Red Swing Brewhouse Turns Two
This Saturday, March 4th, Red Swing Brewhouse will celebrate their second anniversary with seven limited beer releases, multiple food trucks and giveaways throughout the day! If you ask us, Red Swing has really grown in leaps and bounds since taking over the downtown FH Beerworks location. With an updated brewery layout and equipment, and vastly updated interior, it’s one of our favorite downtown spots to grab a pint.
We stopped in and talked a little shop with Peter Hall, Red Swing’s brewer just this past week. Mostly, we tasted through some of the special brown ales for the anniversary, but we also touched on his experience taking the reins of the brewhouse after Alan Stiles left this past Fall. Hall, who originally hails from Anchorage, Alaska, has really been around the block in our local brewery scene, beer-tending at Dueces, Black Forest and also cellaring at Pikes Peak before joining the team at Red Swing as their brewer. It’s exciting to see the next generation of brewers get their shot to make Colorado Springs a better beer city, and Hall is definitely doing just that at Red Swing.
How long have you been brewing?
I really started brewing when I was 19, as it was the easiest way to get beer—to make it myself. I fell in love with the process and between then and now, I brewed a ton. I went on to help organize and improve the home brew club in Anchorage, AK. During my time with the club, I held every position from president to treasurer to secretary, and helped put in place a lot of structure and SOPs that the club had been lacking. Sadly, I haven’t done a whole lot of home brewing lately—such is the life of a professional brewer I guess. I even dusted off the old equipment for the American Homebrewer Association’s Learn to Home Brew Day in November, which Red Swing hosted, but the Brew Brothers [of Pikes Peak] came prepared, so it didn’t get much use even then!
how would you describe your brewing style?
Brewing style-wise, I’m very much a hop head—which I guess a lot of brewers may say—as evidenced by our Point Mugu West Coast IPA. I really love how that one turned out, even if it’s somewhat of a mouthful to say! For that one, we added Rye to the mash bill to balance the piney characters of the Centennial and Amarillo hops with a little spice.
How did you get involved at Red Swing Brewhouse?
I was beer-tending across the street at the [Pikes Peak] Lager House and thanks to some good friends, most notably Scott Roberts and the fine folks from Raices Brewing, talking me up to Claude and Sheril, I got the job! I started when Alan Stiles was still here, but when Alan left, I became the main guy! There’s only two beers left on our tap list that I didn’t have a hand in brewing, which is pretty cool. Most nights you’ll see me either behind the bar or hosting trivia somewhere, so you could say I’m a jack of all trades here at Red Swing.
Which of the anniversary beers are you the most proud of?
It may be the four special brown ales, as this was the first time I had the ability to dose kegs with different ingredients—essentially to riff off our base brown ale with some fun and interesting flavors. In particular, the Spicy Ginger Brown was aged on a ton of ginger and some hot peppers I’ve been growing for years—it’s not blow-your-socks-off spicy, but the peppers and ginger still bring the heat. That said, I’m super happy with how they all turned out, and I look forward to sharing those fun flavors with everyone Saturday.
About the party
Red Swing Brewhouse 2nd Anniversary Party | 521 S Tejon St | 12pm-10pm
Here’s a tentative list of the beers:
Chai Coconut Vanilla Brown
Spicy Ginger Brown
Cherry Brown
Chocolatey Brown Cake ale
Brown on Cask
Red IPA on cask
Launch Pad Brewing Collaboration- Matcha Tea Wit
And Possibly more…
Along with the beer, Red Swing will have swag giveaways every hour from 1PM to 8PM, where you can win gift cards, free beer, swag and even a 2023 Mug Club Membership! Live music will be provided throughout the day, thanks to Michael Reese and Go Go Girlzilla. If you get hungry while you’re there, grab a Grilled Cheese or an Ice Cream Sandwich from one of the food trucks!
See you there! Cheers!
