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Breaking Down the 30 New Colorado Breweries that Opened in 2017

Breaking Down the 30 New Colorado Breweries that Opened in 2017
Brian Phipps

Last year, Colorado added 30 new breweries to its already impressive arsenal. That means all new recipes, taprooms and beers to explore throughout the Centennial state. How many of the new breweries did you visit last year? How many of these have you heard of? Either way, it’s time to welcome Colorado’s new class of brewers.

Check out our entire list below, where each is located and a brief analysis of the growth of breweries in Colorado.

Total Breweries

First of all, this list of 30 new breweries comes from Colorado Brewery List, which is one of the best resources for finding information about all Colorado breweries. This site also includes a list of the upcoming breweries, breweries that are under construction, or in planning. It is awesome and the Colorado Brewery List is managed by our very good friend, the Colorado Beer Geek, who has visited every brewery in Colorado.

 

Breweries by County

Map courtesy of Jackie Phipps

Currently, there are 314 unique breweries in Colorado. Additionally, 25 breweries are secondary locations. Lastly, two are owned by Coors or AB InBev. Altogether, this means there are 340 Colorado breweries in total.

As you might expect, Denver County contains the highest number of breweries of any county in Colorado with 62 breweries. Boulder County boasts 42 breweries, Larimer County follows with 32 breweries, and Jefferson County contains 27 breweries within its boundaries. El Paso County is next closest with 22 breweries.

Still, 24 counties around the state do not have a brewery. In 2017, all 30 new breweries opened in counties with at least one brewery in operation. Pitkin County doubled the number of its breweries to two with Capitol Creek Brewery opening in Basalt.

Using 2016 population estimates by the US Census Bureau, the scatterplot below shows all Colorado counties and the number of breweries each has.

Changes and Closings

Sadly, 15 breweries closed in 2017. Each brewery closed for differing reasons, such as selling to a new owner, financial issues or deciding to just serve food. Check out this article from Colorado Brewery List on why each brewery ended up closing last year.

Approximately, the average lifespan of these breweries was a little over seven years. Below is the list of locations that closed in 2017:

  • 1933 Brewing Company (March 2014 – January 2017)
  • Backcountry Brewery (September 1996 – October 2017)
  • Beer By Design (June 2013 – December 2017)
  • C.B. & Potts (Broomfield) (Unsure – October 2017)
  • Deep Draft Brewing (July 2015 – October 2017)
  • Fort Collins Brewery (March 2004 – July 2017)
  • Moffat Station Brewery (October 2014 – August 2017)
  • Mu Brewery (June 2014 – February 2017)
  • Pateros Creek Brewing (June 2011 – April 2017)
  • Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha (August 2016 – February 2017)
  • Royal Gorge Brewing Co (May 2011 – June 2017)
  • Shine Brewing Company (December 2011 – September 2017)
  • Triple S Brewing (October 2015 – August 2017)
  • Walnut Brewery (May 1990 – June 2017)
  • Wolfe Brewing (September 2014 – August 2017)

In addition, Wit’s End Brewing and Strange Craft Brewing have joined forces and now share a location.

Colorado Craft Brewery Openings by Year

Moving on, last year marked the third consecutive year in which the number of brewery openings in Colorado decreased. Unfortunately, this is nearly a 38 percent decrease in openings from the year prior. Furthermore, the 30 brewery openings are the least amount since 2012 when 27 breweries opened.

However, there is no need to fret about new breweries opening in the near future, Colorado Brewery List identifies 184 breweries, cideries and meaderies in a phase of concept, planning or construction. Now, this does not necessarily mean they will open in 2018, but have started the process of making a brewery.

Colorado Breweries Born in 2017

Finally, here is a complete list of all 30 breweries that opened in Colorado last year. The list is sorted by county. In addition, you can also see any PorchDrinking articles related to the brewery.

