USA, CO: The first brewery in Windsor to open mid-next year

A Windsor homebrew shop is looking to get into the professional brewing business with High Hops Brewery set to open mid-next year, The Coloradoan reported on December, 2.

The new brewery, which will make its beer with hops and berries grown on site, will be the first brewery in Windsor. The brewery puts Northern Colorado at nearly 20 microbreweries in operation or planning.

The Weakland family, owners of High Hops, Hops Farm and Brew Shop, are starting the new brewery at the same location as the homebrew shop. They have ordered their 10 barrel brewing system to start and filed their federal application.
Zach Weakland, co-brewer with his father Patrick Weakland, said they expect to open for business in June depending on how the process goes.

They will brew with the hops they grow in their fields and won’t limit to one style of beer, instead brewing “all types of beers for all types of people,” Weakland said.

While the brewery will offer an array of beers, Weakland said they do plan to offer four standard flagship beers: a lemon pilsner, honey Irish red, black ale and a yet to be determined American pale ale.

“We started as homebrewers, and then we had a greenhouse,” he said. “We were good at growing, so we started growing hops and expanding. We are good at making beer too so we decided to open up a brewery.”

The brewery will be built behind the building that will house High Hops, Windsor Gardner and the brewery’s tasting room, said Weakland.

Weakland noted that Equinox Brewing has had similar success opening a brewery adjacent to the homebrew shop Hops & Berries. Weakland examined Equinox’s brewing system before moving forward with his business plans.

Weakland said High Hops Brewery will set itself apart by using hops and berries they grow. He also noted that with the homebrew shop there are already a lot of customers excited to buy their beer.

“People are ecstatic. People are really really excited about it,” said Weakland of the new brewery. “They are excited for something new… people here are not really educated on the microbrews over here, and we’re excited to educate them more.”

07 December, 2011