Durango’s breweries are riding a wave of growth in the U.S. craft-brewing industry.
As microbrews continue to steal market share from the big brewers, Durango’s five breweries are growing, too.
Some of them are investing for growth with new production and packaging equipment.
Nationally, craft breweries increased production by 18 percent in 2013 and saw 20 percent dollar-value growth, the Brewers Association reported Monday.
Craft brewers grew to 7.8 percent of the national beer market by volume in 2013. That was up from 6.5 percent the year before. Most of the beer market is dominated by a few giants, such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors.
Ska Brewing Co., Durango’s largest brewery, soon will install a two-story canning line as part of a $750,000 expansion to increase capacity. The canning line will produce 240 cans a minute.
“We’re expecting a pretty good 2014,” said Dave Thibodeau, Ska’s president and co-founder.
Ska saw an 11.6 percent increase in barrels sold in 2013, along with 12.2 percent dollar growth.
Its recent growth has been driven by its seasonal beers: Mexican Logger, Euphoria Pale Ale and a rotating roster of stouts, Thibodeau said.
“All of the seasonal beers are huge for us,” he said.
Ska’s growth came within its existing markets. That points to strong customer satisfaction, as Ska hasn’t added a new market in five years, Thibodeau said.
Durango Brewing Co. added new brewing-tank capacity, costing $30,000, and a faster bottling line that cost $56,000 last year. Durango Brewing produced about 2,300 barrels in 2013, and aims to brew about 3,000 barrels this year, said Matt Harrison, lead brewer.
“We’re definitely just trying to push as much beer as we can right now,” Harrison said.
A barrel is equivalent to 31 gallons.
The new bottling and tank capacity should help boost production at Durango Brewing this year.
“Our goal is going to be around 3,000 barrels,” he said. “That’ll be pretty busy for us.”
Harrison said the new bottle line has “really sped everything up. The more we can bottle, the more tank space we have, the more beer we can brew.”
Steamworks Brewing Co. will no longer use Ska to brew its beers on contract because Ska’s own needs will require use of full-production capacity at the Bodo Industrial Park brewery. Instead, Steamworks’ contract brewing (also called partner brewing) will be done by Dry Dock Brewing Co. in Aurora.
Dry Dock will brew and can Steamworks’ beers Colorado Kolsch, Steam Engine Lager and Third Eye Pale Ale. There are tentative plans to can Backside Stout in the fall.
The beers will be distributed on the Front Range and the Durango area.
Last year, Steamworks saw about 5 percent growth in beer sales at its East Second Avenue brewpub, co-founder Kris Oyler said.
“We are still growing,” he said.
BREW Pub & Kitchen produced about 150 barrels in its first year, owner Erik Maxson said.
“We did all right,” he said.
Carver Brewing Co. made about 800 barrels in 2013, representing about a 5 percent growth. Co-owner Michael Hurst expects growth to continue this year.
“Things are just humming along here,” he said.
Carver’s is brewing more experimental and one-off batches for beer dinners and other special events.
Craft-brewery insiders are wondering if there’s a natural cap to microbrew’s market share and if the proliferation of new breweries is creating a bubble.
In 2013, 413 new breweries opened and 44 closed, the Brewers Association said.
Thibodeau said there could be a shakeout coming of packaging breweries – those that sell mostly cans and bottles, rather than beers on tap. There is limited shelf space available for various craft brewers to share, he said.
But Thibodeau sees the industry’s overall rapid growth continuing.
“We’re probably going to be riding that double-digit growth until the market share is 20 percent, years and years down the road,” he said. “I think we’re going to get there.”
cslothower@durangoherald.com
