E-Malt.com News article: USA, CO: Crooked Stave Brewing Co. to open in Denver

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project is about to become Crooked Stave Brewing Co. and Fort Collins is about to lose a brewer, The Coloradoan reported on November, 18.

In the past year since opening, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project has been a smash success. People as far as Sweden are asking for the beer.

Thus, it only makes sense that gypsy brewer Chad Yakobson, Crooked Stave owner, start his own brewery to meet the demand and grow his business.

To start, Yakobson has been leasing space within Funkwerks and brewing innovated barrel-aged sour Brettanomyces beers.

But with the growth Yakobson has begun phase two of Crooked Stave, where he will open a brewery in Denver to produce a core line of beers only available locally along with special releases that he will distribute around the world.

“It’s hyper-local combined with almost an international brand,” Yakobson said. “It is a lot of work, most brewers don’t do that.”

Yakobson said he plans to brew a core line of beers such as an IPA, porter and pale ale that he will not bottle but only sell at his Denver brewery. At the same he will have some seasonal limited release beers. And then he intends to bottle and sell some special releases, such as his Wild Wild Brett series, around the globe to countries like Belgium and Denmark.

Currently, Yakobson is in the process of finding investors to help him start the brewery in Denver. He already has a 13,000 square-foot facility picked out in the River North area of Denver east of Coors Field.

He plans to have an 8,000 square-foot brewery, bottling line, 30 barrel brewhouse, barrel room, cellar and a tasting room. With room to grow, Yakobson plans to be right on the cusp of a regional brewery with a 15,000 barrel capacity brewery.

Yakobson lives in Denver and while he attended CSU and started production in Fort Collins, he said the plan was always to take Crooked Stave to Denver.

While Fort Collins has a wealth of brewers and breweries, many of whom helped Yakobson get his start, he said Denver is better for him in terms of distribution, population per capita, less saturated market and it has more potential for growth.

He also said New Belgium and Odell have done a great job of owning the Fort Collins market and tap handles in town. He hopes to implement the same sort of business model in Denver where the only big brewery right now is Great Divide Brewing.

“I really see Denver as a niche that has great great potential,” Yakobson said. “We have this cult following and it’s great, in Denver. I don’t know if we have that in Fort Collins.”


23 November, 2011