The brewery won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2011, just five months after opening and has been planning to bottle the beer since last fall.
See also: - Copper Kettle's Kristen Kozik on GABF judges, awards and kick-ass sours - Copper Kettle triples the size of its brewing space - Small, non-packaging Colorado breweries score big at GABF
"We are a small brewery, so we can't do everything in one big chuck," says Jeremy Gobien, who owns Copper Kettle with his wife Kristen Kozik. First, they had to rent the space next door, then buy a bigger cooler and add a new thirty-barrel fermenter.
Then they bought a small but automated six-head bottling line, which will be able to fill 22-ounce bomber bottles. Now, Copper Kettle is just waiting on approval for its label, an intense design by Loveland's Josh Emrich, which features a Mayan/Aztec god. Emrich has also done labels for Grimm Brothers, Uinta and AC Golden.
"Bombers are the only package that made sense for us," Gobien says. "They make the beer more of an experience rather than just a beer that you sit down and drink."
The brewery will start by selling bottles from its tap room. After that, Gobien says he plans to add about three liquor store accounts and then another three after that.
"We're going to see what kind of volume we do," he says, adding that "one of the dangers is having too much demand and not being able to meet it, so we'll see how the first run goes."
That run will be about 5,000 bottles, but Gobien plans to continue bottling year round. If things go well, he'll also bottle Copper Kettle's High Country Breakfast Stout.
Copper Kettle will begin bottling sometime in June and plans to have a party to release the beer sometime this summer.
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