Community Culture Matters: Red Leg Celebrates Ten Years
Pointing to a “Best Brewery” plaque on the wall, Todd Baldwin, owner of Red Leg Brewing remarks, “It's been a long time since someone other than Bristol won. Bristol's done a great job for a lot of years, but this crew deserved it. The Red Leg crew worked really hard to create a lot of great memories for a lot of folks.”
Sitting in an apropos Ted Lasso “Believe” shirt, Todd and I had a chance to catch up and talk at length about Red Leg Brewing’s past, present and future. In just a few short days, Red Leg will celebrate their 10th Anniversary on July 4th. It’s an incredible milestone for any brewery to thrive for that kind of duration.
Somewhat like Bristol Brewing, Red Leg Brewing started from humble beginnings in a seemingly oversized warehouse space on Forge Rd. After not even a year brewing on a Ruby Street system and taking Smiling Toad’s new brewhouse for a test drive, Red Leg made their first big splash — upgrading to a massive brewhouse that filled their space. At their one-year anniversary, customers reveled in the sea of stainless, posing one after another with Todd and the new brew system. It’s a big step for any brewery to take that leap to invest in so much hardware.
“You kind of forget, sometimes, about all it took. I'm glad I didn't do something stupid. I'm glad that I stuck it out. I'm glad that we chose to live in people's basements when we couldn't afford to survive anymore. We sold cars, heck we sold anything we could just to keep the dream alive. I think you take those lessons learned and apply them. But those things never leave you. You got to keep pushing, keep trying.”
“For the most part, back then, I worked in the brewery full time. I was in the taproom, sold beer to accounts, spent almost every waking hour somewhere building the business, but I knew I wasn’t a brewer. I took a different approach with the brewing part of Red Leg, hiring someone who themselves is better than me at brewing—it all was in order to approach the project like a business, not a hobby.”
For Red Leg, the plan for the massive campus in the shadow of Garden of the Gods wasn’t there at the beginning, but they knew they wanted, née needed, to expand quickly and get out there. As with any brewery who has tried to open in Colorado Springs over the past decade, just opening the doors is a challenge. But Red Leg kept grinding, kept pushing and when the opportunity came to expand, they took a big swing at making a monster…and it’s worked.
Even as much as they’ve expanded and added brewing capacity, there are still little projects at their new location that need to be done. As we talked with Baldwin, their bandstand stage was being completed by workers—a feature originally teased at the grand opening in 2021, now finally nearing the finish line. Along the way, the vision of Red Leg Brewing has also come into focus, with 6 shipping container pods now hosting a wide variety of different businesses, all helping make Red Leg a one-stop-shop for beer-thirsty consumers. At opening, even the pods weren’t a guarantee, as it took endless back and forth with the city and county officials to bring them to life.
It hasn’t always just been Todd running every facet of the business for the past decade, and he’s quick to mention all the different employees who have helped shape Red Leg from the inside-out. From early brewers Jeff and Mike, then Brendan and Troy and now Richard, Red Leg’s brewing has always been a measure of consistency and quality.
In the business as a whole, a lot of Red Leg’s success as come thanks to a foundation of great people, Baldwin explains. The building may be bigger, different, more expansive, but many of the same faces are still there helping hold the wheel — steering Red Leg into the future.
We talked about the old days for a spell, including the time where Todd and I were guests on a local podcast, The Little London Show, and we held the hosts captive while we talked ad nauseum for an hour and a half about beer in Colorado Springs. That show was, coincidentally, where I met my wife, Darcie, who was one of the hosts we angered…go figure!
Our conversation drifts towards a poignant topic, one that really emphasizes what Red Leg’s legacy is and has been for Colorado Springs over the past ten years. Red Leg has created something, along with all the other breweries in town, that is attracting a lot of attention from Denver residents. For years, all we’ve ever been told was that you have to go to Denver, but now that commute is being reversed and Red Leg is a catalyst for that reversal.
