Nano Brewery to Open Next Year

Former Future Brewing Company, a nano-brewery and taproom, will open mid-next year in the Baker neighborhood in Denver. Owners James and Sarah Howat plan to integrate their motto — futuristic interpretations of historical style — not only in their brews but into all aspects of their business.

Baker, the oldest neighborhood in Denver, was chosen as a location for two reasons: the owners are already part of that community and the historic yet energetic vibe seems irresistible. "We live here. We love our community, we love the direction it's heading, and we want to make our business a part of that community," says Howat. While a space has not yet been secured, the building will likely match what Future Former Brewing Company wants to be, a historic moment in the vibrant present. "Most of the buildings that we're looking at were built in the 1880 to 1910 era that most of our beer recipes are from," James Howat added.

Howat promises the most comfortable tap room in Colorado: "I think comfort and sophistication is something lacking in a lot of Denver taprooms. We're going to have more of a lounge-like atmosphere: couches; easy chairs; padded, reclining barstools... and we're going to make our decor follow out retrofuturist concept."

The design, a rather eccentric one for a taproom, is meant to match the eccentric beers Howat is creating. What kinds of eccentric brews? One example is the American Black Ale, sometimes called a "Black IPA" –"we take a style that is relatively new in the history of brewing, but base it on a historic German Schwarzbier grain bill, then give it 75 IBUs from new world hops, and ferment the whole thing with a slightly funky strain of Brettanomyces yeast. It comes together as something that is really complex and unique, but that is enjoyable for anyone who likes hoppy beers," Howat explains.

Former Future Brewing Company aims to have an open dialogue with its customers, starting right now. "We want feedback on what styles of beer we should play with to create new things, ideas on tap room decor, drink specials, and snack food," Howat says. To initiate that conversation, Former Future Brewing Company will offer a series of beer tasting events that will be free for its Facebook fans. Check the page for announcements.

· Denver Breweries Coverage [EDen]
[Photo: Courtesy of James Howat]