New ride in Longmont provides ’Hop for hops
longmont» If you see a dark green trolley car rolling through the streets of Longmont this weekend, don’t be alarmed: You haven’t been transported to turn-of-the-century San Francisco.
What you’re probably seeing is one of the city’s newest businesses, the BrewHop Trolley.
Husband-and-wife duo David and Radha Lewis are giving new life to the former Philly vehicle, once in the employ of the Philadelphia Art Museum, as a combination shuttle and tour bus for Longmont’s thirsty residents.
The trolley will be running from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays to all nine of the city’s breweries, stopping once an hour at each spot to drop off and pick up revelers. For $15 a day, ambitious drinkers could conceivably taste all the craft beer in town, but the Lewises said they intend it to be something a little more leisurely.
“We want people to get off and on as they choose,” said Radha, who also owns Lotus Massage Therapy in downtown Longmont.
“When we drop them off at the Pumphouse (Brewery, 540 Main St.), it gives them the opportunity to go down Main Street and do some shopping, then catch the bus at the Pumphouse again in an hour or two,” David added.
BrewHop will do threeto five-minute stops at breweries, just enough time to load and unload passengers. No drinking will be allowed on the bus, but there will be cold storage for riders interested in taking some spare growlers home.
“It’s about being safe and not drinking and driving (but) still getting people to these smaller breweries that aren’t getting a lot of exposure,” Radha said.
“It’s always nice to have someone think of us when they’re trying to promote craft beer,” said Ted Risk, co-founder of Wibby Brewing at 209 Emery St.
Risk offered up Wibby’s tasting room to the Lewises for market research back when BrewHop was just a dream, quizzing patrons to find out what they were looking for in a beer trolley.
Since then, BrewHop has made three more stops at Wibby during test runs and VIP events. Every time they come through, people get more excited, Risk said.
In 2014, more than 10 million people toured the 4,000-plus craft brewers in Colorado, according to Julia Herz, craft beer program director at the Boulder-based Brewers Association.
“(BrewHop) encourages people to try places they haven’t tried,” said Jean Ditslear, co-owner of 300 Suns Brewing. “It’s going to be a really fun addition to the entire town.”