Breckenridge Announces 39% YTD Production Growth
Denver, CO – Breckenridge Brewery of Colorado, LLC, announces momentous production growth of 39% in the first half of 2011 over the same period last year.
Production of all brands is up – across main line, seasonal and small batch offerings. Outstanding performers (based on year over year barrels through June) are:
SummerBright – up 118%
Agave Wheat – up 88%
Vanilla Porter – up 78%
Sampler Packs – up 59%
Lucky U – up 76%
471 IPA – up 67%
“We’ve invested more than ever in sales, production, and marketing in the last 18 months, and we’re seeing real results” says Todd Usry, Brewery Director and Brewmaster. “We expanded in the northeast this year, but we’re growing our existing markets as well.”
“We’ve seen a 35% increase in sales in Denver this year…that’s on top of double-digit growth in 2010,” says Scott Whitley, President of Coors Distributing Company, Breckenridge’s distributor for Denver, Colorado and surrounding areas. “Breckenridge will continue to grow this year, and its well-balanced portfolio of beers positions the brewery to keep growing at a steady pace for a long, long time. We are excited to have Breckenridge in our portfolio and to represent Breckenridge’s brands in its home market.”
Other traditionally strong markets for the brewery, like Texas, Ohio, and Illinois, are up over 50%. Todd Thibault, Director of Marketing for the brewery, has focused the marketing strategy on organic growth as much as new market growth. “Our recent series of short spoof commercials [found by searching “Breckenridge Brewery pokes fun” on www.youtube.com] were a ton of fun and got some attention. Those ads tied in nicely with our growing social media efforts, which are certainly contributing to our organic growth.”
The L. Knife and Sons Companies distribute into Breckenridge Brewery’s recently added northeast territory. “We are excited to be partnering with the Breckenridge team,” says Michael Brazel, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for The L. Knife and Sons Companies. “From the outset, the level of commitment and cooperation from the brewery has been as solid as we’ve experienced. As a result, our retail execution and sales results have exceeded our ambitious expectations. With that said, we still feel there remain enormous opportunities ahead for continued growth.”
To help manage its growth, the brewery is investing in infrastructure this summer and fall.
In partnership with Wynkoop Brewing Company, Breckenridge Brewery purchased the first automated canning line from Wild Goose Engineering of Boulder, Colorado. The new line, the first of its kind from a U.S. manufacturer, will dramatically boost the production of canned beer for both companies. Within weeks Breckenridge Brewery will begin shipping Avalanche Ale, Lucky U, and SummerBright cans in volume. On the horizon is a boost in availability of Wynkoop’s Rail Yard Ale and Silverback Pale Ale in cans.
Two new 300-barrel fermenters are scheduled to be installed later this month. An additional three 300-barrel fermenters are scheduled to be installed in October. The additional capacity, along with a ramped-up 7-day-a-week brewing schedule, will add 37,500 barrels to Breckenridge Brewery’s production capability.
“With these additions to our brewery, we can keep growing at an accelerated rate and still meet demand in our markets,” says Usry.
Breckenridge Brewery was founded in 1990 in Breckenridge, Colorado. In the past two decades Breckenridge Brewery has grown from a small 3,000-barrels-a-year brewpub to one of the most successful craft beer and restaurant companies in the nation. It now handcrafts well over 30,000 barrels of fresh beer annually and owns and operates five brewpubs and ales houses in the state of Colorado.
