This is an ongoing series of mini blogs to highlight the breweries like Left Hand partnering with Drink for Pink.
Our next featured brewery is none other than Left Hand Brewing. This year they brewed a special (and delicious) Pink Peppercorn Kolsch specifically forDrink for Pink during the month of October. It was a huge hit in the taproom! We spoke with their Tasting Room General Manager, Natalie Gula, on what makes Left Hand unique.
What’s the origin of Left Hand Brewing?
Natalie: Celebrating twenty-three years of brewing a well-balanced portfolio of craft beers, Left Hand Brewing Company was founded in 1993, by two former Air Force Officers Eric Wallace and Dick Doore. The brewery home became a former meat packing plant nestled next to the St. Vrain River near downtown Longmont – and still is to this day. We named our brewery Left Hand, after Chief Niwot (meaning left handed), a Southern Arapahoe chief whom wintered his tribe in the Boulder Valley area of Colorado. Our first batch of beer was Sawtooth Ale, solidifying our award winning Amber Ale as our original flagship and longtime Colorado favorite.
Over the years just like our neighboring St. Vrain River, Left Hand has ebbed and flowed with the changing beer environment, evolving into the brewery we are today. In our first 20 years – we merged with Tabernash Brewing from Denver, founded a distribution company, released Milk Stout Nitro – founding America’s original Nitro bottles, and even survived a 500-year flood.
In 2008, we tackled our first expansion and fortunately for us, never quite slowed down as thirsty beer fans kept coming back for more. Left Hand Brewing is the 39th largest craft brewery in the U.S. with a growing fan base in 37 states, the District of Columbia and throughout Europe & Japan. Famous for our Nitro series and America’s Stout – Milk Stout Nitro, Left Hand Brewing is also one of the most honored and recognized breweries in the state, with over 28 Great American Beer Festival medals, 11 World Beer Cup awards, and 9 European Beer Star awards.
What’s your favorite beer and why?
Natalie: My favorite, perennial, beer that we brew is Black Jack Porter. This beer is perfectly balanced, medium bodied, and has phenomenal notes of chocolate, espresso, and a nice roasty character. You can drink it any time of year and enjoy it with a variety of different plates.
If you could make any beer, what would you call it and what would it taste like?
Natalie: If I could make any beer it would definitely be a Gose and it would be called Who Gose There
Three words that describe your brewery
Natalie: Balanced, Integrity, Employee Owned
What’s next for your brewery?
Natalie: We have 10 new beers in 2017 with new can & nitro seasonals like Well Played Red IPA, a Saison series, and we’re expanding our distribution!
A special thank you to everyone that tried the Pink Peppercorn Kolsch at Left Hand!