Loveland Ale WorksWhat: A future addition to Northern Colorado's growing micro-brew industry.
Where: 118 W. Fourth St.
When will it open?: While that depends on acquisition of building permits and the building process, owner Nick Callaway would like to open shop sometime around the first of the year.
After high school Nick Callaway went to college, dropped out, worked on the ski slopes for four years, went back to college, switched his major a couple of times, and earned a degree in engineering and physics. But the whole time, he wished he could have majored in brewing beer.
Years later, the home-brewer's dream is set to come true as he pours hundreds of hours into opening his first business, Loveland Ale Works.
A Brewer's Future
On Wednesday afternoon, Callaway stood over lamp-lit plans portioning out each of the 5,000 square feet in the now-vacant industrial space at 118 W. Fourth St. Over the coming months, the building will get two rolling glass garage doors at its entrance, the historic tin ceiling will be refurbished and what is now a dusty cement floor will become the foundation of Callaway's livelihood.
Over the past three or four years, the Greeley resident looked up and down the Front Range and across Northern Colorado for a good spot to open shop. Then a friend told him about Loveland and connected him with senior planner Mike Scholl, who persuaded him to open in the growing downtown area.
Everything took off from there.
Standing at his storefront, Callaway paused his story and pointed to the battered "King Storage" sign atop the coffee shop across Fourth Street.
"I just like these old downtown areas," he said. "You can't fake that kind of stuff."
Callaway is currently in the process of acquiring building permits and hiring contractors to renovate the site. When all is said and done, he will be the proud owner of a 30 feet by 30-feet tasting room with windows looking into the brewing area.
Keeping it simple to maintain quality, Loveland Ale Works will use a 10-barrel system to serve up four primary brews -- an Imperial Stout "for sure," a Belgian Trippel, a Saison and Pale Ale, of sorts. Six other seasonal or specialty beers will rotate on tap.
The company will also distribute its beers within a 20-mile radius to start, Callaway said, with consideration for future expansion.
"People want local food. They don't want it processed." Callaway said, dwarfed by one of his massive fermentation tanks in storage a few blocks from the future brewery. "The same goes for beer."
A Growing Market
With craft brew giants New Belgium, Odell Brewing Co. and others up north and Grimm Brothers Brewery, Big Beaver Brewing Co. and Rock Bottom Brewery in Loveland, Callaway isn't intimidated. He feels quite the opposite, in fact, and noted a healthy competition and feeling of cooperation among all.
While moving in, Callaway has sought and received ample feedback from those at Grimm Brothers.
"I think it's exciting," Grimm's president and head brewer Don Chapman said of Callaway's venture.
He doesn't believe the new brewery will deter business "as much as it just builds awareness in general and turns out more people interested in tasting beer."
Jim Francis, director of Colorado State University's new Beverage Business Institute, said Loveland Ale Works' opening just adds to the microbrewery growth the state and Northern Colorado is experiencing.
"We like to think that we're absolutely in the top three," in terms of microbrew market size in the U.S., he said, though, "We have told people before that we think we're No. 1."
Portland, Ore.; Seattle, Wash.; and Asheville, N.C., are other contenders.
Often referred to as the "Napa Valley of beer," Colorado is at the center of growth in the microbrew industry, Francis said, boasting a 25 percent employment rate increase between 2000 and 2010.
The industry flourishes here because the state has resources others don't, he said. With Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors brewing companies in "our backyard," there is a plethora of skilled workers; the water isn't the best but is better than that in nearby states; good transportation systems make for improved distribution; and business benefits from the area's entrepreneurial climate.
Simply put, it's a good place to brew beer.
Back to Loveland
Ale Works ...
While he couldn't give a hard-and-fast date (because of the unpredictability of the permitting and building processes), Callaway said he would like to open near the first of the year.
And he's really looking forward to adding another spot to the downtown area that gives people a chance to relax and enjoy life.
"I imagine them sitting down to have a pint, get a growler and going home; having dinner or just going out after," he said.
