E-Malt.com News article: USA, CO: Broken Compass Brewing officially opening on May 31

Broken Compass Brewing in Breckenridge hasn’t officially opened, but tell that to the people who have already begun trickling in off the street, lured in by word of mouth and general excitement about the newest brewery in Summit County, Summit Daily reports.

“We think it’s a great addition to the community, and we want to support our local businesses,” Ken Olendzki said.

Olendzki and his wife, Barb, split their time between Chicago and Breckenridge. They came into the brewery this week and walked out with a growler of Belgian Wit, though Ken’s favorite was the India Brown Ale and Barb was a fan of the Chili Pepper Pale Ale “because it has this nice zing to it.”

“Our friend wanted to try something light, and we went with the Belgian Wit,” Barb said, clutching the growler. “We’ll refill it as new options come in. We want to give them a taste. I think it’s neat that it’s that fresh, that’s one unique thing about it.”

“We’re having the neighbors over for dinner tomorrow,” Ken added. “Jerry’s a tough one. Jerry always brings Miller Lite over to my house.”

Broken Compass hosted a successful soft opening Memorial Day weekend, said David Axelrod, co-founder of the brewery, and new customers have been wandering through the doors ever since.

The brewery’s grand opening is Saturday, May 31. Broken Compass will have six beers on tap for the event, and within two weeks, Axelrod said, the brewery will add two more to the lineup. Both Axelrod and co-founder and head brewer Jason Ford are looking forward to celebrating the culmination of their work.

“I love meeting people and sharing our beers with people,” Axelrod said. “It’s awesome to be out of the construction phase and into the phase where we’re hanging out and sharing beers and talking about what we love, whether it be the community or the beers or good food.”

“What I’m looking forward to the most is the community and having people out here and getting to know the regulars and all the events we get to do,” Ford said. “Everyone wants to have an impact with what they do, and this is an excellent opportunity to do that.

“I was a chemical engineer, and everyone was cutthroat with secrecy agreements and trademark stuff, and this industry is the exact opposite of that. The more great beer there is out there, the better off everyone is going to be. It’s very refreshing and wonderful to be in an industry where everyone is literally rooting for everybody.”


30 May, 2014