25th ANNIVERSARY PARTY -- JUNE 12, 2004 -- 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM -- ROCKIES BREWING COMPANY, 2880 WILDERNESS PLACE, BOULDER, COLORADO 303-444-8448
Colorado's First Microbrewery is throwing a party -- a big party, a monster party, a 25th Anniversary Party -- and we'd like you to join us. We're calling it
Saturday, June 12, 2004 from 1 - 8 pm in the parking lot of our brewery.
Revival, n, 1) renewed attention to or interest in something; 2) to bring back from the great beyond; 3) a raucus event punctuated by shouts of joy and a reaffirmation of all that is good!
Fine. But what's with the Goatshed?
Well, sit right back and you'll hear a tale...In 1979 there was revolution in the air: disco was waning, The Sex Pistols were raging, and the federal government had de-criminalized homebrewing. So, two professors at the University of Colorado in Boulder -- Stick Ware and David Hummer -- decided to test the entrepreneurial waters with a little project called a "microbrewery." As with most truly innovative ideas, there were objections from family and zoning inspectors, so the basement was out. The chosen location then was a building northeast of town sharing occupancy with at least one goat -- which came in handy when testing the first few pilot brews.
But, goats and college freshmen will drink anything, so a few experts were brought in to celebrate Colorado's First Microbrewery. Michael Jackson, a British journalist and Scotch connoisseur who'd carved something of a niche for himself writing books and magazine articles about beer all over the world, joined Fred Eckhardt, a writer, brewer and beer-missionary from the Pacific Northwest, along with Charlie Papazian, brewing guru and founder of the recently established (in 1979) Association of Brewers in Boulder. They had a party at the goatshed.
Well, it couldn't have been too bad, because the three of them not only had more than one, but they're all still alive to tell the tale. If they can remember it.
We can't, but we can throw a party of our own -- and we're bringing back The Goatshed!
Yes, things have changed a bit since 1979: we've moved to a significantly larger site and even added onto it, where we brew our award-winning recipes in a fifty-barrel brewhouse, ferment in quantities of 200 barrels, and package our longnecks with a state-of-the-art 130 unit per minute Krones bottling line. But we still have the passion that got us started, and the desire to throw our pet rocks through the window of taste-free low-carb breweries!
(OK, maybe not. That was a metaphor. Hey, even The Sex Pistols are in the Hall of Fame, now.)
We'll have live music on our very own "keg stage," plenty of culinary diversions, a fantastic view of the Boulder Flatirons in the shade of freshly grown hops, hourly tours of the facility, hob-nobbing with hopheads, as well as fun goatshed-themed interactive ways to help us raise funds for Flatirons Habitat for Humanity. Of course, there will also be plenty of brewery-fresh beer to help quench your thirst and satisfy your tastebuds. These will include some classics like Sundance Amber, Planet Porter and Pass Time Pale Ale, as well as the brews that put us on the map, Buffalo Gold and Singletrack Copper Ale. Not leaving well enough alone, we'll also be pouring our Looking Glass Beers: Hazed & Infused, Mojo India Pale Ale, the new Sweaty Betty Blonde wheat beer, and perhaps even a special 25th Anniversary Beer.
Also joining us will be a number of our friends from the area showcasing their wares. Kind of like a festival! Here's who's going to be here...
We hope you can join us as we look forward to another twenty-five years of great beer brewed by great people in a great brewery.
Wonder what it'll be like? Click here for a photo gallery of some memories from our party in 2003.
Whether you can join us or not, we would like to say a big "Thanks!" for supporting us and the other great craft beers you've enjoyed over the years. We are proud to have made it this far, and to be in the company of so many other great breweries and community leaders that will soon be celebrating anniversaries of their own. Cheers!
David Zuckerman, Brewmaster since 1990, Rockies Brewing Company