Alpine Dog Brewing Takes a Hiatus as It Looks for a New Space

Making space for Crazy Mountain.

August 11, 2021

Alpine Dog Brewing

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Alpine Dog Brewing, which opened around the corner from the Ogden Theatre in 2014, served its last beer in that location on August 10 as it prepares to find a new spot where it can serve many more; the brewery had been on a month-to-month lease while it searched for somewhere else to go.

The move makes way for Crazy Mountain Brewing, which hopes to take over the space at 1505 Ogden Street. Crazy Mountain closed its own brewery, at 471 Kalamath Street, in May as part of a significant downsizing and rebranding effort; it is currently producing beer at a contract brewing facility.

"Unfortunately, we didn't feel that the current climate allowed us to throw a proper send-off party," Alpine Dog owner Gardiner Hammond wrote on the brewery's Facebook page. "Thank you to everyone who enjoyed beers and laughter at this space, and cheers to many good times had."

Hammond told Westword in July that he would like to find a new location nearby and hopes to reopen in time for the brewery's annual Christmas party. He will likely have to buy new brewing equipment, however, since Crazy Mountain is negotiating to purchase what's now inside Alpine Dog.

Crazy Mountain president Barry Watkins says the brewery isn't yet ready to discuss the details of when it might reopen or what it might look like when it does. But in an interview in May, he said he hoped that the move would allow the brewery, which has faced a series of problems over the past five years, to make and sell its beer in a "predictable" way and to get its footing back.

Jonathan Shikes is a Denver native who writes about business and beer for Westword.

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