Crafting a Brewery

Cruise up Arapahoe. Pass 55th and hook a U-ey at the second or third left-hand pull-off. Roll by the car wash. Try to park legally. Make your way to the brick building between the tanks and that other brick building.

These are, no joke, real life instructions I’ve personally given for locating and enjoying Avery beer at its current digs.

But local drinkers must soon learn another set of directions to get to the “iconic” and “stately” new location for Avery Brewing Company at 4910 Nautilus Court, which will include a restaurant. To those descriptions, Adam Avery adds another: “Badass. It’s going to look different than most breweries.”

That level of distinction he envisions will be brought to life through “cool use of brick and limestone,” he says, with metal in the mix and wood within the eatery at one end, the gift shop at the other. Above it all, ornate guardrails will outline the restaurant’s deck.

Going for historic with a modern twist, architect Bill Holicky of Coburn Development describes the design as “timeless, not trendy,” for a building that’s still functional and standing beautifully a couple hundred years from now.

“In the past, breweries in America were more than factories. They were important cultural icons reflecting the values of the towns in which they were located, acting as a source of pride for the brewer and the community,” Holicky explained. Avery’s vision returns to these older values.

For starters, this is no typical factory build. Holicky says that for a factory, “the whole project is out of the ordinary.” On top of using materials most would expect to see downtown, “the whole operation is designed from the ground up with the brewing process in mind.” Beer aficionados can look forward to a layout that begets a backward beer tour, beginning at the finished product and running in rewind through production, winding up at the brew house.

“Avery’s fans tend to be some of the most educated beer drinkers out there, and we felt they didn’t have to be led through the process,” Holicky said. “There are little design moves like this throughout the building. …The barrel-aged program is another signature of the Avery brand, and we really wanted to show it off.”

With most of what’s in the works coming straight out of Adam Avery’s brain, Holicky has been “helpful in directing that in a way that will work for building,” Avery said. “We’re definitely on the same page.”

Coburn is handling both the design and build, a synergy brewed in craft beer heaven. “These guys care more about the quality of their beer than you can imagine,” Holicky said. “That’s a perfect fit for us at Coburn, since we approach our work in exactly the same manner.” Oxygenation and an automated yeast prop system are to Avery what streetscapes, brick joints and fasteners are to Coburn—stuff over which they lose sleep.

The new location lends itself to the process, enabling the team to take advantage of mountain views, situating the project toward the lake across the street and creating an all-around cool place to visit. The bigger brewery isn’t just about more beer but better-tasting beer, with state-of-the-art technology devoted to just that. Avery fans may be skeptical that such a task is possible. According to Avery, it’s not only so, he guarantees it.