Local Breweries Launch Brewers Alliance
We originally reported about local Colorado Springs-area breweries forming an advocacy group, and now they have a name. The SCBA (pronounced scuba), or Southern Colorado Brewers Alliance has been formed to help market, develop and advocate for Southern Colorado Breweries.“We wanted to come together to help market the incredible breweries in Southern Colorado and help develop our area as a destination location for people looking for great beer,” said SCBA President Todd Baldwin, of Red Leg Brewing Company. “There is a need in Southern Colorado for a group that advocates for these fantastic businesses that give so much back to their cities.”
The SCBA is comprised of breweries from throughout the Pikes Peak Region and even as far South as Pueblo and East to Falcon. Membership is free, on the condition the brewery takes part in a fundraising event this Spring. The SCBA will also partner with the Small Business Development Center to put on a Brewery/Distillery business conference in the fall of 2016.We had a chance to catch up with Todd Baldwin, President of SCBA, and he was excited for what is to come. Talk of a SCBA beer map, additional events and more were mentioned, with much of it still up in the air. One thing is clear: breweries are organizing to help influence change in the business community. Brewing is an exploding industry, with many outdated regulations and legislation, and breweries want a seat at the table when decisions are made.According to Todd, some of the major players here in Colorado Springs have not signed up yet — Bristol, Phantom Canyon and Iron Bird. We talked to Mike Bristol last night at their Old Ale release and he made it clear that Bristol's absence was purely marketing driven and he supports the Alliance and what they're trying to do. It's safe to say that Bristol Brewing, as the old guard of breweries in town, has different needs than a startup brewery in its infancy, so we can understand where their decision came from.I think if the SCBA takes off, the breweries who haven't signed up will jump on board, as SCBA's mission will help everyone in the long run.“Our breweries make a significant impact in our cities and towns, and provide our customers great beer,” Baldwin continued. “We want to help focus that energy to advance our businesses and help new breweries take off.”Member breweries as of posting are:Cogstone, Fieldhouse, Fossil, Gold Camp, Great Storm, JAKs, Nano 108, Paradox, Peaks N Pines, Pikes Peak, Red Leg, Rock Bottom, Rocky Mountain, Smiling Toad, Storybook, Trinity, Triple S, and Ute Pass.Look for future announcements regarding the SCBA on Facebook, Twitter and a soon to launch website. SCBA will also have a feature segment on Focus on the Beer's new radio show on 93.9 KCMJ this Spring. The show will be available on Thursdays at 7pm over the radio waves and on SoundCloud after the fact.
The first member’s meeting of the newly formed group was held in January of 2016. The SCBA is headquartered at 4630 Forge Road, Ste B, Colorado Springs, CO 80907.
