New Brewery Series: Ute Pass Brewing
Over the next two weeks we plan to showcase a few new breweries that are opening up in the Pikes Peak Region. You can check out the whole series, including previous breweries featured in our New Brewery Series.
We'd like to start the new batch off with Ute Pass Brewing in Woodland Park, which just opened last Saturday. Ute Pass marks the third brewery to open in this little town in the last three years. Bierwerks is literally kitty-corner, and Paradox Beer Co.'s new beautiful taproom is just a hop. skip, and a jump away. The three breweries will make the already-picturesque town even more appealing as a place to stop while heading into the mountains.
We stopped in on Friday, the day before they opened and Scott Jones and Todd DeRemus caught us up to speed on all their plans. They are currently opened under a tavern license so they are not brewing quite yet. They acquired a 7bbl brewhouse from Ouray Brewing and they plan to install the equipment in the early part of the summer, having beer ready for sometime in July. Scott and Todd began homebrewing together years ago and about a year ago decided to make the big leap into commercial brewing.
They said they're excited about their Pale Ale, IPA, that they make a killer Scotch Ale, and they also said that they have fun picking and drying out wild hops and making beer with those. The wild-hopped Pale Ale will likely be called Live the Dream Pale Ale, which sounds great for a mountain hiking, beer drinking, beer making group of folks! They're currently serving a handful of local, Colorado beers and wines on tap and from bottles until they get their own beer going. Even then they'll still have some local offerings.
The tavern itself is really homey feeling, just like you would hope and expect in a mountain town. It's rustic, a really nice space for drinking and talking. The furnishings are made of beetle kill pine, old skis, with some old beer and skiing paraphernalia. There's a front patio and there's a small back porch for smoking as well and a dart board set up. If you're in the mood for food, they've got a full service kitchen that will serve up paninis, buffalo brats, pulled pork, and some great sounding hush puppies.
Another really nice aspect of Ute Pass that Scott and Todd told us about is the inspiration they've taken from Bristol's Community Ales program and their Karma Hour, which raises money for local non-profits through the sale of beer. They're planning to start a program called "Share the Dream" to raise money for local organizations and they're especially interested in helping First Responders, as they're located in the mountains.
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| Can you tell where this photo was taken? |
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| A nice view of Pikes Peak right out the front door. |
Ute Pass Brewing is definitely going to add some good attention to Woodland Park, which is truly coming into it's own this as of late. We're happy to see such a cool spot already open, and we're looking forward to trying their beer in the coming months. As of right now you can come in for drinks and food on Tuesday-Friday from 4-10pm, Saturday from 11-11pm, Sunday from 11-9pm.
I would also like to mention the design work for the Ute Pass Brewing logo, it has a very "Living the Dream" feel to it and was designed by artist Eva Vagerti.
Ute Pass Brewing
Website and Facebook page
Address: 209 E. Midland Ave., Woodland Park
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