Taste The Passion : Origin Story
Winecrafters homebrew shop had been open for years when another local business, Blicks Brewing, finally went under. Blicks was a 10bbl brewery hidden deep within the Mordor of the Cimmarron Hills Idustrial Park, and it was for sale. Owner of Winecrafters homebrew supply store, Duane Lujan, knew an opportunity when he saw one and purchased the defunct Blicks. A large empty brewery made the perfect location to move a homebrew supply store, and in April of 2006 he made his move from Dublin and Academy to Mordor.
Shortly after moving into their new location, across the street from the mountains of Doom, they were discovered by the most unlikely of people... Nick Hilborn was a single 20 year old culinary arts student attending PPCC, working 40 hours a week at the Texas Roadhouse down on 8th street. It only took one visit to Winecrafters, in search of a funnel, to ensnare Nick in the fantastical world of brewing. The very next day Nick walked in with full resume in hand, asking if he could sweep the floor in exchange for experience and knowledge.
It took nearly 2 years to get the building “de-Blicked”... a phrase lovingly coined during endless hours of brewery disassembly and reassembly. In the month of April, 2008, Rocky Mountain Brewery received its liscence to begin the manufacture of malt beverages, enshrining 22 year old Nick Hilborn as “Youngest Head Brewer in America” for the next 5 consecutive years.
Jump to 2020, and Nick has brewed over 240 beers, over 40 ciders, and has won 3 world beer cup medals. Rocky Mountain Brewery continues to be on the very bleeding edge of beer innovation, pioneering new beers never even imagined before, setting trends years before the rest of the nation. The first brewery in Colorado to focus on quality fruit and specialty beers, not just gimmicks. They first won World Beer Cup GOLD in 2010 for their Da’ Yoopers Cherry Pie Ale. Now 10 years later, just look at the beers available in liquor stores, everyone is trying to do what Nick perfected a DECADE ago.
If you’ve never been to RMB then you’ve probably tried the rest... now its time to try the best.
