Breckenridge Brewery is an Americanbrewing company based inLittleton, Colorado. Select beers can be found in 42 US states. The company was purchased byAnheuser-Busch InBev in 2016 and resold toTilray 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 inBreckenridge, Colorado, by Richard Squire in 1990.[2] It was Colorado's thirdcraft brewery.[3] In 1991, Squire brought on Todd Usry, who took over asbrewmaster 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 inDenver adjacent to what would becomeCoors Field, home of theColorado 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,[3] remained open until April of 2018 when it became the second location for famous Denver restaurant The Cherry Cricket.[6] In 2010, Wynkoop announced a merger with Breckenridge to form the holding company Breckenridge-Wynkoop LLC. The company also owns theWynkoop Brewing Company, Phantom Canyon Brewing, and several restaurants.[7] 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.[8][9] 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][10]
Breckenridge Brewery ranked #50 on theBrewers Association's 2014 list of the largest US craft breweries,[11] and #47 on the 2015 list.[12] The Brewers Association ranked Breckenridge Brewery as Colorado's fifth-largest craft brewer by barrels produced in 2015.[13] 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,[14] with its beers sold in 35 states in the US.[15]
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.[14][16] The acquisition, completed in 2016, included Breckenridge Brewery's production brewery and Farm House restaurant in Littleton, as well as its brewpub in Breckenridge.[15] In an open letter to Breckenridge Brewery consumers, Usry said the brewery would continue to make its own decisions regarding the beer it creates.[16]
Partnerships
editEvery year since the inaugural 2012Denver 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.[17]
Since 2013, Breckenridge Brewery has regularly collaborated withNever Summer Industries for the creation of limited edition Artist Series snowboards and special release beers.[18][19]
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.
- ^abcLee 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.
- ^abcLoren Green,"Breck Brewery's Brewmaster Talks Expansion, Big Bottles and Leftover Salmon,"Paste, July 18, 2015.
- ^Antonation, Mark."New Ballpark Cherry Cricket Aims for April 17 Opening".Westword. Retrieved2025-03-01.
- ^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.
- ^abAlicia Wallace,"Breckenridge Brewery sold to giant Anheuser-Busch's 'High End',"Denver Post, December 22, 2015.
- ^ab"Anheuser-Busch buying Colorado's Breckenridge Brewery,"Chicago Tribune, December 22, 2015.
- ^ab"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.