When asked if he were to go back in time and do it all over again, Todd responds with a resounding affirmation.
“If you think this project [Red Leg’s Expansion] didn’t change the culture of our community, I think you’d be joking yourself...”
“There’s a lot of things that come up along the way. We opened about 3,650 days ago. A lot of those days were bad, a lot of them good, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Our architects told me a long time ago that architects are responsible for changing the skyline of a community, but I want to take that a step further — small businesses are responsible for creating culture for our community.”
These days, Todd isn’t behind the bar full time, nor does he have to shoulder the load of running the brewery by himself any longer, but that doesn’t change his perspective.
“It’s very similar to the time I have with my kids. I want to be present, not just providing. Kids don’t always have a concept of time, so if they get five minutes from me at the end of a long day, I want to make it the best five minutes ever.”
In the end, Todd attributes Red Leg’s ultimate success to all the employees, everyone who’s bought a beer, or supported them from day one. He pointed to a guy at the bar, Steve, who has been supporting them week in and week out since the beginning.
“Lots of folks just keep coming back. Lots of folks like Steve, he's right here. He's been coming for 10 years. It's our commitment back to you that we're going to build you something great, and we're going to keep trying to improve it, obviously. We're going to keep trying to do the right thing. That's our commitment back. It's like quid pro quo.”
Talking about the anniversary party on the 4th of July, Todd says it will be “bonkers.” Red Leg is planning a full day of activities from pie-eating contests, bounce houses, live music and more, all for free (you buy the beer). For everyone who knows that parking at Red Leg can be challenging, they’ve figured out an option for those who want to park close…a VIP experience, complete with a hat and glassware, plus reserved parking and a private access to the rooftop.
The VIP Party Pack includes:
Exclusive Merch: will not be available for sale separately!
VIP Parking: no need to worry if you’ll get a spot!
3 Complimentary Beers
Free Crowler
Stickers
Koozies
Early Access to Brewery (1 hour before opening)
Covered Rooftop VIP Seating: stay nice & cool while you party!
Private Rooftop Bar Access: get beer quickly with fewer lines!
50% off 6-pack Coupon: who doesn’t want beers for home?
Act fast, though, as VIP tickets are almost gone (use code VIP20 for 20% off!):
Here’s all that Red Leg has planned for the day:
Food Vendors
Chef Bob’s Lobstah Trap
High Rise Pizza Kitchen
Oliver’s Deli
PH Burger Bunker
Sasquatch Cookies
Criterium
Live Music
WireWood Station 12-3 pm
Ryan Flores 3-5 pm
Rafiel & the Roomshakers 5-8 pm
Beer Releases
Blue Nose Brown *Throwback*
Grapefruit Cranberry Gose Shandy
The Sheriff Stout
Attack on Tavern Session IPA
Blueberry Honey Wheat
Blood Orange Hazy IPA
Song Bird Pie Blackberry Sour
Czech Pils
Swartz Bier
Saison
Watermelon Seltzer
Contests
Grain Sack Races 1 pm
Pie Eating Contest Adults 2 pm
Pie Eating Contest Kids 3 pm
Guess the Beer (21+) 4 pm
Costume Contest (Red, White, & Blue) 5 pm (Three winners)
Chance to Win Ultimate Beer Bundle (21+) 6 pm (must purchase raffle tickets)
Activities
Bounce House: All Day
Bite My Axe Throwing: 11-3 pm
Nature’s Educators (animal exhibit): 11-3 pm
Photo Booth: 11-5 pm
Zany Face Painting: 12-4 pm
Henna Tattoo Artist: 12-4 pm
Caricature Artist: 1-5 pm
Parking
We will have parking attendants to assist with parking in the dirt lot across the street. Street parking is also available along Arrowswest unless there are posted signs that state otherwise. Please be respectful of our neighbors and not park in their lots. We highly encourage using ride-share services or carpooling with others to the event.
We hope to see you there!
