Community Spotlight: Cannonball Creek Brewery

Golden welcomed a new brewery two weeks ago and it is popular. Cannonball Creek Brewery, located on 393 Washington Avenue, opened its doors on January 19 to a flood of eager guests. The brewery struggled to keep up with demand as glasses were washed on spot. The grand-opening crowd was so large that Cannonball Creek had to close its doors for the following Tuesday and Wednesday to brew more beer. The success of the brewery is no surprise given Golden’s historic relationship with Coors and the multitude of beer-connoisseurs in the area.

Golden residents are clamoring for more breweries in the area and it appears that Cannonball Creek has started a trend. Three more breweries are set to open this year. The next to open will most likely be Mountain Toad Brewing, located at 900 Washington Ave. Founded by four Colorado School of Mines engineers, Mountain Toad will be a welcome stop for CSM crowds. Barrels and Bottles, another planned brewery, hopes to open in May pending a lease on their location. Barrels and Bottles plans to set up shop close to the CSM campus and it will have a kitchen serving light snacks and sandwiches, along with kegged wine and oils and vinegars. The third potential brewery, CODA Brewing, may also be settling into Golden, but little information is currently available.

Brian Hutchinson and Jason Stengl, co-owners of Cannonball Creek, aspired to open a brewery to compete with the only other microbrewery is town, Golden City Brewery (GCB). Stengl welcomes the Mines crowds; his wife Jen is a Mines’ alumna with a degree in environmental engineering. Crafting great brews is nothing new to Hutchinson and Stengel; both men have been professionally brewing for over eight years, workings for such companies such as Mountain Sun, Southern Sun and The Vine Street Pub. The owners opened their doors with one motto in mind, “Make really great beer and everything else will work itself out.”

When deciding on what type of beer to brew, Hutchison puts a focus on Belgian ales and American styles – with his own twist. Cannonball Creek changes out its beers as new brews are made, but the most current selection includes an Oatmeal Brown Ale, a Victorville Red, a Chain-Shot Abbey Dubbel, and a Solid Gold Belgian Golden. Since opening, the most popular brew has been the Mind-Bender IPA and the brewers are struggling to keep up with demand. Stengl says the next brew, ready this upcoming weekend, will be a chocolate-almond stout.

The brewery has had nothing but raves reviews for each of their beers on tap. The bar is equipped for 15 beers on tap, and customers eagerly await the day that the selection will be at its full capacity. Beers are responsible priced, you can expect about $20 for two beers, including tax and tip. When asked about their success in the first few weeks of business Stengel stated, “I’m amazed at the local response.” Prepare for crowds until the initial hype of the grand opening dies down, but it is clear that Cannonball Creek Brewery is the place to go for a quality brew.