Cannonball Creek opens Saturday in Golden, kicking off a craft brew revolution in Coors country

On Saturday, however, Cannonball Creek Brewery will open its doors, joining Golden City Brewery, which has been the town's "second largest brewery" since 1993 and ushering in a wave of at least three other beer makers that plan to open there this year.

See also: - Two former Mountain Sun brewers will open Cannonball Creek Brewery in Golden - Diebolt Brewing will join Denver's Sunnyside neighborhood this year - Golden City's Sarah Henderson may be the only female head brewer in Colorado

"I think Golden is ready and that we need this," says Brian Hutchinson, who owns Cannonball Creek with Jason Stengl. "Golden has a lot of potential for being a craft-beer destination town as long as we are all making good beer and supporting each other. It's a cool town that deserves a little more attention."

The former head brewer for Boulder's Mountain Sun Pub, Hutchinson lives in Golden and says he picked the north side of town because of the new neighborhoods nearby.

Cannonball will have four beers on tap beginning at 3 p.m. on Saturday: a Belgian Dubbel, a Belgian Golden Ale, an American IPA and hybrid English-American pale ale. Eventually, the brewery will have ten to twelve beers on tap.

Mountain Toad Brewing, at 900 Washington Avenue, was founded by four Colorado School of Mines engineers and will probably be the next to open.

"Golden has been slow to jump in the brewery bandwagon as compared to Denver," says co-owner Kaylee Acuff. "Maybe it's a good ol' boys thing in that people are loyal to Coors and Golden City at some point. But I think we are ready for more."

Mountain Toad has a ten-barrel brewing system and hopes to open in May with eight beers on tap, four standard styles and four experimental ones.

Abby and Zach George, the owners of another planned brewery, Barrels and Bottles, also hope to open in May, but it could be a little longer since they are still waiting to sign a lease on a location near the Colorado School of Mines.

Once it is up and running, Barrels and Bottles will have a kitchen serving such light fare as sandwiches and hummus. It will also sell kegged wine, along with vinegars and olive oil.

"We are really excited about the area," says Abby George, who moved with her husband to Colorado from North Carolina last April to start their business. "We looked at Fort Collins and Boulder, but when we drove through Golden, we thought it was awesome."

Barrels and Bottles will brew five of its own beers on a three-barrel system and serve another ten beers on guest taps from other breweries. "We are doing a lot of things, but they are all small things, and we hope that sets us apart," George says.

A third brewery called CODA Brewing may also be in the works for Golden.

As for Coors, Cannonball's Hutchinson doesn't think that brewery is shaking in its boots. "I doubt it. Maybe they are, but I don't think so," he says.