 

Adams County

Mother Tucker Brewery

12189 Pennsylvania St, Thornton, CO 80233

(303) 993-6033

Opened May 26, 2017

Related PorchDrinking Content:

 

Alamosa County

Square Peg Brewerks

625 Main Street, Alamosa, CO 81101

(719) 580-7472

Opened June 2, 2017

Related PorchDrinking Content:

 

Arapahoe County

Peak to Peak Tap & Brew

16701 E Illif Ave, Aurora, CO 80013

(720) 446-8714

Opened May 20, 2017

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Boulder County

Beyond The Mountain Brewing

6035 Longbow Drive Unit 9, Boulder, CO 80301

(303) 530-6981

Opened December 9, 2017

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Bootstrap Brewing – Longmont

142 S. Pratt Parkway, Longmont, CO 80501

(303) 652-4186

Opened March 9, 2017

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Boulder Beer Company – Walnut St

1123 Walnut St, Boulder, CO 80302

(303) 447-1345

Opened July 22, 2017

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Endo Brewing

2755 Dagny Way, Lafayette, CO 80026

(720) 442-8052

Opened August 26, 2017

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Gunbarrel Brewing

7088 Winchester Circle, Boulder, CO 80301

(800) 803-5732

Opened June 14, 2017

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Open Door Brewing

2030 Ionosphere Street G, Longmont, CO 80504

(720) 593-1401

Opened March 24, 2017

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The Post – Boulder

2027 13th St, Boulder, CO 80302

(720) 372-3341

Opened November 2, 2017

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Uturn BBQ

599 Crossing Drive, Lafayette, CO 80026

(303) 993-6033

Opened January 30, 2017

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Clear Creek County

Guanella Pass Brewing Company

501 Rose Street, Georgetown, CO 80444

(303) 569-5167

Opened May 26, 2017

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Denver County

14er Brewing Company

2801 Walnut St, Denver, CO 80205

(720) 773-1437

Opened July 1, 2017

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Alternation Brewing

1539 S Broadway, Denver, CO 80210

(303) 802-5340

Opened December 9, 2017

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The Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project

925 W 8th St, Denver, CO 80204

(720) 572-5172

Opened May 20, 2017

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Woods Boss Brewing

2200 California St, Denver, CO 80205

(720) 642-7177

Opened August 11, 2017

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Zuni Street Brewing

2900 Zuni St, Denver, CO 80211

(303) 862-6525

Opened March 8, 2017

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Douglas County

FanDraught Sports Brewery

19340 Cottonwood Dr, Parker, CO 80138

(303) 990-2070

Opened October 28, 2017

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Grist Brewing – Lone Tree

9535 Park Meadows Dr, Lone Tree, CO 80124

(303) 728-9394

Opened May 27, 2017

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El Paso County

Goat Patch Brewing Co.

2727 N Cascade Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80907

(719) 471-4628

Opened July 31, 2017

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Jefferson County

Denver Beer Co. – Arvada

5768 Olde Wadsworth Bvld, Arvada, CO 80002

(303) 433-2739

Opened June 17, 2017

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Landlocked Ales

3225 S. Wadsworth, Lakewood, CO 80227

(303) 284-8748

Opened June 24, 2017

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Larimer County

DC Oakes Brewhouse and Eatery

3581 E Harmony Rd, Fort Collins, CO 80528

(970) 286-2076

Opened June 20, 2017

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Gilded Goat Brewing Company

3500 South College Ave, Fort Collins, CO 80525

(970) 825-7192

Opened February 3, 2017

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Purpose Brewing and Cellars

4025 S Mason St, Fort Collins, CO 80525

(970) 377-4107

Opened August 4, 2017

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Montezuma County

WildEdge Brewing Collective

111 North Market Street, Cortez, CO 81321

(970) 565-9445

Opened April 11, 2017

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Pitkin County

Capitol Creek Brewery

371 Market St, Basalt, CO 81621

(970) 279-5723

Opened May 22, 2017

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Weld County

Green Earth Brewing

725 10th St, Greeley, CO 80631

(970) 702-2332

Opened December 2, 2017

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Mountain Cowboy Brewing

302 Fifth St, Frederick, CO 80530

(303) 726-9288

Opened December 26, 2017

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Veteran Brothers Brewing Company

21 N Parish St, Johnstown, CO 80534

(970) 587-6786

Opened May 26, 2017

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