As the craft beer industry continues to face trying economic times, one of Colorado’s largest independently owned breweries is making some strategic moves.
Denver Beer Co., which was founded in 2011 and now encompasses a large production facility in Denver, and five taprooms in Denver, Arvada and Littleton, has joined forces with Wilding Brands, the Lafayette-based parent company of Stem Ciders and Howdy Beer.
According to 2023 numbers from the Boulder-based Brewers Association, Denver Beer Co. was the fourth largest Colorado independent brewery in Colorado, behind only Oskar Blues, Odell Brewing and Left Hand. (These numbers don’t include several prominent breweries, like Coors, New Belgium, Breckenridge or Avery Brewing, which were all owned by multinational brewing interests in 2023 and therefore not part of the Brewers Association’s barrel count.)
Stem Ciders co-founder Eric Foster declined to provide financial or business details about the arrangement, saying only, “Denver Beer Co. is, in fact, a part of Wilding Brands but I don’t have much of a comment beyond that at this time.”
Documents filed with the Colorado Secretary of State’s offices list Foster and Wilding Brands LLC as the registered agents for Denver Beer Co. as of Jan. 20, 2025.
The news comes just a few months after DBC co-founder Patrick Crawford said on LinkedIn that he had sold his shares in the company and is no longer part of the management team. His business partner, Charlie Berger, declined to comment on the changes involving Wilding.
In addition, DBC recently converted all of its state liquor licenses into “brewpub” licenses, meaning its locations will be able to serve wine and cocktails in addition to beer, according to documents filed with the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Liquor Enforcement Division. Dozens of breweries in the state have done something similar over the past few years in order to cater to more than just beer drinkers.
Crawford and Berger opened DBC’s original location in a former auto garage in what is now Denver’s Lower Highland. It was one of the first new taproom-style breweries in Denver at the time and has been one of the state’s most successful craft beer makers over the past 14 years.
In addition to DBC and Stem Ciders, Wilding’s website lists Easy Living Hop Water and Funkwerks, a small Fort Collins brewery, among its brands. It also lays claim to Cervezeria Colorado, which Denver Beer Co. opened in 2018 next to its original brewery at 1695 Platte St., and Formation Brewing, which it plans to open in Phoenix this winter.
“Wilding Brands has grown into seven unique beverage brands,” the website reads. “With ten vibrant taprooms and restaurants scattered across Colorado, we’re not just part of the craft beverage scene – we’re shaping it.”
Stem Ciders opened in Denver in 2014 and added Acrerage, its eight-acre restaurant, taproom and production facility, at 1380 Horizon Ave., in Lafayette in 2018. It has since moved its Denver taproom to a new address. In 2022, Stem bought the Howdy Beer brand from The Big Red F restaurant group (which includes The Post Chicken & Beer and other local eateries).
At that time, Foster said his goal was to combine multiple beverage brands in order to gain economies of scale and improve sales strategy.
A number of Colorado breweries have banded together or joined forces in recent years as a way to cut costs. Dry Dock Brewing in Aurora, for instance, closed its manufacturing plant and moved it into Great Divide Brewing’s operation in Denver, while TRVE Brewing made a similar deal with New Image Brewing in Wheat Ridge.
Originally Published:
