Elevation Beer Company® Downpour® Fresh off the Vine

The Making of Downpour 

2014 downpour collage

Downpour®

With the start of Fall comes many fantastic things here in Colorado. From the changing of the leaves to our brewers cheering for the Broncos it is a time of relaxation after a summer of hard work.

With Fall also comes one of our favorite projects, Downpour, our Colorado Fresh Hop Imperial Red Ale. Our team makes a special trip out to the western slope of Colorado every year in honor of this beer.

Hops like wine grapes, are only harvested once a year and while most beers use hops that have been dried and pelletized (to preserve their flavor) fresh hopped beers can only be brewed during harvest. These beers use hops straight from the Bine (yes hops are actually a bine not a vine).

These fresh hops give Downpour a sense of Colorado terroir that is hard to come by. Downpour is also unique in the fact that this year, instead of being a Fresh Hop IPA (which is the most common style of Fresh Hop beers in the US), it is instead an Imperial/India Red. We chose this style, as we believe the malt back bone of a high ABV Red provides a great balance to the pine, resin, and grassy notes you get from fresh hops. With notes of caramel, toffee, and biscuit, and the unique flavors of fresh Colorado Chinook and Cascade, we believe Downpour stands as a great example of what happens when Christian’s brewing ingenuity and fresh ingredients come together as one.

So as you sip Downpour this fall think of the four Elevation brewers who road tripped over two 12,000 foot mountain passes, dirt roads, and through small mountain towns, just to pick fresh hops straight from the source in order to give you an unique beer with a warm malt backbone and cool bitterness, much like the fall monsoons this beer is named for.

Cheers.

Xandy Bustamante, Co-Founder

Elevation Beer Company Launches in Arizona Press Release

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May 20th, 2014 Poncha Springs, Colorado– Elevation Beer Company® and Pitcher of Nectar Distributing are excited to announce a distribution deal that will bring Elevation to the Phoenix Metropolitan area and Tucson starting May 27th.

 
Elevation and Pitcher of Nectar Distributing (POND) have been in discussion for several months and are extremely excited to announce their relationship.
 
“We are excited to bring our Black and Double Black Series to another South Western state,” says Elevation Co-founder Xandy Bustamante, “We believe POND is a perfect match for us as a distributor in Arizona.  With their highly knowledgeable sales team and love for all things beer, we feel that they will represent us well alongside their other great brands.”
 
Elevation will be launching with their year-round Apis IV, their Black Series Third Base Belgian Tripel, and their Double Black Series Signal De Botrange.  An extremely limited amount of their 7437 Double IPA and 2014 World Beer Cup® Bronze Medal winner Señorita, an Horchata Imperial Porter, will also be available in Arizona.
 
“I fell in love with Elevation with my first taste of False Summit which I shared with Xandy and Carlin in AZ,” Says Tony Piccini Founder of POND, “I met up with them to discuss the possibility of representing their beer in AZ and we hit it off immediately.  There was an instant connection because we all are in it for the love of the beer, period.  After my visit to their brewery in Poncha Springs, I was hooked.  These guys know what they are doing and we at POND are very proud to call them a partner.”
 
Elevation will then be sending all of their Black and Double Black Series seasonals and specialty releases to Arizona throughout 2014 and beyond.
 
Elevation Beer Company is currently distributed in their home state of Colorado, Texas, and now Arizona.  The brewery has been open for just two years and has won eight medals for excellence and currently has eight beers rated 90+ on ratebeer.com.
 
For more information, pictures or interviews contact:
Sheila Bustamante
Marketing Manager
719-539-5258
sheila@elevationbeerco.com
 
About Elevation 

Elevation Beer Company® is an artisan microbrewery located in Poncha Springs, Colorado, just minutes from Salida, Monarch Ski Area, Arkansas River Headwaters, and over seven 14,000-foot peaks.  Elevation specializes in brewing large adventurous beers for the craft beer fanatic, while trying to elevate the perception of what beer can be.

About Pitcher of Nectar Distributing

POND was founded in 2007 By Tony Piccini and and focuses 100% on craft beer and craft beer related beverages including Arizona’s Borderlands Brewing Company, Rubicon Brewing Co, Marin and Moylan’s Brewing Co, JK Scrumpy Organic Ciders and theB United and the Shelton Brothers Portfolios.

Summer Seasonal Beers and The World Beer Cup

We are getting ready for warmer weather and some summer beer. We have just released Third Base, a Belgian Tripel, and will be releasing Signal De Botrange, a Chardonnay barrel-aged Farmhouse this May.

Signal De Botrange was the first barrel-aged release for Elevation and after taking a hiatus in 2013 is back this Spring.

“This year it was aged for just over 8 months in Napa Valley Chardonnay barrels and will have some slight acidity as well as some nice notes of clove, chardonnay, pepper, and citrus.” Says Head Brewer Christian Koch, “It also comes in at a whopping 9.86% ABV this year as well.”

 

We have also brought back our Third Base, a classic Belgian Tripel, this year brewed with Orange Peel and Coriander and coming in a just over 9%.

“This year Third Base will be slightly drier and have a more pronounced spice profile,” says Koch.  “We have been excited with how it is tasting this year.

Both beers will be available across Colorado and Texas starting in early April for Third Base and early May for Signal de Botrange.

We are excited to announce that it’s Señorita, a Horchata Imperial Porter, took home a Bronze at the 2014 World Beer Cup in the Herb and Spice Category! This beer will be out again as our winter Black Series release in December of 2014.

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Lastly, we are hiring for two new positions at the brewery in Poncha Springs. Please click on the position below for more information. Cheers!

