It’s Friday, and we’re counting down the hours until our work week comes to an end. We’re big fans of celebrating the end of the week with a Friday happy hour, where we can raise a few pints to toast the start of the weekend. If not for the pandemic we would already be making plans for where to grab a drink tonight. Most likely it would be a short conversation, and we’d quickly agree to grab some pints at 105 West Brewing Company. That’s why today we wanted to make our first #DrinkTheStory feature about the brewery in our backyard, 105 West Brewing.
It’s True, We Love 105 West Brewing
105 West Brewing Company is one of a half-dozen breweries in Castle Rock, and honestly, we like every one of them. However, most Friday nights you’ll find us sitting at the bar inside 105 West Brewing. Yes, they have an excellent lineup of beer, one that includes several year-round favorites and a rotating lineup of seasonal offerings and deviations. Yes, they often have great food trucks and live music. All of that is great. But mostly, we end up at 105 West Brewing because it’s such a welcoming place and we feel at home there. When we walk in the door we know we’ll be greeted with friendly faces and more than a few “hellos” from the brewery staff and other regulars. You could say that it’s the brewery version of Cheers for us. It’s the place where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.
105 West Brewing Supports Castle Rock
Beyond the beer, 105 West Brewing Company has strong ties with our Castle Rock community. They’ve always been community-focused, but never has this felt more evident than during this pandemic. Inside the taproom, they’ve set up a fully-stocked “swap shop” so customers can donate what they can, and pick up what they need. Everything from canned goods to cleaning supplies has been available for swap. Yes, even toilet paper.
Early this month 105 West Brewing began to stock a small selection of non-perishable food from other Colorado-based businesses, so you could purchase a few extras when buying their to-go beer. During one of our beer runs we were able to pick up some granola, macaroni and cheese, and green chili sauce. It was nice to grab a few extra staples without having to visit the grocery store. It was even better knowing that the purchase was supporting other local businesses.
That’s just the beginning. 105 West Brewing Company has regularly given beers to healthcare workers and those impacted by job loss due to this pandemic. They brewed a special release beer, F.C. Kolsch, to help raise money for an employee dealing with health issues unrelated to this current crisis. They’ve even hidden “free beer” rocks around our local trails to inspire people to get outdoors & remain active during the current crisis. We could go on & on about how they give back, even as their own taproom sales must certainly be seriously impacted. But, you get the picture. It’s their attitude of “we’re all in this together” that makes us love 105 West Brewing, now more than ever.
Full disclosure: We are occasionally more than customers at 105 West Brewing Company. We’ve worked pouring beer for them at a few Castle Rock events. But as we’ve mentioned before, we don’t love them because we’ve occasionally worked for them. It’s actually the other way around. We work for them because we like their product and what they do for the community. Pouring for them has helped us see that many other Castle Rock share a love for this hometown brewery.
On our last Friday before we started self-quarantine, we had happy hour at 105 West Brewing Company. There’s no doubt in our mind that when breweries can safely open their taproom for customers again, it will be the first place we revisit. Even if it’s with social distancing and face masks, we look forward to seeing our friends at the brewery again, when we can raise a pint for happier days ahead.
Support 105 West Brewing Company
We’re super fortunate in that so far, our jobs have been mostly unaffected by this pandemic. (Hear that? That’s us LOUDLY knocking on wood right now.) If like us you can spare some of your weekly budget for beer, we encourage you to pick up some cans or crowlers from 105 West Brewing Company. You can check out their beer list on their website and call ahead to pick up your order curbside. Better yet, follow them on Facebook to stay updated on their latest releases and food trucks.
If you can’t pick up 105 West Brewing beer, show some love for the brewery that you wish you celebrating happy hour at today. Whether you’re buying beer, gift cards, or merchandise, your local independent breweries can use your support.
#DrinkTheStory
We were challenged by our network of fellow beer writers & bloggers to #DrinkTheStory during this pandemic. Our goal is to share the stories of the places we love, even if we cannot physically drink there right now. We hope to inspire fellow craft beer lovers to support these great breweries who, like every small business, are being so badly impacted by this pandemic. Please support these breweries now, if you can, and later, as they start the slow process of returning to something close to normal. Join the Drink The Story movement by sharing photos and stories of your favorite breweries online using the hashtag #DrinkTheStory.
