Area’s craft breweries boom

The craft beer industry gets bigger each year, and Boulder County is no exception.

After adding five craft breweries in 2012, seven new operations opened in Boulder County in 2013. That’s not to mention Crystal Springs and Bru Handbuilt Ales, two licensed breweries that had been distributing out of garage operations and moved into new facilities this year, or Industrial Revolution Brewing just across the county line in Erie.

The eastern part of Boulder County experienced a big surge in Lafayette and Louisville, with Odd13 Brewing, Front Range Brewing and Twelve Degree Brewing opening up shop there in addition to Crystal Springs. Boulder, meanwhile, saw three new openings, with Sanitas Brewing, J Wells Brewing, and Kettle and Stone in Gunbarrel coming online.

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But 2013 wasn’t all about the new guys. From Boulder beer to Oskar Blues, Twisted Pine, Left Hand and Upslope, brewery expansions and upgrades were the name of the game. And Avery Brewing is planning to build a new $26 million brewery in Gunbarrel in 2014. The accolades, meanwhile, kept rolling in, with Left Hand leading the local charge by winning three gold medals at October’s Great American Beer Festival.

At year’s end, the Boulder-based Brewers Association reported that Colorado’s craft-brewing industry ranks fifth in the nation in terms of the economic impact provided to its state.

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