Mythology Distillery Has Made the Move from Denver to Steamboat Springs

Mythology Distillery, a concept that was inspired by a ski trip in Alaska, debuted in LoHi in 2018. “It was a crazy trip — unbelievable skiing and meeting a lot of interesting people,” recalls co-owner Scott Yeates. Every night, he and friends Scott Burg and Mike Zakhem bonded as they shared stories over whiskey, and they wanted to bring that experience home to Colorado.

After five years in business, the team decided to leave the Mile High (for now) and have made the move to Steamboat Springs, where they recently opened a new campus on 1.5 acres of land. “We reached a point that we had multiple production facilities in Denver, and we wanted to consolidate,” says Yeates, who, along with Burg, already lived in the mountain town.

The space, located at 2875 Elk River Road, was formerly Butcherknife Brewery. It has been converted into a 5,000-square-foot distillery as well as a restaurant and full bar serving cocktails, craft beer and boutique wines. A large outdoor space called the Whiskey Garden has a large central fire pit that was designed to be reminiscent of a campfire, Yeates notes.The outdoor area also has an additional bar that serves local craft beer, wine and batched cocktails on tap along with cornhole, plenty of seating, an area for live music and even a pair of slides.
There's also a 5,000-square-foot rackhouse, which is used for aging whiskey and other spirits. “We’ve designed our rackhouse to follow the natural climate of Steamboat, which includes an earthen floor to allow for natural humidity inside the building,” Yeates explains. During the winter, when cold air would typically make the barrels contract, a state-of-the-art sound system will push sound waves throughout the space to influence the interaction between the whiskey and the wood.

The on-site restaurant, the Confluence, has a full commercial kitchen and was built inside a refurbished shipping container by Denver-based RooBox. The current menu is built around Chinese soup dumplings and noodle dishes. There are plans to expand the food offerings this winter.

The overall goal was to create a space to build community, promote education and offer a fun experience for locals and visitors. The patio is lined with large windows, offering a chance to see the distillery in action, and tours are available for an in-depth look at the process behind the scenes.

Sustainability is also a focus for the distillery, which composts or recycles 90 percent of all of its waste. It also uses a closed-loop steam transfer and water transfer, repurposes spent grain, implements water conservation measures, and is powered by a solar array that offsets 50 percent of its electric demand.

“We’re currently focused on Steamboat, and ensuring that we can create the best experience at our new campus,” Yeates says. But, he adds, “if everything goes to plan, we’ll start looking at available space in Denver this winter," with the goal of opening a small cocktail bar by next spring.

By the end of July, the distillery plans to offer a free shuttle service with pickup available from the Steamboat Resort transit center and downtown Steamboat Springs. It will be accessible by calling 970-594-4511.

Mythology Distillery is located at 2875 Elk River Road in Steamboat Springs and is open from noon to 10 p.m. daily. For more information, visit mythologydistillery.com.