Those of us here at Craft Beverage Jobs get excited when we hear of new breweries, wineries, distilleries and other craft beverage businesses opening up around the country because that event is usually accompanied by another – the creation of jobs!
And when a community like Boulder County, Colorado is home to 30 craft brewers (and counting), it is a natural progression and welcome sight to hear that they are now just about to hold their first ever Craft Beer Festival!
The Boulder Craft Beer Festival is scheduled to be held on Saturday, August 23, 2014. We contacted the festival organizers to ask them a few questions about this inaugural event, and the transcript from that interview is below:
Craft Beverage Jobs (CBJ): Congratulations on hosting Boulder’s Inaugural Craft Beer Festival this year. How long has this event been in planning?
Anna Salim, Festival Director: We started talking about producing a beer festival last year and decided this was a good year to add it to our calendar.
Sean Maher, Downtown Boulder Executive Director: Per capita, Boulder County has more breweries than anywhere else in Colorado so we are way overdue for a celebration of local craft brews!
CBJ: Your website states 20 Boulder County breweries will be pouring. That’s a lot of breweries in one county. Is this all of them?
Anna Salim, Festival Director: There are now 30 breweries in Boulder County. We invited 29 – one opened since we finalized our list! If you go just outside of the County line (into Weld County and others) the count gets closer to 50.
Have you heard about the 1st ever Boulder Craft Beer Festival? August 23rd! http://t.co/6QJ5e6xmks @downtownboulder
— Colorado Beer Girl (@Colobeergirl) August 1, 2014
CBJ: In terms of economic impact, can you address how much revenue craft beer brings to Boulder?
Sean Maher, Downtown Boulder Executive Director: We don’t have a number specific to Boulder, but it is growing exponentially as breweries open up almost every month.
Statewide, craft brewing contributes over $826 million to the economy. There are 235 breweries in the state. Boulder County is second only to Denver in the number of operating craft breweries. They have 33 down there and we have 30. Pretty amazing when you look at the difference in population. Maybe we’ll catch them in 2014!
CBJ: Do you know how many jobs have been created in Boulder as a result of Craft Beer?
Sean Maher, Downtown Boulder Executive Director: The industry employs almost 6,000 in Colorado so we estimate the number at 600-700 in Boulder County if you count brewpubs.
CBJ: In addition to great local beer, what else can attendees expect from this event?
Anna Salim, Festival Director: Fantastic music from singer/songwriter Andy Hackbarth and bluegrass band The Hillbenders, delicious food from great Boulder restaurants like Centro and food trucks like Seb’s Woodfire Pizza, and classic beer drinking games like ping pong and cornhole.
CBJ: Are tickets still available, and where should people go if they want more information on attending?
Anna Salim, Festival Director: Tickets are still available – for $30 in advance and $35 on the day of the event. Visit BoulderCraftBeerFest.com for more information.
Below is the current list of all the craft brewers from Boulder County, Colorado participating in the Boulder Craft Beer Festival:
Boulder, Colorado – Hot Bed for Craft Beer Careers?
In addition to a bustling population of craft breweries, Boulder is also home to Colorado’s oldest craft brewery, the Boulder Beer Co., which is also in the growing phase. To meet the growing demand and popularity for all things craft beer and delicious food, the Boulder Beer Co. is in the planning stages of a million dollar expansion of their brewery and restaurant. This increase in brewery and restaurant footprint will no doubt translate into an increase in career opportunities.
With established breweries growing and new breweries opening up on a regular basis, Boulder Colorado is in the middle of a bona fide craft beer boom; whether you are looking for a job or wanting to explore starting your own brewery, Boulder is a great place to do that. The community atmosphere around craft beer is strong, there is a lot of collaboration, and with so many breweries in close proximity to one another, you’re sure to learn from one another.
Here’s a throwback video from our friends at Craft Beer App from 2011 highlighting Boulder Brewer, Twisted Pine Brewing: