Since 2011, Telluride Brewing Co. has made beer completely at its manufacturing facility in its namesake mountain city. However that may quickly change.
In response to a current announcement, the brewery plans to relocate 83% of its manufacturing to Ska Brewing Co. in Durango, citing rising operational prices together with bills related to wastewater administration. By way of the partnership, the brewery’s homeowners hope to economize and bolster income with out having to extend beer costs.
Regardless of the transfer, Telluride Brewing Co. plans to maintain its brewery and taproom within the Lawson Hill neighborhood open and lively filling kegs for its Western Slope accounts. Brewers there may also use it for analysis and growth of latest recipes. The corporate’s taproom and restaurant in Mountain Village may also stay open.
Nonetheless, the shift will likely be dramatic. Telluride Brewing Co. sometimes produces greater than 8,000 barrels of beer per yr. It expects output will drop to about 1,200 to 1,400 barrels yearly since packaged merchandise will likely be made in and distributed from Durango.
Seven full-time workers have been let go due to the change.
Telluride Brewing Co.’s announcement comes as beer makers statewide wrestle to outlive within the post-pandemic economic system. The prices of elements and actual property have elevated, main many companies to kind strategic partnerships to search out efficiencies. Minimizing bills is very vital as beer loses market share to different alcoholic beverage classes and extra Individuals embrace non-alcoholic choices.
Dry Dock Brewing Co., for instance, just lately shuttered its 30,000-square-foot facility in Aurora and moved manufacturing to Nice Divide Brewing Co. in Denver. The Mile Excessive Metropolis’s TRVE Brewing additionally just lately ditched its manufacturing facility and enlisted New Picture Brewing Co. in Wheat Ridge to make its beer.
Being positioned in Telluride additionally presents distinctive challenges. The brewery’s announcement attributes a pointy rise in operational prices to the city’s wastewater therapy plant, which wants upgrades. Each the value of water and wastewater therapy have skyrocketed, the brewery stated.
Telluride Brewing Co. is the city’s largest contributor to Organic Oxygen Demand, which means how a lot oxygen is required to interrupt down natural matter in water. Since February, Telluride Brewing Co. has tried to mitigate its impression on the therapy plant by trucking its waste greater than 75 miles to Cortez twice weekly for disposal.
“The rising price of wastewater was the ultimate nail within the coffin of our present operational mannequin,” Chris Fish, co-founder and chief brewing officer, in an announcement. “It’s heartbreaking to search out ourselves on this state of affairs, particularly figuring out the impression it’s having on the livelihoods of our workers.”
“Selecting Ska Brewing as our associate on this transition was a choice rooted in shared
values, belief, friendship, and a dedication to family-centric operations,” co-founder and president Tommy Thacher stated in an announcement.
As a part of the settlement, Ska Brewing provided employment to the workers at Telluride Brewing Co. who’re prepared to relocate to Durango.
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