Happy Leap Day and a happy birthday to all the Leap Day babies! This includes Colorado’s Barquentine Brewing, as it is celebrating its first Leap Day birthday (and fourth anniversary) today with two exciting barrel-aged releases, a tap takeover of previous barrel-aged releases and a commemorative glass. The party then restarts on Saturday with the parking lot being blocked off for some live music.
Initial Battle
Four years ago, Barquentine Brewing opened in Edgewater. Then, three weeks later, their biggest challenge since opening occurred. “We, like other businesses, were shut down for Covid,” owner Kyle Knudson says. “That was not in our business plan.” Knudson quickly switched to making Barquentine’s beers to go. “Fortunately, we belong to a great community here in Edgewater and we have a big family of beer lovers, both of whom helped us survive that curveball.”
Since then, Barquentine has seen steady growth. Furthermore, the brewery won a 2022 World Beer Cup Silver Medal for its Sloans Lake Yacht Club, a Belgian-Style Table Beer. “We were pretty proud that we were able to be recognized among several well-established Belgian breweries,” Knudson says.
2024 Leap Day Birthday and Fourth Anniversary Party
Barquentine plans to celebrate this special occasion twice. Once on Thursday, February 29, and then again on Saturday, March 2.
Thursday’s celebration includes:
- Barrel-aged tap takeover
- Keep the Glass option
- Free beers to any other people who were also born on Leap Day.
The tap takeover includes two new barrel-aged releases (see below) as well as five others from older barrel projects throughout Barquentine’s history.
Saturday’s festivities follow what Barquentine’s planned the last several years, a big bash in the parking lot with live music starting at 12 pm.
Two Birthday Barrel-Aged Releases
On Thursday, February 29, Barquentine will be tapping two new barrel-aged beers. First, is Crimson Cove. It is a Barrel-Aged Tart Tripel (9.3% ABV). Knudson describes it as “A blend containing a three-year-old sour saison on cherries and a two-year-old tripel.”
“The second release is an homage to Oud Bruin. It is a barrel-aged, wild dark ale and carries a complex palate of sour plum, toasted oak, and raisin,” Knudson says.
Looking Ahead
Over the past four years’ accomplishments, Knudson is proud of many of Barquentine’s beers and enjoys the Edgewater community. “We continue to see growth as more and more folks discover the amazing food options at the Edgewater Public Market where we’re located.”
What does Barquentine hope for by the time its next Leap Year birthday comes around? Knudson is very hopeful for what’s to come. “We are at a point where our brewing system has additional capacity to produce more beer than we currently sell at the Edgewater location alone so we are actively pursuing the development of a second taproom space that will help us better utilize our brewing assets.”