14er Brewing closing in Denver’s River North neighborhood

For Andrew Kaczmarek, the most heart-wrenching parts about shutting down his Denver brewery are the memories of all the “great people and so many great friends coming through.”

But Kaczmarek and business partner Nato Francescato — who have been friends since they attended Wheat Ridge High School — will close 14er Brewing on Saturday. The brewery and its large beer garden are located at 3120 Blake St. in the River North Art District.

“It’s a double-edged sword for sure. Lots of emotions going on right now, so it’s hard to pin down everything. Definitely a bittersweet situation for sure,” Kaczmarek said.

“For us, it’s a combination of a lot of different factors,” he continued. The brewery’s lease expires this month, and the number of people coming through the doors doesn’t justify trying to renew, especially as rents in RiNo continue to rise. “It’s a large space and very expensive. Property tax, rent, and labor costs have made it a challenge to operate.”

Before the pandemic, 14er got a lot of early afternoon business walk-in traffic, but that business hasn’t come back, Kaczmarek explained. “It’s really sad because we have done so much work to this building and really established the space as an awesome outdoor spot.”

14er got its start in 2016 as a brewery without a taproom. Kaczmarek and Francescato were making three beers — from recipes they’d developed together as homebrewers — at Crazy Mountain Brewery, which had a side business brewing beer for other companies. One of those beers, a saison made with chiles, immediately won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival, something that thrilled the pair and encouraged them to keep going.

They eventually found a part-time taproom at 2801 Walnut St., but then moved to their current spot in 2018, taking over the space from Beryl’s Beer Company, which had gone out of business.