Fiction is a small brewery that many fans grew close to over the years. It wasn't just another place with beer, it was a uniquely branded taproom that many folks called their regular drinking hole. The Kilpatricks understand that. "The decision to close our Denver taproom was heartbreaking because we knew we would be letting down our community — we’ve become a home away from home for so many," she notes, adding that running a small business comes at a great personal sacrifice. Now, she and her husband, Ryan, are both excited for a less stressful future with each other and their young children.
Kilpatrick's words echo the sentiments of many in the local brewing industry. A lot of breweries jumped into the market five to ten years ago, when it was in constant growth. Between rising property values (and thus rents, taxes and wages), COVID-related stresses, post-COVID materials increases and increased competition, the industry is certainly seeing some challenging times as it tries to reconcile with what a mature craft beer industry looks like.
The Bigger Picture
Breweries closing up shop has been the leading talking point this year — particularly from journalists and brewery owners. This has spilled over to industry employees and craft beer fans as well. It is a legitimate, impactful topic. Customers want to know if their favorite breweries and beers will be around, while employees want to know if this industry is the right place to invest in a long-term career.
All is not lost, however. There were some real positives this year. As is often the case, the truth is more nuanced than some of the dramatic headlines you see around the web. Let's dive into some of the numbers.
Stephen Adams runs Colorado Brewery List, an impressive website dedicated to tracking every single Colorado brewery opening and closing, among other pieces of information. According to his preliminary data, Adams says that as of now, it looks like roughly 36 breweries in Colorado closed in 2024, while 30 opened, with number 31 planning to open by the end of December.
A word about the numbers: There are judgment calls to be made on what constitutes an opening or closure, particularly when it comes to ownership changes and rebranding, so you may see slightly more or less openings/closures, depending on how you calculate it.
Last year saw roughly 23 openings and 30 closings, so this was a more active year overall.
The team at Milieu made common-sense upgrades to its space, brightening it up and making it more attractive to a wider audience.
Milieu Fermentation
Where some owners are tired or underwater, there are plenty of interested suitors looking to set up shop. With the rising number of breweries closing, and thus available for sale, Colorado is also seeing more breweries purchase existing locations rather than build from the ground up. One example is Renegade Brewing, which was purchased by Aaron Uhl and Dan Colbourne in July.
While they're not using the old brewhouse (a new one is projected to be installed in early 2025), Colbourne says that he saw a lot of advantages in buying an existing business. "I don't think the environment we're in is one where I would personally open up something from scratch," he notes. "You kind of know what your base is [when taking over an existing business]. But when you open up something brand new, nobody knows you, nobody is coming to see you, I think you have to have a different kind of approach to make that work in today's economy."
Another new brewery that took over an existing space was Milieu Fermentation. Milieu has had some great success thus far, winning a gold medal at the Festival of Barrel Aged Beers in Chicago in November, as well as being recognized as one of the top new breweries in the country by Vinepair. "We were looking at existing breweries since there are significant cost savings if you can open in one," says Milieu's co-owner Andrew Bergeron.
So far, the strategy is working; Colbourne notes that Renegade is beating projections based on the previous business and Bergeron says he couldn't be happier with how things have gone for Milieu.
Renegade Brewing briefly closed down in 2024, before being purchased and re-opening.
Renegade Brewing
One common refrain from local breweries is that the right events can really draw a crowd and engage the community. Renegade has started Renegade Gives Back, donating 10 percent of all taproom sales every Monday to a rotating community charity which has increased sales by around 50 percent that day.
Milieu has its own charity beer, Be Dope, that also has a rotating organizational component. The community has been a big part of the early success of the brewery, which is located in the shadows of the University of Colorado Hospital. "It's easy to get lost on a large campus, so outreach and community building events are a priority for us," says Bergeron.
He adds that he and co-owner Rob Bessett specifically chose the word "fermentation" for Milieu's name because breweries often only serve beer while it also offers delicious house-made hard tea, kombucha and other fermented beverages on tap. "We positioned fermentation as the focal point of our business to appeal to a wider range of customers," Bergeron notes.
Westbound is one of the breweries that expanded in 2024.
Westbound & Down
The challenging outlook for 2025 is that there are plenty of owners who are tired and/or simply not making money. There are plenty of breweries for sale that are not worth any money. A lot of breweries jumped into the industry between 2012 and 2018, and those leases are coming up for renewal at a much higher rental rate than the last time around. There is a lot of spare capacity, as an industry built for higher demand continues to adjust its expectations.
There is reason for optimism, however. We're seeing some high-quality breweries expand. Westbound & Down and Cerebral are among the best breweries in the state. In late 2023, Westbound purchased Aspen Brewing and Capitol Creek Brewery. This year, Cerebral added a second location in the Aurora Arts District and recently announced a third taproom planned for the former Oasis Brewing spot on Lowell Boulevard.
Loveland's Verboten Brewing, which also makes some great beer, expanded into a second location in Fort Collins this year. These are all small businesses having success while making some of the best beer around, and becoming more available in the local market — and that's a win.
Among the new breweries opening, the beer quality has never been higher right out of the gate — particularly at Milieu and Wanderment Brewing. Among existing breweries, a lot of the new hop, grain and yeast products created over the last handful of years are being integrated more purposefully and elegantly into beer. The consumer is winning when it comes to flavor and choice.
A lot of people complain about young people drinking less and not buying beer, citing that as the core issue at hand right now, but wine has always complained about the same thing despite the ebbs and flows in a more mature industry.
But young people never have any money, and that's especially true in modern times. Besides, the recent trend of young folks trying to split the G while drinking Guinness should provide plenty of evidence that beer can be "cool" again for the early twenties demographic.
