21 hours ago
Colorado craft beer "all-stars" are reshaping the Denver beer scene
A sixth-generation Coloradan has made it his mission to bring together the leaders of Colorado's craft beer industry and keep the beers people love in their state.
CBS
Charlie Berger, at a young age, fully embraced Denver's craft beer scene after working for Great Divide Brewing Company.
"My first job in the brewing industry was taking bottles off the bottling line over there," Berger told CBS Colorado. "I fell in love with craft beer as a result."
Now, it's all come full circle. Berger co-founded Denver Beer Company nearly 15 years ago, and helped spearhead the creation of Wilding Brands.
"Wilding came together as a result of a handful of Colorado craft beverage producers who have known each other in a tight-knit industry for years and years. Over a beer, over a hard cider, having conversations about what this industry looks like now and what it could look like."
The result: It was a family of local brands such as Denver Beer Co. and Stem Ciders joining forces and recently acquiring two popular Denver breweries -- Station 26 Brewing Co. and Great Divide Brewing.
"We're bringing the all-star team of the Colorado craft beverage industry together," Berger said.
It's safe to say Wilding Brands is reshaping the Denver craft beer scene, and Berger maintains that's a good thing -- by making sure these brands exist in the future, and that the core of what made each one popular remains.
"This is a different business model than has been done in the past, certainly in Colorado, but really, probably in most of the country," Berger added. "Running a small business in this environment with this kind of uncertainty, we felt like we could grow our way through it by doing some consolidation, some acquisitions, some mergers, and still give all the Colorado consumers all the choices they've always had."
Berger assures consumers their favorite beer will remain their favorite beer.
"I'm really excited about making sure our customers know that Denver Beer Co. is Denver Beer Co. Stem Ciders is Stem Ciders. Great Divide, this Great Divide. We're still very much founder owned, founder run and, in Colorado, independent."
