RiNo Brewery Becomes Neighborhood Bar the Shambles

In January 2024, Delaware-based Dewey Beer became the latest out-of-state brewery to expand to Denver when it opened at 3501 Delgany Street.

One year later, Dewey Beer is out and the RiNo location off of Brighton Boulevard has become neighborhood bar the Shambles.

The month-old operation features spirits and a broadened range of craft beers as well as food. Co-owner Matt Lindenmuth, who had been Dewey's Denver brewer and will continue to helm the same seven-barrel brewhouse, says he hopes to have a few house beers on tap in late March or early April.

Other than the expanded offerings, the Shambles has been lightly remodeled since the Dewey partnership ended. There is some new furniture, a bit of fresh decor and dialed-back lighting

Lindenmuth says the goal is to be the corner bar for the neighborhood rather than just attracting a craft beer crowd. The location has twice been a brewery — first Mockery Brewing, which closed in 2023, and then Dewey.

"We're still struggling to get people hanging out in this corner of town," Lindenmuth notes. "So we're trying to be a little bit more welcoming to everyone by having a well-rounded menu instead of just beer, and then obviously just one brand's beer like it has been in the past."

The team at the Denver location started working on getting a brewpub license last year to expand into a full bar when it became clear that they weren't able to reliably get all of the beer they needed from Delaware, so the decision was made to pivot into a stand-alone brand — a "neighborhood corner bar that just so happens to also brew our own beer," Lindenmuth explains. "The focus is gonna be about having a cocktail menu and a good neighborhood corner bar vibe, and having a really great craft beer list from lots of breweries and then some select house beers from our own production. We're probably going to do a house lager and a house IPA or two, and some seasonal rotators. We're going to keep it pretty simple and then also put on display all the other great beer from our friends' breweries around Colorado."

Exiting the partnership with Dewey doesn't mean the beer won't be on tap anymore, either. While supply chain problems impacted the project's viability, they haven't dented Lindenmuth's affection for the beer or the team there.
"We love those guys. Their beer's great. When the beer's available in Colorado, we'll certainly try to get it on draft. It just strictly came down to making sure we can survive," he says. "We needed to pivot in order to sort of reinvent and
try to keep everything moving in a positive direction."
He also wants to offer affordable options on the menu, such as $8 City Wides combo of a beer (High Life, PBR, Banquet or Rainier) and a shot (whiskey, tequila, vodka, Malört or Fernet), as well as a $5 hot dog and chips.
"I hope we can maintain that because I certainly love, you know, a Rainier and a shot of whiskey at the end of the day. Or a Miller High Life, or whatever," Lindenmuth says. "As long as we can keep paying the bills, that's the goal."

The new name is a nod to he and his wife Marissa's hometown of Philadelphia. They first met at the rejuvenated colonial market, the Shambles, during Philly Beer Week. (They also have another brewery in Pennsylvania, Saucony Creek Brewing.)

The events that had been going on at Dewey are still on the schedule. The Stir Fry Sessions open mic night on Thursday has continued, along with First Fridays and other RiNo Arts District events. A Monday industry night with $1 hot dogs and karaoke has been added to the lineup.

It's all about being a part of the neighborhood and part of the craft beer community — in part a nostalgia for the camaraderie of a craft community, hanging out and sharing beers, rather than worrying about production efficiencies and opening new markets.

"It's really kind of reeling this back in and not worrying about big fancy distribution and production and having a small little brewpub that everybody can hang at and actually chat with the brewer behind the bar and actually chat with the person who's posting social media," Lindenmuther says. "There's a little bit of that getting back to the romance of it, I guess. We're just doing glorified homebrewing now, and you've got to come visit my garage, you know?"

The Shambles is located at 3501 Delgany Street and is open from 4 p.m. to midnight Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, noon to midnight Friday and Saturday, and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday. For more information, follow it on Instagram @theshamblesrino.