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Say Goodbye…
Boulder Beer, Colorado’s first and oldest microbrewery, is taking drastic actions to better weather craft beer’s increasingly turbulent waters.
And it’s a defensive retrenchment that is hardly surprising…
By the end of 2019, Boulder Beer will discontinue packaging and selling beer throughout its multi-state distribution region, including its home state of Colorado, and operate only as a local brewpub.
One of the industry’s first craft brands to aggressively broaden its distribution network, the company found itself saddled in 2019 with a near national footprint that it can no longer support.
Founded in 1979 two professors at the University of Colorado, Boulder Beer gained considerable traction over the next decade for its IPAs, Porters and Stouts, styles that are everywhere in 2019, but were less common back then.
When the company first started there only around 42 traditional breweries operating in the US. But that number has exploded exponentially over the years, putting pressure on Boulder Beer’s 34 state distribution network, now overwhelmed by competition from hundreds of new breweries, and consumers increasingly gravitating towards uber-local beer brands…
After years of double digit growth, craft beer’s momentum is slowing. And as Bart Watson, Chief Economist for the Boulder, Colorado-based trade organization, the Brewers Association, explained to the Denver Post, Boulder Beer’s struggles are simply a reflection of the state of the overall industry….
“In an era where the US (and Colorado) have more breweries than ever before, there is somewhat of a contradiction in the overall strength of the craft segment and the health of individual (breweries).”
“Although we continue to see demand grow for fuller-flavored beers from small and independent brewers, that growth does not ensure the success of all brewing companies. There is only so much shelf space and a growing number of breweries trying to put their beer on those shelves.”
Downsizings are always consequential and Westword is reporting that “Boulder Beer will have to lay off twenty of its fifty staff members, including brewers, sales reps, packagers and more. It will also sell its canning and bottling lines and mothball its fifty-barrel brewing system.”
But Gina Day, owner of Boulder Beer Company remained positive about the company’s decision to abandon its larger production and distribution model in favor of its existing Wilderness Place brewpub in Boulder…
“Boulder Beer has been part of my life for close to 30 years, as it has been for so many of our loyal friends and patrons…and we all want to see it live on. We remain independent, locally owned, and committed to craft beer.”
“Times have changed and change is hard, but I’m ready to put the ‘fun’ back in beer. “Our friends will still be able to enjoy our beers in the brewpub, and by brewing in small batches, have a wider variety of options on the ever-rotating specialty taps.”
“We’re celebrating our milestone 40th Anniversary this year and look forward to furthering our legacy in Boulder and the industry.”
