E-Malt.com News article: USA, CO: Cactus Bend Brewing Co. to open a microbrewery in Fort Collins

Adding to the growing reputation of the Napa Valley of Craft Beers, Fort Collins is in line to get another brewery next summer, The Coloradoan reported on November, 7.

Cactus Bend Brewing Co. is looking to open Fort Collins’ 10th microbrewery at 220 E. Olive St. Still in the early planning stages, owner John Weber said they plan to focus primarily on ales and distribution of his beers.

“We intend to carve out a niche,” said Weber, who declined to say what that niche is right now. “I believe there is still room in this town to support another brewery, and the concept that we got is in no way shape or form competitive with other folks in town.”

With a background in enterprise software, Weber is devoting all his time to launching the new brewery, which is named after one of his favorite fly fishing spots on an undisclosed river with cactus along it.

Currently Weber is working with his longtime friend and property owner Brad Florin with Florin Limited and Olive Street Properties, LLC who owns the 12,162 square-foot property at the northwest corner of Olive Street and Matthews Street.

Florin has filed a request for the addition of a permitted use for the property to allow for a micro-brewery, micro-winery or micro-distillery. The request with the city cited a tasting room and limited hours similar to Equinox Brewing and Pateros Creek Brewing Company, both in downtown.

In addition to Cactus Bend, Florin said another start up brewery is looking at the building; however he has only had contact with their real estate agent and does not know the company’s name.

Ted Shepard, chief planner with the city of Fort Collins, said Florin still needs to work on the request, and the earliest it could go before the Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Board for approval would be December.

Weber said the earliest they would open would be the summer of 2012.


09 November, 2011