Brewer Position

Tasting Room Beer Server Position

 

New Year Round Beers Announced

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The time has finally come! We are releasing 4-packs of 8 Second Kölsch starting February 10th, and Apis IV will be available year-round in Colorado starting February 17th. “We are really excited to have 8 Second Kölsch in 4-packs,” says Sales Generalissimo Xandy Bustamante, “We have had it in the works since March of last year and finally have the production capabilities to release it statewide.”

ImageWe are very excited to be bringing on our award-winning Apis IV, A Belgian honey quadrupel, on as our first year-round 750ml Black Series release.

“Apis IV is our most requested product by consumers and we thought it would be the perfect beer to release as our first year-round Black Series release.” Bustamante exclaims.

8 Second Kölsch will be available across Colorado starting February 10th, while Apis IV will be available year-round in 750mls starting the week of February 17th.  Year-round Texas availability of Apis IV will start sometime thereafter.

8 Second Kölsch is ranked in the top 40 Kölsch’s in the world on the mobile beer rating website untapped.com, while Apis IV has won three medals for excellence since its first release in 2012 and received a 92/100 by both Beer Advocate Magazine and Draft Magazine.

Elevation Coming to Texas

Hi Elevation Beer Fans!

In case you haven’t heard the word, we are coming to the great state of Texas! All we are waiting on is out TABC (Texas Alcohol Beverage Control) Label Approval and we will be able to send our delicious beer to the Lonestar State.  Here is our latest press release for some more info on the launch:

November 20th, 2013 Poncha Springs, Colorado-  Elevation Beer Company and Favorite Brands LLC of Dallas, Texas are teaming up to bring Elevation’s Black and Double Black Series of specialty and barrel aged beers to Texas.
 
“We are extremely excited to bring our beers to the great state of Texas.’ Says Elevation Co-founder and Sales Generalissimo Xandy Bustamante. ‘Texas has a great community of craft brewers and craft-beer centric retailers and restaurants and we are excited to bring our beers down to Texas’ thirsty craft beer fans.”
 
Favorite Brands will start distributing limited amounts of Elevation’s seasonal Black and Double Black Series in 750ml bottles and draft to Dallas, Forth Worth, Austin, and Houston as soon as Elevation receives label approval.  The first beers to roll out will include Elevation’s award-winning Apis IV; their Downpour a fresh hop Extra IPA; and Fanboy, a virgin oak-aged double IPA.
 
“The Favorite Brands team is absolutely geeked out, and excited to start our partnership with Elevation Beer Company.  They know their beer, from a great Berliner Weisse, to my personal favorite, their Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout, Oil Man.” Says Greg LaMantia, Jr, owner of Favorite Brands. “Truth be told I hope the words ‘limited amounts’, turns out to be short lived as we expect them to be well received and in high demand.  When you get good beer, and good brands you want to run with it, and Elevation has plenty of both.”
 
Texas will be Elevation’s first out of state market since opening in May of 2012 in Poncha Springs, Colorado.  In less than 18 months of operation, Elevation has won 6 medals for excellence and has 5 beers rated 90+ on the consumer beer rating website ratebeer.com. 
 
Elevation will kick off its launch in Texas with a series of beer tastings and events, so make sure and check out their website and Facebook page for more information and exact dates and times.
 
About Elevation
Elevation Beer Co. is an artisan microbrewery located in Poncha Springs, Colorado, just minutes from Salida, Monarch Ski Area, Arkansas River Headwaters, and fifteen 14,000-foot peaks.  Elevation specializes in brewing large adventurous beers for the craft beer fanatic, while trying to elevate the perception of what beer can be.

Pick us up on the Front Range!

FrontRange-FirstCast

 

Our fall season has brought about some exciting developments from a great GABF week to the second major expansion at our brewery headquarters. Along these same lines, we’ve been pushing to grow our presence along the Front Range so you can pick up some Downpour, Fanboy and your other Elevation favorites at a local retailer. Click the Elevation – Retail Locator 2013 link to find some Elevation near you!

It’s been an exciting year for Elevation Beer Company, but it’s not over yet!


Expansion

Thanks to the support of our fans, we will undertake our second expansion within 18 months through the purchase of two 60bbl tanks and the addition of a grain silo. Head Brewer and Co-founder Christian Koch comments, “The new tanks will add another 23% capacity to the brewery, bringing us up to 315bbls of fermentation capacity and allowing us to brew upwards of 3500 barrels in 2014. The addition of a grain silo will also take off almost 800 pounds of lifting per batch for our brewers, giving them a much needed break.”

We are projecting to produce 2500 barrels by year’s end, which is an increase in production of a whopping 263% over last year. “We definitely could have sold more if we had the beer,” Koch says, “we have been running at full capacity ever since we completed our first expansion.”

The additional tanks will allow for expanded draft distribution and 16.9oz four packs of Elevation’s Second Kölsch to be released, a goal the brewery has had since April. “With a 5-week lagering period, our Kölsch is very labor intensive and the two new tanks will be used almost exclusively for our 8 Second Kölsch,” Koch notes, “it would most likely be our top seller if we could simply brew enough of it.”

Since opening in May of 2012, Elevation has garnered five medals of excellence from international and national beer competitions, has received over 90+ rating on five of its beers, and was the largest brewery to open in Colorado in 2012 in terms of production.

 “It has been a crazy 18 months for us so far,” Koch comments, “we are so excited to be able to make the type of beers we love and share them with other beer geeks like us.” 

Interested in joining a fast-growing, craft-beer loving team? You are in luck because we’re hiring a brewer! Click on the Brewer Job Description and Application Details to learn how to apply!