Gunbarrel's Beyond the Mountain Brewing begins distribution

This month, Gunbarrel-based Beyond the Mountain Brewing announced that it will begin distributing to liquor stores throughout Boulder County. This was a major step for the business, which first opened in late December 2017 at 6035 Longbow Drive.

"We're pretty excited and we think the cans are looking great," said the brewery's managing member, Chuck Hixon. He shared that as a local craft brewer, owners are prioritizing distribution in Longmont, Niwot, and Boulder. While the business currently self-distributes, it already has its products on shelves at Hazel's in Boulder and has reached out to Niwot Liquors for placement.

The area brewer is known for combining creatively brewed beer with a love of music. Their slogan, "improvisational ales" was inspired by their passion for jam bands, bluegrass, and other free-form musical performances, many of which took place in their taproom prior to the pandemic. It was also inspired by the creativity that they bring to their process.

"We just enjoy making good all-around beers. We don't have any single style we stick to and we don't have a set schedule of brews for the year like a lot of bigger places do," said Hixon. "When we see an open tank, we'll sit around and ask, 'What kind of fun beers do we want to make that we haven't tried before?' "

While the brewery is known for its creativity, it also serves a set of core offerings consistently available as part of a dozen overall tap lines in their taproom. Initial distribution efforts will focus on these five favorites: an IPA, a double IPA, a Vienna lager, a sour ale with blackberries, and the brewery's 2019 Colorado State Fair gold medal-winning Kolsch. All selections will be available in 4-packs of cans.

Over time, owners plan to distribute brews that reflect their creativity. Seasonal releases will include a basil Saison and a juicy IPA. Customers looking for other options will have to travel to their taproom where they can enjoy an IPA brewed with Colorado spruce tips and a Belgian Dubbel aged in a Boulder Spirits whiskey barrel.

Owners and managers of Beyond the Mountain had been considering a move into distribution since they first purchased a canning line in December 2019. Initially, they planned on taproom-only can availability, but the pandemic changed their plans.

Hixon said, "We were in the process of getting the processes for the canning line dialed in when the pandemic hit. After a few months of seeing how the cans were selling at the taproom, we thought we should reach out to an artist, get the labels ready to go, and start selling to actual stores."

Although the pandemic was stressful, Hixon said their customers have made things easier. "We definitely have loyal customers who have been supporting us and helping us. Now, we're glad to start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and hopefully by the end of the summer, we'll be back to more normal of a situation."

Though things such as an expanded distribution footprint will help this area business make it through COVID-19 related challenges, Hixon shared that they're still itching to get back to normal in other ways. "As things are hopefully beginning to open up, we'd like to get our beer back on tap in the area. That's been hard during the pandemic since a lot of people were cutting down on how many options they had."

While there are signs of hope going forward, a future normal will likely look a little different with a larger distribution footprint.

"Now, with the pandemic lingering over us, this helps our bottom line to have sales in stores," Hixon explained. "We also hope that it raises awareness of our brewery, that fans will see them on shelves and want to check us out."