (and Breakfast Stout).

 

Why Texas?

 

As a former Texas native (sorry about clogging up the highways ) who visits family there often, the craft beer market relative to the population is hugely undersupplied. The local beer scene in the major markets (DFW, Houston, San Antonio, and somewhat Austin) are still in a start-up/development stage. The interest in craft beer has blown up, but the supply hasn't caught up yet so there is a huge opportunity for sales. I've noticed many small-medium sized Colorado breweries have found their way down there. Backcountry, Elevation, Epic, Tommyknocker, Upslope just to name a few. Seems strange that they would prioritize Texas over the local market, but I'm guessing it's purely a dollars and cents move.

 

Plus the competition up here is insane!

 

I mean, it's only the best show on television, M-m-m-morty!

I went back with my brother raving about the CO Superdamp, and we tried the OR Superdamp and I didn't like it quite as much, but it was still excellent. My brother wasn't crazy about it (though he prefers the Pacific NW pinier IPAs).

 

I seem to remember someone telling me that the owner is from Texas and wanted to get into that market, but I don't remember who or where I heard it so take that for what it's worth

 

Yeah, from what I gather it's the owner's thing. I mean, I guess I get the idea. Texas is likely a great market to infiltrate if you can. The catch is that the Frisco brewery is still pretty small. In order to brew enough beer for both Colorado and Texas they'd need to either expand, contract, or deal with beer shortages and a rushed product.
I'm sure they still have good people up there, but I don't know if this whole thing is feasible.

 

They were talking with Sleeping Giant...but I don't know the current status. Sounds like not since they run out of beer at the Frisco location.

 

I remember them being named in the Sleeping Giant press release before anything was even signed
SG has kicked major ass for Station 26, so I suppose that a prime example of what they're capable of.

 

I wondered how S26 was cranking out so much packaged beer from such a small spot, did not know about this SG place. all makes sense now

 

That might explain it!

 

They (SG) are doing quite a bit of work, and so far doing it properly from what I can tell. They certainly....tapped....into something.

*rimshot*

 

I thought that was a secret...

 

Yeah, the didn't ....sleep....on that one.

 

I'd actually love to know which breweries Sleeping Giant works with. Some of the places that are doing their own hand-canning and whatnot should probably look to them.

 

I've heard that their space is all booked for at least the next year, so working with them isn't really an option if you're not already on their list. I know a lot of these are out of state breweries. I was curious how well the concept would work out for them, but they're obviously winning!

 

Does anyone know who Stillwater is using in Colorado now?

 

Crazy Mountain

 

I saw they were doing a beer together at Collab Fest and thought...WTF?...but now it all makes perfect sense!

 

we've thrown around some ideas for this collab and it's definitely going to be something you won't want to miss.