"We just flat-out said we need to find the right people to take Pug's down the road another quarter-century, because it's more important than we are," Travis Holton told the paper. "There were some other suitors who would not have understood the culture and would not have been able to hit a home run."

John and Judy Jordan (left) have purchased Pug Ryan's from Travis and Annie Holton.
Pug Ryan's Facebook page
But smaller breweries have also changed hands, going from one independent owner to another. And those kinds of transactions could continue, as several other breweries have listed themselves for sale locally.
In December, 1933 Brewing in Fort Collins was sold by owner Cody Pisacka to head brewer Zach Wilson and marketing coordinator Laura Sickles Wilson. They have closed the brewery down for a few months and plan to reopen later this year under a new name and with a new concept.

Doug Hyndman (left) and Jake Minturn will transition Elk Mountain Brewing into Downhill Brewing.
Downhill Brewing
Minturn and Hyndman will keep the Elk Mountain name until the federal Tax and Trade Bureau approves their request to change the name to Downhill Brewing and add a ski-and-snowboard theme.
At least two small Denver breweries, choosing to keep themselves anonymous, have listed themselves for sale in the past few months via online classified ads. So have breweries in Boulder, Colorado Springs and in a pair of Denver suburbs. While the listings don't provide many clues as to which breweries they are, it's likely that the Colorado industry will see more changes in the coming months.