Breckenridge Brewery is an American brewing company based in Littleton, Colorado. Select beers can be found in 42 US states. The company was purchased by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2016 and resold to Tilray in 2023.

History Founding Breckenridge Brewery was founded in Breckenridge, Colorado, by Richard Squire in 1990.Elizabeth J. Goodgold, "Brand-Spankin' Brew," Entrepreneur, January 2003. It was Colorado's third craft brewery.Lee Williams, "Behind the Scenes at Breckenridge Brewing Co., Denver, Colorado," Serious Eats, May 13, 2012. In 1991, Squire brought on Todd Usry, who took over as brewmaster in 1994. Usry became director of production and sales in 2008, and was ultimately named the company's president.T. Ballard Lesemann, "Breckenridge Brewery celebrates 20 years," Charleston City Paper, July 28, 2010.Loren Green, "Breck Brewery's Brewmaster Talks Expansion, Big Bottles and Leftover Salmon," Paste, July 18, 2015.

Expansion In 1992, the brewery expanded operations beyond Breckenridge, opening a manufacturing facility in Denver adjacent to what would become Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. In 1996, Breckenridge moved the brewing, kegging and bottling of its beer to a new facility south of downtown. The original Denver location, Breck on Blake, remained open until April of 2018 when it became the second location for famous Denver restaurant The Cherry Cricket. In 2010, Wynkoop announced a merger with Breckenridge to form the holding company Breckenridge-Wynkoop LLC. The company also owns the Wynkoop Brewing Company, Phantom Canyon Brewing, and several restaurants.Jonathan Shikes, "Breckenridge Brewery's Todd Usry Explains the Sale to Anheuser-Busch InBev," Westword, December 23, 2015. In January 2013, Breckenridge Brewery announced that its facility, by then producing 64,000 barrels of beer per year, was at max capacity and would be moving to a new brewery complex.Eric Gorski, "Breckenridge Brewery building $20 million brewery project in Littleton," Denver Post, January 31, 2013.Loren Green, "Breckenridge Doubles Capacity, Opens New Restaurant," The Growler, June 9, 2015. In June 2015, Breckenridge Brewery left Denver and moved into its new $36 million, 12-acre, 85,000-square-foot campus in Littleton, Colorado, which includes three buildings: a brewhouse and office building, a building for fermentation and packaging, and its 300-seat Farm House restaurant and beer garden.Clayton Woullard, "Littleton hopes new Breckenridge Brewery becomes tourist draw," Denver Post, November 25, 2014.

Breckenridge Brewery ranked #50 on the Brewers Association's 2014 list of the largest US craft breweries,John Kell, "Anheuser Busch-InBev Buys Third Craft Brewer in 5 Days," Fortune, December 22, 2015. and #47 on the 2015 list.John Kell, "These Are America's 10 Largest Craft Breweries," Fortune, April 5, 2016. The Brewers Association ranked Breckenridge Brewery as Colorado's fifth-largest craft brewer by barrels produced in 2015.Steve Raabe, "Colorado places five craft brewers on list of nation’s 50 largest," Denver Post, March 31, 2015. Early on, Breckenridge Brewery produced roughly 1,000 barrels of beer per year. By 2015, the company was producing over 70,000 barrels of beer,Alicia Wallace, "Breckenridge Brewery sold to giant Anheuser-Busch's 'High End'," Denver Post, December 22, 2015. with its beers sold in 35 states in the US."Anheuser-Busch buying Colorado's Breckenridge Brewery," Chicago Tribune, December 22, 2015.

Purchase by Anheuser-Busch InBev On December 22, 2015, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced its intent to purchase Breckenridge Brewery from Breckenridge-Wynkoop LLC, as part of its High End craft and import beer brand unit."Anheuser-Busch InBev Buys Large Colorado Craft Beer Brewery," The New York Times, December 23, 2015. The acquisition, completed in 2016, included Breckenridge Brewery's production brewery and Farm House restaurant in Littleton, as well as its brewpub in Breckenridge. In an open letter to Breckenridge Brewery consumers, Usry said the brewery would continue to make its own decisions regarding the beer it creates.

Partnerships Every year since the inaugural 2012 Denver Comic Con, Breckenridge Brewery has collaborated with the convention to brew and sell a limited edition beer, with a comic-themed name chosen through an annual contest.Jonathan Shikes, "Fight evil with the Fantastic Pour, a Denver Comic Con/Breckenridge Brewery beer," Westword, June 15, 2012.

Since 2013, Breckenridge Brewery has regularly collaborated with Never Summer Industries for the creation of limited edition Artist Series snowboards and special release beers.Kelli Lynn Hargrove, "Breckenridge Brewery & Never Summer team up to throw down for Opening Day, Nov. 8," Snowboard Magazine, November 7, 2013.Ben Landreth, "From Beer to Bacon, Sixteen Tastiest Events on the Culinary Calendar," Westword, November 6, 2015.

List of beers brewed Beer Category Available Style ABV% IBU Agave Wheat Mainline Year round Unfiltered Wheat ale 4.4% 13 Avalanche Ale Mainline Year round Amber ale 5.0% 19 Breck IPA Mainline Year round IPA 6.3% 66 Breck Lager Mainline Year round Lager 4.5% 14 Lucky U IPA Mainline Year round IPA 5.7% 68Mountain BeachMainline Year round Sour 4.5% 14 Mango Mosaic Pale Ale Mainline Year round Pale ale 5.5% 29 Oatmeal Stout Mainline Year round Oatmeal stout 5.0% 36 Vanilla Porter Mainline Year round Vanilla porter 5.4% 16 Nitro Vanilla Porter Nitro Series Year round Nitrogenated vanilla porter 5.4% 16 Nitro Lucky U IPA Nitro Series Year round Nitrogenated IPA 5.7% 68 Autumn Ale Seasonal Fall Brown Ale 6.0% 21 Christmas Ale Seasonal Winter Winter ale 7.1% 22 Snow Glare Hoppy Wheat Seasonal Spring Wheat ale 6.0% 23 Summer Pils Seasonal Summer German Pilsner 5% 15 King's Dish Small Batch Limited Burton ale 6.8% 55 471 Small Batch IPA Small Batch Year Round Double IPA 9.2% 70 72 Imperial Small Batch Limited Imperial chocolate cream stout 7.2% 11Palisade Peach WheatSeasonalSummer/FallWheat Ale5.3%7Hazy PilsnerSeasonalSaaz dry-hopped Pilsner5%30Hop In Hand - Idaho 7American IPA7.7%Hugs & High FivesAmerican Lager5.3%Imperial PorterAmerican Porter7.5%Juice Drop Pineapple OrangeMainlineYear RoundNew England IPA7.2%44Mile High City Golden AleCO ExclusiveLimitedAmerican Ale5.5%20Oatmeal Stout Ver. 2.0Oatmeal Stout6%Peanut Butter StoutAmerican Porter5.9%Peerless Summer IPAAmerican IPA6.4%Summer Pils ShandyMainlineYear RoundFruit and Field Beer4.3%10Vienna LagerVienna Lager5%Buddy Pass Whiskey Barrel-Aged Oatmeal StoutSmall BatchLimitedAmerican Imperial Stout10.5%N/AJuice Drop Hazy IPAMainlineYear RoundHazy IPA7%60Strawberry SkyMainlineYear RoundKolsch4.8%23

References

External links Official website