Fuerst is one of many transplants lured to Colorado by the state’s reputation as a place where beer drinkers spend hours on breweries’ sunny patios trying every imaginable twist on beer, often with dogs and kids in tow, a state whose governor is a former craft beer magnate who had an array of taps installed at the governor’s mansion. Fuerst worries that InBev could use its distribution leverage and buying power to squeeze other craft beers out of liquor store shelves, discount its own craft beer line and buy up raw materials after its purchase last month of Breckenridge Brewery, which was part of the first wave of craft breweries to open in Colorado in the 1990s. The purchase sent tremors through Colorado’s thriving community of homebrewers and beer purists, who join beer lovers around the country dreading increasing corporate consolidation in the industry. Eric Wallace, the co-founder of Left Hand Brewing, which, like Breckenridge, has spread far beyond Colorado since it opened 22 years ago, said he can’t understand how a brewery that worked to bring back flavorful beer to the “scorched earth” left by mega brewers can turn around and join one. Sitting in the tasting room of Breckenridge’s new $36 million riverside brewery complex in Denver, which includes a farmhouse-style restaurant and a large patio where customers sometimes arrive by inner tube or bike, Breckenridge president Todd Usry said he once shared worries about corporate craft brewing. Andy Romero, 36, of Denver, who traveled across town recently to pick up some more of Renegade Brewing Co.’s limited supply of imperial milk stout made with peanut butter cups in refillable glass containers, said he likes to support mom-and-pop operations, but he’s not too worried about the Breckenridge sale. [...] Michelle Massure, 31, a former Colorado resident who likes to visit her favorite breweries on trips from Houston, was horrified at the thought of a big brewer taking over the Strange Craft Beer Co., where she enjoyed a tulip glass of a cherry wheat ale that she said tasted just like cherry pie filling. Ten small sampler glasses of beer were lined up between her and some friends on a wooden table at the tiny brewery tucked into an industrial strip mall next to Interstate 25.
In Colorado, Fears About Inbev’s Entry Into Craft Beer
Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle: Business
Sat, 02/06/2016 - 4:36pm
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