Breckenridge Brewery

Breckenridge Brewery was founded in Breckenridge, Colorado, by Richard Squire in 1990.[2] It was Colorado's third craft brewery.[3] In 1991, Squire brought on Todd Usry, who took over as brewmaster in 1994. Usry became director of production and sales in 2008, and was ultimately named the company's president.[4][5]

In 1992, the brewery expanded operations beyond Breckenridge, opening a manufacturing facility in Denver adjacent to what would become Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies.[3] In 1996, Breckenridge moved the brewing, kegging and bottling of its beer to a new facility south of downtown. The original Denver location, Breck on Blake, remains open, with brewing no longer taking place there.[3] In 2010, Wynkoop announced a merger with Breckenridge to form the holding company Breckenridge-Wynkoop LLC. The company also owns the Wynkoop Brewing Company, Phantom Canyon Brewing, and several restaurants.[6] In January 2013, Breckenridge Brewery announced that its facility, by then producing 64,000 barrels of beer per year, was at max capacity and would be moving to a new brewery complex.[7][8] In June 2015, Breckenridge Brewery left Denver and moved into its new $36 million, 12-acre, 85,000-square-foot campus in Littleton, Colorado, which includes three buildings: a brewhouse and office building, a building for fermentation and packaging, and its 300-seat Farm House restaurant and beer garden.[5][9]

Breckenridge Brewery ranked #50 on the Brewers Association's 2014 list of the largest US craft breweries,[10] and #47 on the 2015 list.[11] The Brewers Association ranked Breckenridge Brewery as Colorado's fifth-largest craft brewer by barrels produced in 2015.[12] Early on, Breckenridge Brewery produced roughly 1,000 barrels of beer per year.[5] By 2015, the company was producing over 70,000 barrels of beer,[13] with its beers sold in 35 states in the US.[14]

Interior of Breckenridge Brewery in Colorado in 2015.

On December 22, 2015, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced its intent to purchase Breckenridge Brewery from Breckenridge-Wynkoop LLC, as part of its High End craft and import beer brand unit.[13][15] The acquisition, completed in 2016, included Breckenridge Brewery's production brewery and Farm House restaurant in Littleton, as well as its brewpub in Breckenridge.[14] In an open letter to Breckenridge Brewery consumers, Usry said the brewery would continue to make its own decisions regarding the beer it creates.[15]