It was 30 years ago this week that Colorado Springs brewery Bristol Brewing Company began its operations in an industrial complex off of Garden of the Gods Road. Mike and Amanda Bristol had perfected the recipes of their first two beers, Laughing Lab Scottish Ale and Red Rocket Pale Ale, and were ready to roll commercially. The couple officially opened their brewery doors on June 10, 1994, making them the second oldest craft brewery in Colorado Springs — the oldest packaging brewery if you want to break it down. Phantom Canyon had opened downtown just a few months earlier, and there were still relatively few craft breweries in Colorado at the time in a landscape dominated by giants Coors, Miller and Anheuser-Busch.
It seems like only yesterday we were talking with Mike Bristol about Bristol Brewing’s origins on their 25th anniversary. Bristol is still one of the best breweries in the Springs by our picks and our People’s Choice awards, and they’re celebrating with a 30th anniversary party on Saturday, June 15.
In those earliest days, Bristol’s Laughing Lab and Red Rocket were available only on draft in a couple of restaurants downtown and in growlers to go from their new brewery.
“It wasn’t always easy, convincing bar managers we weren’t brewing it in our basement, and explaining to customers that the bitter flavor they were tasting was supposed to be in there, and that it was hops,” Mike Bristol said in a press release. “But we loved what we were doing, and people were pretty receptive.”
Through the years, Bristol Brewing has been well known for the high quality and consistency of their beers, including Laughing Lab, which is the only beer in Colorado with 11 medals from the Great American Beer Festival.
Bristol is also a leader in giving back to the community through beer donations, their weekly donation per pint to support local nonprofits (a concept they pioneered locally), and their Benefit Beers, including crowd favorite Venetucci Pumpkin Ale.
Another noteworthy and massive contribution to the community is the Bristol’s transformation and revitalization of the Ivywild School. The Bristols along with Joe Coleman, restaurateur and owner of the Blue Star Group, partnered to turned the shuttered elementary school into the thriving brewery, food hall and center of community activity in 2013.
“We’re proud to be a part of Colorado Springs, and we’re endlessly grateful to the beer drinkers of our town and all of the staff we’ve worked with over the years who’ve helped us build our brewery,” Amanda Bristol said.
The brewery will celebrate with a 30th anniversary party on Saturday, June 15 at 12-5 p.m.. The festivities will kick off with an hour of 94-cent pints in honor of its 1994 opening. Mike and Amanda Bristol will be behind the bar pouring pints at 1-2 p.m. There will be other guest beertenders throughout the afternoon, as well as releases of three new limited edition anniversary beers.
Here’a the full schedule, and you can find all the details at Bristol’s Facebook page.
