River North Brewery Will Return to RiNo, at 3400 Blake Street

When River North Brewery opened in March 2012 at 2401 Blake Street, in the former home of Flying Dog Brewing, it set the pace for what was to come in Denver — not just with its beer, but with its location and name. Over the next three and a half years, another ten breweries opened in RiNo, with more soon to come — but River North itself left in October 2015, after its home was sold.

When the brewery left, co-founder Matthew Hess vowed that River North would be returning to the neighborhood sometime in the future. In the meantime, River North moved its brewhouse, tanks, barrels and packaging line into a 10,000-square-foot warehouse at 6021 Washington Street, where it put together a new production facility that was twice as big as the original. It also opened a small, rudimentary tap room there in order to keep its public face.

But now River North Brewery is returning to RiNo. The brewery just sent out this announcement:

We’re coming home!

We are beyond ecstatic to announce that we have finally locked in a location back in our namesake neighborhood, RiNo.

Just this morning, we finalized the deal on a new space at 3400 Blake Street – exactly 10 blocks up the street from our original home.

And oh how we’ve missed the ‘hood.

River North's new home, just a few blocks from the light-rail station at 38th and Blake streets and the soon-to-open pedestrian bridge, will have a five- to seven-barrel brewhouse and a big, south-facing patio. It will also have plenty of unique small-batch beers only available at the brewery. "From stouts to sours to IPAs – some hazy, some bright as a bluebird ski day – the RiNo taproom will offer an ever-changing selection of one-off brews and classic River North beers, too," the brewery says in the announcement. "It will also feature a deep cellar list of vintage River North bottles, a 32-ounce Crowler machine for endless take-home options, and a steady rotation of the city’s best food trucks."

For now, the Washington Street location will maintain its taproom hours; after the new Blake Street location opens, it will continue to serve as the production headquarters for River North's cans and bottles.

"If all goes to plan, we expect to open the Blake Street taproom late this year or in early 2018," the founders promise. "When that happens, expect the most epic event in River North Brewery history…the Homecoming Party."

As for the brewery's original home on Blake? That building was scraped and today is home to a massive apartment complex.

Welcome to RiNo.