THE GIST
Colorado’s Blue Moon Brewery has launched a brand new brewery and taproom in the heart of Denver’s River North Arts District, following a soft launch in July. The space features a 20-barrel brewhouse with the capacity to produce 10,000 barrels of beer per year and a 24-handle taproom and full-service kitchen.
WHY IT MATTERS
Denver real estate was a lot cheaper back when Wynkoop opened in 1988, just south of River North, purchasing its property for a reported $1 per square foot. That part of Denver was also considered a rough part of town—and it was Wynkoop that arguably kick started that regeneration with the opening of its brewery.
Now brewers are clamoring for a piece of that real estate, and for Blue Moon this is a chance to have a space next to some of the most relevant breweries in town, and maybe claw back some of that relevance for themselves. Ri-No is already home to acclaimed Denver brewers like Crooked Stave, Ratio Beerworks and Black Shirt Brewing, with larger brewers such as Great Divide and Breckenridge nearby. New Belgium is also planning to build a hotel and pilot brewery right outside The Source, which is where Crooked Stave has its taproom.
Blue Moon has another brewery nearby, The Sandlot, which is inside Coors Field, and is visible on the Denver skyline from much of River North. The fact that they’re willing to build a second brewery so close to the original demonstrates just how key having a presence in this area is. It also comes at a time when MillerCoors is shifting its marketing focus in-house and away from its Tenth & Blake craft division, which indicates that this move is part of a wider push to increase Blue Moon’s brand relevance in the marketplace.
—Matthew Curtis
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Blue Moon Opens New Denver Brewery [Brewbound]