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Business gets brewing

Bottom Shelf’s tanks ready to go

BAYFIELD – Two local residents are bringing brewing back to Bayfield.

Bottom Shelf Brewery, 118 East Mill St., has received a federal license to sell its own beer on the premises.

Business partners Chris Young and Greg Allen plan to be at the San Juan Brewfest in Durango this weekend pouring a German Altbier. They hope to have their beers on tap at Bottom Shelf in a couple of weeks.

The business opened in October 2013. Bottom Shelf has sold beer from other Colorado craft breweries as it transitions into a working brewery. The brewpub also offers a full food menu, and many of the dishes feature house-made smoked meats.

The basement brewing system is very much a work in progress. Allen spent most of Monday working on the glycol system, which controls the temperature of the brewing tanks.

“This is the first little tiny step in a long process yet,” Allen said.

Eventually, Bottom Shelf plans to offer four of its own beers on tap. In addition to the Altbier, an American lager, a seasonal blackberry wheat and a rotating beer are planned.

Bottom Shelf’s transition marks a return for brewing in Bayfield almost five years after Steamworks Brewing Co. shuttered its Bayfield operation.

“The reason Greg and I are here is we see the potential of this town,” Young said.

Locals often ask Young and Allen why they didn’t take over the Steamworks building, which remains vacant. For one, they wanted Bottom Shelf to have its own identity. Also, Bottom Shelf’s location lends itself to more of a community feel.

“We like being downtown rather than in an industrial area,” Young said.

The Bottom Shelf location is near the Pine River. The main dining room has 10 tables and another 14 bar seats. A patio has eight outdoor tables. Allen and Young plan to renovate a portion of the basement into a tasting room.

The partners got to know each other when Young went to work for Allen’s construction company. The pair liked the idea of starting a brewpub.

“I wanted to do something like this for a long time,” Allen said. “It was the right time, the right opportunity, the right person.”

The craft brewing industry is exploding nationwide. In Durango, BREW Pub & Kitchen, created by former Carver Brewing Co. brewer Erik Maxson, opened in March 2013. There are indications a sixth brewery may be coming: Scott Bickert, formerly of Durango Brewing Co., registered the name Animas Brewing Co. in May.

Young, Bottom Shelf’s primary brewer, said he wants to set Bottom Shelf apart with well-balanced beers in contrast to the recent trend of craft beers that shout with hop bitterness.

“I think people forget that hops are such a small part of the brewing process,” he said. “Some beers now, you’re chewing on hops.”

Bottom Shelf got started with the help of a $154,500 loan from the Region 9 Economic Development District of Southwest Colorado. Currently, Bottom Shelf has 13 part-time employees and one full-time employee.

Ed Morlan, a Bayfield Town Board member and executive director of Region 9, said the town welcomes new businesses.

“It keeps the dollars in the community and provides those different services,” Morlan said. “It’s a good thing.”

Town Manager Chris La May praised the owners as “community-minded.”

“They’re definitely going to be an asset to the business community,” he said.

cslothower@durangoherald.com



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