There has been a spate of brewery expansions over the past six months as local beer makers look for ways to expand their market and expand their reach.
The expansions have included new taprooms from Downhill Brewing (Greenwood Village), Lone Tree Brewing (Parker), Westbound & Down Brewing (Basalt), Cerebral Brewing (Aurora), Verboten Brewing & Barrel Project (Fort Collins), Living the Dream Brewing (Littleton), Westfax Brewing (Colorado Springs), Denver Beer Co. (Littleton), and Breckenridge Brewery (Fort Collins).
This week, three more breweries will open the doors to new taprooms.
Incantation Brewing
After two and a half years in Aurora, the brewery formerly known as Jade Mountain Brewery & Tea House, 4233 S. Buckley Road, changed its name — to Incantation Brewing — and its theme, from a business focused on Chinese culture and ingredients to one with a heavy metal music bent. Owner Sean Guerrero said the old name and theme simply weren’t working for him.
Shortly thereafter, Guerrero announced that he would open a second taproom and coffee shop, this one in Denver, at 415 S. Cherokee St. in a former restaurant.
That taproom, which won’t have any brewing equipment, opens Friday with a party featuring food trucks, music, coffee and the release of Doom, a West Coast-style double IPA. Brewed with Citra and El Dorado hops, the brewery describes the 8.5% ABV beer as “dank and dangerous.”
Upslope Brewing
One of Colorado’s ten largest breweries, Upslope will begin pouring beers inside the Bluebird Market Hall in Silverthorne today, Aug. 2. The Upslope Apres Outpost is still being completed, but it already has 10 beer taps, plus a hard yerba mate and several cocktails made with hard seltzer.
Founded in 2008, Upslope — with two locations in Boulder had been looking for a location in the mountains for several years, according to co-founder Matt Cutter. The Bluebird Market opened in January 2022 and has around 10 eating and drinking concepts, including the Mighty Colorado Burger, Lucky Bird and Lazo Empanadas, along with a coffee shop, ice cream parlor and deli.
Sanitas Brewing
Sanitas Brewing, which was founded in Boulder in 2013 and opened a second taproom in Englewood in 2023, will introduce a third taproom on Saturday, Aug. 10 — this one in the town of Lafayette, which is home to several other well-known Colorado beer makers.
The 3,700-square-foot taproom, at 400 West South Boulder Road, Suite 1650, also boasts 18 taps and a sprawling, 17,000-square-foot patio; the brewery’s Boulder location is also known for its patio. In addition, Sanitas will make some beers on-site with a 10-barrel brewing system.
For food, Sanitas has teamed up with Kenny Lou’s Deli (a part of Button Rock Bakery), which is located in the same complex, to provide a paired bar menu, the company said.
