This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Please listen to a podcast of the interview with owners of Bootstrap Brewing, Leslie and Steve Kaczues.
Rock and roll and beer go together like hops and malt, and if you like music with your brews then Bootstrap Brewing offers a variety of beer that compliments just about any music you’re listening to.
Originally opened in Niwot, CO in June of 2012, Bootstrap Brewing was housed in a 1,200 square foot location that quickly filled in and didn’t offer too much room for growth. Wanting to stay close to home, they found a spot in Longmont, through their friend Dale Katechis of Oskar Blues, where they could open their second location. Started and owned by Leslie and Steve Kaczeus, I sat down with Leslie in their new Longmont location to talk a little bit about how it all started.
In California, Steve and Leslie had their first taste of craft beer that would lead them down a path of discovery. There they tried, the now defunct, Pete’s Wicked Ale and the popular Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale, and Leslie thought “they were so different than the light lagers that we had been enjoying,” and inspired them to keep trying other flavorful brews.
Leslie bought Steve a beer kit thinking “this would be a nice hobby for him to get started with,” before brew shops started coming into prominence. Their first recipe came from an extract kit and they went immediately into all grain which offered them the control they were looking for. Leslie and Steve subscribed to “Beer Across America,” a monthly beer subscription service that opened up their horizons.
Steve and Leslie did their research over the course of several years during which they interviewed brewery owners to find out exactly what running a brewery would entail. Prior to opening, they converted their basement into a kind of taproom where they honed their recipes and solicited input from friends. “We would have blind tastings with a bunch of our friends, and every time he thought, here’s a recipe I want feedback on, I would go out and buy the top selling beers in that style category and then we would do blind tastings,” Leslie remembered. They had the rule of three, they want their beers to keep you coming back for more, nothing that you can only drink a taster of.
This competitiveness carried into Bootstrap Brewing with their recipes receiving several awards including Gold at the Great American Beer Festival for Stick’s Pale Ale and Silver for their Wreak Havoc Imperial Red Ale. They’re now reserving entries for beers they're looking to distribute, as Leslie comments, “I love getting awards but at a certain point it’s gotta be strategic.”
Music is at the heart of the brewery and you can find music pairings for their beers on their website. Leslie and Steve have tried to capture the feelings and inspiration you get from rock through their recipes, and visiting the taproom adds to that experience. An arena rock fan, from AC/DC to Bon Jovi, Leslie decided “lets just keep the music on full time so that when the beer’s fermenting, its happy.” The theory that music or sound influences water on a molecular level came into popularity through research from scientists such as Masaru Emoto, so given that their brews come inspired by music, brewed and fermented to music, they are best enjoyed with music. Bootstrap hosts several musicians every year and so their taproom is a must visit for any music and beer fan alike.
They’ve stayed true to the beer and only brew what they drink and this approach helped drive the success of their brewery.
“We’ve doubled every year in volume,” Leslie recalls about their growth. They started in Niwot with a half year in which the produced 500 barrels, then increased to about 1,200 to 2,500 and now they’re setting the bar to 8,000 to 9,000 barrels. The new space leaves plenty of room for growth, up to 25,000 barrels. “We want to do it organically, we want to do it smart,” which has been their path from the beginning.
You can find their Insane Rush IPA, Stick’s Pale Ale, Chillax Pineapple Gold Ale and Wreak Havoc Imperial Red Ale in cans at your local liquor store. Bootstrap Brewing has several more options in their Longmont and Niwot locations so be sure to visit them for the very latest.
It doesn’t get smoother than Stick’s Pale Ale, an easy drinking and sessionable beer with a light ABV of 5.5. The Chillax’s pineapple additions come through and is a great evolution of their 1956 Golden Ale whose fascinating backstory involves Steve’s father’s involvement in the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. Wreak Havoc comes in at 8.5% ABV with malt forward flavors and drinks great with Scorpion’s Rock You Like a Hurricane playing over the speakers. They recently released their Duck Duck Gose, a cherry Gose who’s style is characterized by pairing sour with salty and the addition of cherries imparts nice fruity tartness. Keep an eye out for barrel aged beers in the future and new can releases. Listen to our podcast for the full story behind their 1956 Golden Ale and visit their latest location off of Pratt Street in Longmont.
Cheers,
Tim Porter
