E-Malt.com News article: USA, CO & Canada: Fort Collins Brewery purchased by Canadian Red Truck Beer Co.

Fort Collins Brewery has been sold and its products will fade out this summer, The Coloradoan reported on May 27.

Canadian craft brewery Red Truck Beer Co. has purchased the 35,000 square-foot 1020 Lincoln Ave. facility to start U.S. operations.

The Vancouver-based Red Truck plans to obtain its federal brewing license by the end of the year and open a new brewpub called Truck Stop in the Fort Collins space in spring of 2018. RB+B Architects are working on the renovations.

“We could see that Fort Collins was the epicenter for first class brewing in the U.S.," said Red Truck founder Mark James in a press release. "There is an amazing community of brewers and connoisseurs here and we are excited to become a part of the community.”

Red Truck, which debuted in 2005, currently produces about 20,000 barrels annually that are distributed to Canadian provinces British Columbia, Alberta as well as the state of Washington.

Red Truck Lager, Red Truck Ale and Red Truck IPA are the brewery's flagship offerings. Red Truck Golden ale, Blackberry Bourbon ale, Northwest strong ale, Ryzenshein kettle sour gose and Lemon Curacao Smash IPA are some of the other beers produced.

Red Truck is also exploring contract brewing opportunities out of the Fort Collins space while the renovation takes place.

Fort Collins Brewery will be the fourth operation to halt brewing in Fort Collins this year. Pateros Creek Brewing, 1933 Brewing and C.B. Potts previously ceased brewing in city limits this year.

1933 is about to become a new concept this summer and C.B. & Potts still searching for a new Fort Collins site.

Fort Collins Brewery started in 1992 as H.C. Berger Brewery. New owners rebranded the operation in 2003 as a German lager house. The brewery eventually added ales and moved to its current 50-barrel brewhouse space in 2010.

The brewpub operated restaurant concepts Gravity Ten Twenty and Modern Tavern, with the latter closing for remodeling around the start of this year. The brewery had announced plans to replace the space with a fast casual burger joint.

Last year, Fort Collins Brewery had launched a whole new flagship beer lineup, added a canning line and dropped four states from distribution. At the start of 2017, the brewery was shipping its beer to 18 states.

The brewery most recently won a gold medal for its Oktoberfest at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival.

Red Truck won't be the only new brewery in town. Gilded Goat Brewing launched in Midtown Fort Collins earlier this year. D.C. Oakes Brewhouse & Eatery has already launched its restaurant and will soon offer its own beers. Freedonia Brewing and a Colorado State University brewery are also expected to open by the end of the year.


28 May, 2017