WeldWerks, Colorado's Hottest Brewery, Opening Taproom in Colorado Springs

WeldWerks Brewing, which has become Colorado's hottest beer maker since it opened in Greeley in 2015, says that it will open a second taproom west of downtown Colorado Springs. The location, in a former diner called The Dive, at 3043 West Pikes Peak Avenue, won't include any brewing equipment, but will sell all of the brewery's beers, including its coveted canned releases.

"There is something about Colorado Springs for us that touches the same nerve and includes all of the things that we love about Greeley," says Jake Goodman, Weldwerks director of sales and marketing. "It's family-based, it's up-and-coming, and we just really love the vibe of the place."

And it's not Denver, which is going to make beer hunters in the Mile High City sad but is likely to make other breweries here happy, since there is already intense competition in the city. The move also helps keep the WeldWerks allure intact, as its beers have always been somewhat scarce and hard to claim; fans from the metro area have been driving to Greeley every weekend in droves for the past three years.

"Shoving ourselves into RiNo or somewhere else in Denver just isn't who we are," Goodman explains. "Colorado Springs is bigger than Greeley but much smaller than Denver, and we just enjoy kicking it in a quiet, hardworking but really lovely town."

Parking will be tight at the new location, which could be a problem, but Goodman says the brewery is already thinking about novel ways to get people in and out quickly. The taproom itself, at only 1,300 square feet, will also be tight, but it will include an all-season, west-facing patio with "a really rad view."

"This isn't going to be Greeley part two. It's going to be its own thing," he adds. "This is fun for us. We can start fresh with a totally blank slate and dial it in to whatever Colorado Springs needs."

WeldWerks first burst onto the brewing scene in 2015 and 2016 with Juicy Bits, a hazy IPA that immediately grabbed the hearts of Colorado drinkers and is now one of the highest-rated examples of the style. It went on to win awards and acclaim for a wide variety of beer styles, including Medianoche, which took gold at the Great American Beer Festival.

Last year, WeldWerks brewed more than 130 different beers, an experiment that garnered attention from beer writers and aficionados. It also hosted a massive beer festival in Greeley and underwent a large expansion.