This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Longmont is no stranger to the profits and prestige craft beer industries bring throughout Colorado. Among the over ten different breweries or taprooms that call the city home, the newest seeks to make a name for itself with an ethos of educating, extending and engaging an already thirsty public.
Brewmented (900 S. Hover Street, Unit C) opened in May 2018, the brainchild of Vlad Aleksiev and Bill Campbell. The two sought to create a business that simultaneously satisfied the supply needs for Boulder County’s breweries and actively broaden the horizons of what a beer-centric enterprise could do for its community.
“We saw a huge opportunity to go beyond what we already had,” says co-founder Bill Campbell. “We wanted people coming in with no knowledge of beer or home brewing to feel part of the process and that they could do it too.” Despite eyeing properties in Boulder and Gunbarrel, Campbell and Aleksiev settled on the Hover Street location as “it has great visibility and is easy for locals to get to,” which enables Brewmented to “become a prime destination for events.”
A recent visit by American Homebrewers Association (AHA) and Great American Beer Festival founder Charlie Papazian accommodated dozens of industry professionals and beer fans alike. An established author, Papazian addressed a crowd dressed in Left Hand jackets, Grossen Bart hats and other local regalia – an audience, Campbell notes, indicative of Longmont’s deeply supportive beer culture. “It’s not like this everywhere else,” he says, “we get a lot of help from all those guys and we strive to do the same.”
Cross-company relations like Longmont’s can become financially profitable too, Papazian opined in his talk, noting several yeast strains shared between local breweries yield unique product and stimulates healthy competition. “You don’t have to invoke the negative to learn and produce from one another,” Papazian declared.
Campbell is aware how entrenched and daunting such processes can appear to newcomers but suggests several upcoming events as conscious efforts to invigorate Longmont’s brew culture. “Most home brewers,” he quips gesturing at his graying beard, “look like me: experienced older guys. We really want women, millennials and first-time home brewers to feel welcome and interested in what we do not just inside here but for all of Longmont’.”
In addition to occasionally hosting Left Hand Brewing’s Ales 4 Females women-only courses and regular Geeks Who Drink quiz nights, Brewmented is active with The House That Beer Built in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity of The St. Vrain Valley; alongside other local breweries, Campbell’s company helps construct housing for in-need area families.
Brewmented and Longmont Humane Society also host Professional Pack Meetings, introducing attendees to brewing basics while contributing donations towards animal welfare and providing volunteer and networking opportunities. Companies such as Seagate hold similar team-building events (“We’re always up to meet with folks interested in teamwork,” Campbell adds) and a roster of local brewmasters speak regularly on topics ranging from industry innovation trends to the history of American home brewing.
Like the rotating taps behind its bar, Campbell believes a diverse palate is essential to both the business and breadth of brewing. “It’s great seeing all kinds of people take a seat at the bar to try something new and different.” Even if a patron dislikes a particular style, he continues, they remain “curious why that beer is the way it is and they learn from it. That’s a pretty wonderful thing to see.”
Campbell beams at the notion of an amateur sidling up beside him for impromptu bar top advice. “That’s the type of thing I love most of all. I’m usually here anyway,” he chuckles, “enjoying a very hoppy beer.”
