After 10 years as one of the founders and stars of Denver’s River North brewery scene, Epic Brewery will close its popular taproom at 3001 Walnut St. at year’s end.
“This has been a really hard decision, and we have tried so hard, and there has been anguish and pain. And as owners, it has been a real challenge,” co-owner Dave Cole told The Denver Post. “This is not fun. We’ll be completely out by the end of January.”
Epic, based in Salt Lake City, hopes to open a smaller taproom in Denver in the future, but there are no firm plans at present, given the city’s still sky-high rental costs. The brewery will move its local production back to Utah, but will retain a their warehouse, as local distribution is still at the heart of Epic’s business in Colorado. Cole explained how the pandemic and shutdowns in 2020 put the brewery — which used partner bars as a large part of its business — put the Denver brewery into a tailspin. “We lost our craft beer bars, many of them forever. And draft has simply not recovered, especially for craft beer… Freight went way up. It has really been challenging from a volume perspective. We have to get back to where the business supports itself.”
Epic Brewing will remain open in RiNo through December, so both longtime and first-time customers will have an opportunity to visit the taproom and sample more then two dozen draft beers, including their famed “Big Bad Baptist” series.
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