Westbound & Down Brewing leases warehouse in Louisville

This story first appeared on BusinessDen.com, a BizWest news partner.

Idaho Springs brewpub Westbound & Down has leased a new warehouse in Louisville to bring customers more beer. 

The brewery is moving its supply to the 4,907-square-feet space at 1849 Cherry Street for added cooler space, storage and meeting areas. 

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Jake Gardner, director of brewing for Westbound, said the company hopes to be fully moved in by June – just in time for peak beer season. 

“This will be focused on keeping a wider variety of beers available,” Gardner said. “We have more space, and we can make more beer.”

Roughly 2,000 square feet will be filled with coolers for beer storage. Another 1,500 will go towards aging, packing and eventually bottling barleywine and aged stout. The remaining area will be office space. 

The company currently uses a Denver warehouse roughly half the size of the Cherry Street building. With the added space in Louisville, Gardner said Westbound can explore specialized products and new flavors. 

Gardner said the company wasn’t looking for space in Louisville specifically, but the warehouse fit its needs and substantially decreased driving time between the warehouse and brewpubs. 

The eight-year-old company started brewing in Idaho Springs. It added a Lafayette brewpub in 2020 and a taproom in downtown Denver’s Dairy Block last year.

Gardner said roughly 80 bars and restaurants have Westbound beers on draft and the company has 240 off-premise clients, such as liquor and grocery stores. 

Westbound produced 3,350 barrels in 2022, and expects to finish 2023 with 30 percent sales growth. For comparison, Westbound produced 970 barrels in 2019. 

After the warehouse is up and running, Gardner said the company will explore new projects or brewpubs at the end of this year. 

“The focus right now is on the best customer service and variety of products,” Gardner said. 

John Livaditis of Axio Commercial Real Estate represented Westbound in the deal.