2
National Championships now-novelist Ryan Max Riley won as a mogul skier on the U.S. Ski Team. The Harvard grad is now the master distiller at Ski Bum Rum distillery in Golden, Colorado, where he concocts a Local Legend Spiced Rum, Edelweiss Coconut Rum and Last Run Silver Rum in a handmade copper pot still. riley1803.wixsite.com/skibumrum
22
Number of pool tables Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and partners Jerry Williams, Mark Schiffler and Russell Schehrer installed when they opened Wynkoop Brewing Co. in downtown Denver in 1988. The brewery spearheaded the rebirth of LoDo and the craft booze revolution that has since spread throughout the state. wynkoop.com
348
Craft breweries in the state of Colorado, as documented by the Denver Business Journal in May 2017. The state is second only to California when it comes to that statistic. But we blow away the Golden State when you calculate that the number represents six breweries per 100,000 Colorado residents.
125,000
Liters of wine Denver vinter Infinite Monkey Theorem plans to can this year. Canned wine is hot right now and Infinite Monkey stresses that it’s more sustainable than glass bottles; aluminum is 100-percent recyclable and a used can can be back in a product on the shelves in as little as 60 days. theinfinitemonkeytheorem.com
2008
The year Boulder’s Upslope Brewing was founded—and the same year another tasty Boulder-based company burst to life… We began planning Elevation Outdoors magazine in 2008 (in the midst of the Great Recession, when we were told print was dead) and published our first issue in February 2009. We’re often recreating and planning new issues at the Upslope Tap Room at 1898 S. Flatiron Court. upslopebrewing.com
5
Years Wood’s High Mountain Distillery in Salida, Colorado, founded by brothers Lee and P.T. Wood, has been pumping out craft spirits (see their Alpine Rye on page 40).They must be doing something right because the town elected P.T. mayor in November. woodsdistillery.com
1989
The year Doug O’Dell opened his brewery in a 1915 grain elevator in Fort Collins. It’s now the 34th largest brewery in the U.S. becoming employee-owned in 2015. odellbrewing.com
2.5
Percentage of craft spirits sales of all spirits sold in the U.S. See? There’s room to grow.
16
The percent ABV in Avery’s bold Tweak, a bourbon-barrel-aged coffee stout. averybrewing.com
1
Years an employee needs to work at Fort Collins’ New Belgium Brewing before they get a free fat tire bike. Employees own the place (no, really). newbelgium.com
