Craft-beer craze brewing in Douglas Co.

Craft beer is almost synonymous with Colorado these days.

There were 284 craft breweries — those producing 6 million barrels or less annually — in the state in 2015. That is the third most of any state in the country and more than double the number that were operating in 2011, according to statistics from the Boulder-based Brewers Association.

And a growing number of those brewers have chosen to call Douglas County home. Counting chains C.B. & Potts and Rock Bottom Brewery, there are 12 brewing companies doing business in the county of more than 327,000, according to a recent analysis of state liquor licenses. Two of those opened in the last year, and others may soon join the mix.

Mark Quinnell served the first pours of his malty, traditional British- and Irishstyle ales at Castle Rock Beer Company, near Perry and Sixth streets, in January and hopes to brew about 200 barrels by the business’s first anniversary.

A longtime home brewer, he said the popularity of Maddie’s Biergarten, where beers from various craft brewers are served, showed him there was a thirst in town.

“Part of it was there really weren’t that many breweries,” Quinnell said of his deci-

sion to go commercial. “With as much population growth as there has been here, there was a vacuum to fill for craft brewing.”

In November, 105 West Brewing Company opened in Castle Rock. The oldest active brewery in Douglas County is also in town: Rockyard Brewing Company was founded in 1999, general manager Laird Mulderink said.

Quinnell has heard of two more breweries looking for space in the county. An online fundraising campaign for Peak View Brewing Company in Castle Rock reached its $15,000 goal on Oct. 10.

But Quinnell said he’s not worried about competition. He sees the industry moving back toward traditional localism, where tap rooms double as centers for conversation and civic life among residents of the surrounding community.

John Winter owns the nearly 5-year-old Lone Tree Brewing Company near Park Meadows mall. Winter expects to produce close to 2,700 barrels this year. Lone Tree’s beers are on tap at some local restaurants and can be found in Nebraska and Kansas. The brewery signed up with an outside distributor last year to help it grow, Winter said.

Winter said the city of Lone Tree appealed to him because it had room to develop and expand. He said Douglas County has become a regional destination for enthusiasts looking for the new and different.

“Right now, I think it’s the place to be. I really do,” Winter said. “I look at the quality of beer being made by the other breweries that represent Douglas County and I can’t think of any one making better beer.”

Weldy Feazell is the business retention and marketing manager for Parker, home to the Barnett and Son, Elk Mountain and Hall brewing companies. Feazell said that when a local Rotary club organized the first Parker Brewfest in August, more than 1,000 tickets were pre-sold.

She thinks more breweries opening could be a good thing for the local economy. Vibrant brewing communities have a tendency to attract more customers who then visit several businesses in one day, she said.

“I would like to see more of it. It’s different than other businesses in that breweries do better when there are more congregated together,” Feazell said. “They build on one another. It’s a unique ecosystem.”