Colorado’s Craft Brew Traditions & How They Stoke Our Fires.
No matter what town you are currently in, if it happens to be in Colorado, we will venture a guess that there is at least one craft brewery, brewpub, and/or tap house showcasing local brews. It’s a well-known fact that the state of Colorado takes its craft brew seriously. With large-scale breweries such as New Belgium, Odell Brewing, Oskar Blues, Great Divide, and Left Hand calling the state home, and even the Great American Beer Fest held annually in Denver, we’re certainly on the map as one of the top locations in the U.S. for the craft industry. In the end, there is no doubt that Colorado loves its craft beer, and we certainly do as well. Here are just a few things that get us extra excited about this foamy adult beverage.
It seems that every town in Colorado, big or small, is home to at least one craft brewery. Our neighboring city of Winter Park happens to have two rather remarkable breweries of its own. The Peak and Big Trout Brewing are both notable breweries and continuing our tradition of working with local businesses, we are proud to collaborate with both.
The Peak Bistro & Brewery sources as many ingredients as possible from local Colorado farms including most of the hops that they use. With a distinct focus on small-batch beers, they are able to create an array of beer that showcases all that Colorado has to offer. While relatively new to the scene, Big Trout Brewing has a sustainability and water conservation focus that is a perfect match to our ecological commitment and in the process produces an incredibly well-balanced and layered hazy IPA. We’ve housed a couple of their beers on tap in our restaurants and even have some future ventures up our sleeves. It’s thrilling to be able to have such a rich and growing beer culture right in our mountain town community!
The past experience of Ernest Bledsoe, our Director of Culinary Operations, in Asheville, NC (self-proclaimed Beer City USA) makes him uniquely qualified to speak to this subject. With a continued desire to support local breweries and an interest in the creativity driving many of Colorado’s finest, Bledsoe is excited to keep exploring everything there is to enjoy from the area’s beer scene. He firmly believes that with as many quality craft beers coming out of our state, our taps should reflect that rich culture. Bledsoe also has a vision to fully establish the Ranch as a culinary destination for travelers. Through pairing events (wine, whiskey, cocktails, and of course beer), tastings, and other creative events, he hopes to be able to tap into the craft beer and gastropub movements to expand our culinary palette.
We couldn’t be more excited to be a part of Colorado and are always excited to indulge in all the phenomenal traditions that this state holds dear. In our home state, craft beer has flourished into a truly rich, invigorating, imaginative culture that we are excited to continue to support and explore!