A while back my buddy Don Tequila in San Diego asked if I'd do him the favor of tracking down a few bottles of Crooked Stave beer. I told him I would, as he has done me the solid of sending bottles of Ballast Point's limited release Indra Kunindra, a beer I consider one of the world's best beverages.
However, finding the Crooked Stave Brewery proved to be a little irritating. I googled the address (3350 Brighton Blvd, Denver, Co) and knowing well where that should be, drove into Denver.
Driving along eastbound I-70 I took the Brighton Blvd exit and headed south down Brighton. As I passed 35th, I looked left and right for either; 1) A sign that stated "Crooked Stave Brewery," or 2) A building with the address "3350 Brighton Blvd" prominently displayed.
I found neither.
It seems that Crooked Stave is in a mall of sorts. The place is called "The Source," and it is located in buildings that I visited years ago when it was the location of Bud's Warehouse, a building material salvage and resale place.
The huge sign indicating the location of The Source does not indicate that the Crooked Stave Brewery is inside - it simply lists that a brewery is included along with a number of other shops.
Entering the building and looking for a sign, or something that would direct one to the brewery, is a little challenging. The businesses all have slated metal facades over them with the nature (not the name of the business, the nature of the business) painted in teal blue on them. In the far northeast corner there is a shop labeled brewery. That must be the place, eh?
The first indication that you have found Crooked Stave is the floor mat placed at the entrance to the brewery. Bravo! The Source has created an adult 'Where's Waldo" and apparently, that is a business tactic that works.
Not being a big Belgian sour beer aficionado, I have yet to try any of the product Crooked Stave artisanly crafts. Don Tequila likes it though, so I picked him up four beers that were recommended by the extremely nice young man behind the bar.
The place was quite busy for a Thursday afternoon, and the patrons all seemed to be enjoying themselves and the product. As I looked around the place I marveled at the ingenuity behind creating such a unique cache for the product and the brand.
And make no mistake about it, this wasn't some small brewery that just couldn't afford to get it's name out like the big boys could. This was a cleverly marketed product that had tapped into a zeitgeist of sorts, and was taking full advantage of it. There were items of apparel for sale that clearly indicated that the intent was to get the name of the place out there - but in a manner that inferred you had to be an insider, someone in the know, to understand what it was all about.
As for the actual brew the brewery was brewing, well, as I mentioned earlier, those sour beers are not my thing. I picked up these four for Don Tequila - hope he likes them, and hope he's grown some ironic facial hair with which to enjoy them.
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