Fritz Family Beer takes over Bootstrap Brewing location

Pints will be brewed and poured in Cottonwood Square again. Last week, co-owners Leslie and Steve Kaczeus closed on the sale of the former Bootstrap Brewing location on 79th Street. New owners Cory and Kelly Buenning plan to open a family brewery in the building. They aim to start serving customers sometime next spring.

The location will be known as Fritz Family Beer, and will offer the varied range of beer styles that Buenning produced while head brewer at both Snake River Brewing in Jackson Hole, Wyo. and Gravely Brewing in Louisville, Ky.

Buenning not only made a range of beer styles for those breweries, his work won awards. He ultimately earned more than 26 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) medals and 12 world cup medals for a variety of styles while serving as brewer and head brewer at Snake River Brewing. While at Gravely Brewing, his German Pilsner took home Gold at this year's GABF and silver at 2018's World Beer Cup. His dunkelweizen took this year's GABF bronze medal.

While the prospect of having another high-caliber brewer in the area is exciting, it's not without stressors, especially when opening during a pandemic. Speaking on the day that the business sale closed, Buenning shared, "I'm pretty excited, but there's still a lot of work that has to happen. I'll get more excited when the brewing equipment shows up."

After a pause he continued, "It's also just a little bit scary. We took out a big loan in the middle of a global pandemic."

When asked about his strategy for opening, Buenning's goals with the space are very community-oriented. "We want to have a family-friendly brewery in a neighborhood. We don't necessarily have big growth plans. I've been in the industry for such a long time I don't feel the need to expand and see my beer on the shelf on every King Soopers in the state. We just really want to make a comfortable, welcoming, cozy space where people can drink delicious beer."

As the former owner, Leslie Kaczeus said, "We can't say enough of how grateful we are for how our entire community has supported and cheered us on over the last eight years. We'll continue to participate in the community through the NBA, parades, and festivities, and promise to continue to rock the beer tent with you at Rock 'n Rails every summer."

She was pleased with the future use of the space. "We love that it's going to remain a brewery because we were marketing it as a turnkey brewery from the very beginning. We can't wait to help them celebrate opening day and enjoy our first Fritz Family beer.

Buenning appreciates how both owners first showed them the building and helped usher its transition to a new use. "Steve and Leslie will never have to pay for a beer in their life, at our space," he said.

Work to set up the new brewery will proceed through the end of this year and the first part of next year. By spring, they should be ready to brew on their seven barrel system. They plan to brew a range of beers and may have as many as 14 to 16 taps operating. "I plan to make a lot of IPAs," Buenning said. "I want there to be something for everyone to drink."

They also plan to offer something to eat through a rotating food truck, perhaps evolving that to a more permanent agreement.

When asked what he would pour into his own glass, Buenning admits to a love of lagers. He couldn't pin down what he'd brew first on the new system but guessed it would be something like a Helles or his German Pilsner.

Niwot's newest brewer shared more about his extensive craft beer background.

Buenning views his return to Niwot as coming home, full circle. Like so many of Colorado's other professional brewers, he honed his skills for his college roommates and friends in the early 90s. "I brewed pretty frequently. I was making ten gallons of beer at least once a week if not twice a week."

With his love of brewing established, Buenning was recruited to Tommyknocker's in Idaho Springs, one of the older craft breweries in the state.

From there, he was recruited again to Snake River Brewing in Jackson, Wyo. -- a move that proved to be life-changing. The location was as much a match for his professional skills as it was for his love of being in the backcountry, snowboarding, and fly fishing. He also met his wife, Kelly, there.

Ultimately, the area's long winters didn't work as well for his family as they did for him. They left to brew in Kentucky for several more years.

It was a draw to live in the West again that led the family back to Colorado. "We have family who live out here so we thought the Front Range would be a little more tolerable. It has nicer weather for my wife, and I still can go skiing and flyfishing and whatnot."

Now that he's back here, he's been enjoying Colorado's craft beer scene as much as he can, something that's not always easy given pandemic-related restrictions. "When we first got here, I was getting takeout growlers because I always want to support local businesses. There are so many breweries here. I'm trying to get to as many as I can."

He's also been enjoying time reconnecting with former craft beer friends, though he's eager to continue to get to know some of the new talent that's out here.

All of his exploring will happen in its own good time, in between the work of getting the doors open at Fritz Family Brewing. When that day comes, many will likely join Kaczeus in eagerly awaiting enjoying a pint in the new space when it's ready.