West MetroLIFE
The Transcript 9 May 29, 2014
Bottom right: During the brewing process, the beer must be tested at different intervals to see how much sugar is left within the fermenting liquid. Top middle: Here, Brewer, Cary Floyd, tests a small amount of the Arvada Beer Company’s Gold Line IPA sugar levels. Upper right: Kelly and Cary Floyd, owners and brewers at the Arvada Beer Company, stand in front of their Olde Town Arvada taproom. PHOTOS BY CRYSTAL ANDERSON
Spotlight on the Arvada Beer Company Neighborhood brewers bring homebrewing to a craft scale By Crystal Anderson
canderson@colorado communitymedia.com Editor’s Note: This story is the first in a three-part series exploring the breweries of Arvada. Look for the next installments in our July 3 and July 31 editions.
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n 1988, Cary Floyd tasted a friend’s homebrewed beer, mulling over the tastes of the hops and spice, and became hooked. Soon after, Floyd began to brew his own beer, and after a positive reaction to one of his early batches, he knew he was onto something good. “In 1988 really, there were not a lot of good brews around,” Floyd said. “By my fourth batch, I took a keg to a Super Bowl party, everybody loved it and I just kept going on from there, making more flavorful beers.” Over the next 14 years, while working as a director for technology mogul, Oracle, Floyd consistently brewed his own beer. He practiced different styles of brewing, created recipes, mainly German beers, such as a Pilsner or Hefeweizen, and developed consistency in his beer. In 2002, he won his first medal at the Dixie Cup in Texas, and shortly after in 2004, met his future wife, Kelly. He challenging her to make a better beer — and she did. After winning his playful challenge, Floyd knew not only did he have to marry her, they needed to start a business.
WHAT’S ON TAP · Goldline IPA - 6.2 percent ABV , 65 IBUs – An IPA loaded with 8 kinds of hops. · Ralston’s Golden Ale - 5.2 percent ABV , 25 IBUs – A crisp, malty American-style ale. · Watermelon Wheat -- 5.1 percent ABV, 14 IBUs -- A refreshing wheat beer with hints of watermelon. · Lemon Shandy – 4 percent ABV, 12 IBUs – A mix with Ralston’s Golden Ale mixed and fresh lemonade. · PoolHall Porter – 5.1 percent ABV, 15 IBUs – A dark ale with chocolate, caramel and malty tones. · Vanilla Porter – 5.1 percent ABV, 15 IBUs – A dark ale with hints of chocolate, caramel and vanilla. · Arvada Red – 5.2 percent ABV, 19 IBUs – A smooth, malty red beer with a low hops profile. · Hopped Up Red – 5.2 percent ABV, 35 IBUs -- The traditional Irish Red beer with an additional45 IBUs of hops. · Irish Stout on Nitro – 4.5 percent, 30 IBUs – A dark stout with a rich creamy flavor to balance the bitterness. · Saison de Davis – 7.5 percent ABV, 25 IBUs – A Belgian inspired ale with a distinct flavor profile. · Water Tower Wheat- 5.1 percent ABV, 14 IBUs – A Hefeweizen with light hops and a hint of banana. · Rennovator Dopplebock – 11 percent ABV, 22 IBUs – A rich and malty German-style lager.
“Beer is an art, and to make beer, is an art,” Kelly said. “To create the recipe, to go ahead and actually brew it and make that beer — it’s an art form that most people don’t realize. There’s a lot of science behind the project.” A few years and over 400 home brewing medals later, the couple decided to open up a microbrewery, and in 2010, the Arvada Beer Company was born. “Our concept is to be the local hang-
out,” Floyd said, “You want to come here with your family, your friends, you want to come hangout.” Located at 5600 Olde Wadsworth Blvd., the Arvada Beer Company taproom sits in a spacious, relaxed corner building in the heart of Olde Town Arvada. Seating around 150 patrons, the taproom offers more than 60 types of games, catering from 11 Olde Town eateries, and a quiet atmosphere to enjoy a conversation and savor a handcrafted brew in. “I’m really happy with their location here, and the interest in history,” said Buddy Sexton, 72, a patron of ABC. “I meet a lot of nice people here so it’s a good place to hang out; it’s my hangout now.” Aligning the walls around the taproom are vintage photographs and posters depicting the building’s former uses, owners and other key points of the building’s 100-year history — an aspect patrons love to talk about. “This (ABC) is in the middle of thousands of memories for me,” Sexton said. I was surprised and impressed when I met Cary, because he studied the history of Arvada, and I was impressed around the history he has here.” Aside from the history, patrons come to ABC to have conversations and enjoy hanging out with one another while sipping one of ABC’s 50 award-winning beers. “There are other places that serve beer, and other places that brew beer, but the beers here are top of the line,” Sexton said. “The thing I like about the business is, he’s (Floyd) not concentrated on food, he’s concentrated on beer and
brewing, not anything else. That’s what makes them (ABC) stand out.” On a daily basis, ABC has 10 to 12 beers on tap, brewing three to four beers a week. Five house beers, such as the Gold Line IPA (India Pale Ale), PoolHall Porter, and the Lemon Shandy, with seasonal or special beers, such as the Butter Pecan Brown and Chile Golden Ale are rotating through the taps. Every month ABC introduces different styles of beer, such as Belgian beers, to help create diversity and fit their and their clientele’s ever evolving tastes. “It’s fun to play, fun to create, and fun to see what people think, the best part of the job is playing,” Floyd said. In addition to brewing their beers, Cary and Kelly also attend several beer festivals, host AM 760 Radio’s Colorado Craft Beer Show, and offer a home brewing contest, giving local home brewers a chance to have their beer flowing crisp at 38 degrees out of ABC’s taps. “That’s where we came from, we’re home brewers, so it’s fun to get the homebrew community involved in the business that we run now,” Floyd said. Annually, ABC produces around 1200 barrels of beer, selling the majority of beer in the taproom. While they don’t bottle or can, they sell 64-ounce and 32-ounce growlers, and in the future, Cary and Kelly are looking to expand, opening another neighborhood tasting room in western Arvada. “At the end of the day,” Floyd said, “Seeing people sitting over there (in the taproom), smiling because they like the beers — that’s the best part.” For more information on the Arvada Beer Company, visit www.arvadabeer. com.