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Karen Hertz struck gluten-free gold in 2016 when she opened Holidaily Brewing in Golden. One of the first dedicated gluten-free breweries in the country, it has since grown into the largest such facility from a capacity standpoint — and a staple for its thankful regulars, many of whom have Celiac disease or other health problems that keep them from drinking regular beer.
Now Hertz hopes to build on that success by opening a second taproom in the Denver Tech Center, at 5370 Greenwood Plaza Boulevard in Greenwood Village. The 2,350-square-foot taproom includes a dog-friendly patio and a two-barrel pilot brewing system where Holidaily will experiment with new gluten-free ingredients and smaller batches of beer.
“People who are gluten-free really don’t get a lot of options when it comes to anything, not just beer,” Hertz says. The taproom will give people in Denver’s southern suburbs a place where they can try everything from a hazy IPA made with toasted millet, buckwheat malt and Mosaic and Cashmere hops to a Belgian-style “wit” bier, a pumpkin ale, a stout, a red ale and a tart gose.
“We wanted a space that was far enough from Golden that we wouldn’t cannibalize our sales there, but also to provide an outlet for people to try Holidaily without having to drive to Golden,” she continues. “Also, we are really growing outside of Colorado, and once there is not a pandemic, there will be a lot of travelers who come to the DTC area.”
The move is also a bit of a homecoming for Hertz, a Colorado native who grew up in Englewood, just a few miles west of Greenwood Village. In fact, one of her friends from the age of two years old, Todd Price, stopped by the Golden brewery recently to have some fun re-creating a photo that was taken of the them operating a lemonade stand — but this time with beer.
Hertz says she got into the industry at a good time. “When we opened, we were the fifth” certified gluten-free brewery in the country (there are now sixteen), but the company grew quickly. Three years after debuting its taproom at 801 Brickyard Circle in Golden, Holidaily expanded across the street into a 10,000-square-foot brewhouse with a twenty-barrel brewing system and a canning line that is used to package beers like Fat Randy’s IPA and Favorite Blonde.
In 2020, despite the pandemic, the brewery was able to grow by 30 percent, producing 2,200 barrels of beer. This year, Hertz expects to more than double that — to 5,000 barrels. Much of that will be canned, and some will be distributed into at least five other states (with more on the way), including Texas, Arizona, Kansas and parts of Missouri.
“This seems to be a niche that just continues to grow,” Hertz says, “and one of the benefits of being in this niche is that we aren’t seen entirely as a competitor to people,” which is why Holidaily has draft handles at many other local breweries that need a gluten-free option.
Holidaily hopes to open the new taproom in late summer.
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