Following last year’s closure, 14er Brewing to move from Denver’s RiNo to Chaffee County

Derek Heersink is leading the climb back for er Brewing The founder and owner of Alamosa s Spare Keg Brewerks says the reason was simple It s a great brand for Chaffee County where there s more ers than anywhere in the country he mentioned So it was pretty much a marketing move er s brewery and taproom in Denver s RiNo neighborhood closed in November after an eight-year run Heersink revealed he bought the company s naming rights and recipes from er co-founders Andrew Kaczmarek and Nate Francescato earlier this year Heersink a barley farmer started Spare Keg in In July he and his wife opened a coffee shop-taproom hybrid called Herks Werks in Poncha Springs a small town near Salida Heersink reported he ll start production of er beers in the coming weeks in Alamosa and sell it at his brewery there But he announced he s making the brand the centerpiece of his Poncha Springs spot Heersink estimates that hop lovers will be able to get such er favorites as the Maroon Bells tropical ale or key lime pie cream ale by Christmastime He also plans to release new beers under the er name like a chile drink or a Mount Princeton pilsner With the new label Heersink expects in to double the barrels Spare Keg brewed this year He wants to sell to more bars and restaurants in the high country while doing smaller canning production as well Related Articles After bankruptcy a Colorado apparel company rebuilt in Vietnam Denver startup Frameflow launches to connect small businesses with vetted creators Denver CEO sues following ban from Colorado Golf Club suggests it cost business deal Denver real estate firms launch joint venture with M loan for Vail residential site Developer Shea Properties looks to bring Cherry Creek sizzle to Denver Tech Center My goal is to have er beer wherever there s a er mountain he mentioned The move caps a year of expansion for Heersink and Spare Keg which went by Square Peg until He noted he pared back on wholesale distribution instead focusing on opening Herks Werks with his wife whose family in the last few days closed a coffee shop in Alamosa that they ran for years Heersink also opened a food truck at the location called Meatwerks which serves goat tacos and lamb gyros He stated having more attractions at a taproom rather than just beer is a necessity in a down craft industry Even amid the excitement Spare Keg is winding down operations at its outpost in Creede leaving it with the Poncha Springs and Alamosa locations In the beer industry you can t just do beer anymore he stated So with the beer and food we re making it more of an experience We didn t necessarily want to get into those things but you got to to keep going Read more from our partner BusinessDen Get more business news by signing up for our Economic activity Now newsletter