4 Noses Brewing's Expansion to Park Hill Marks a New Chapter

"We knew we wanted to open another 4 Noses location, but Broomfield was busting at the seams in terms of beer production and taprooms," says Dustin Ramey, marketing director for the brewery, which recently opened a new taproom and production facility at 4040 Dahlia Street in Park Hill.

4 Noses Brewing debuted in 2014, and it currently employs sixty people. Ramey credits its unwavering passion for producing great beers and building community ties for the company's success in the very competitive craft beer market.

"The brewery started with a twenty-barrel, two-vessel system in Broomfield, and at the time, we only had four twenty-barrel fermenters," he explains. "Since we were interested in distributing, for the first two and a half years, we made 22 different styles of beer. It allowed the market to tell us what it wanted from us rather than just saying, ‘Here's what we can bring to the market!’ As soon as we started to understand what customers liked, we started to put more tanks in Broomfield."

By 2017, 4 Noses had signed a partnership with Elite Brands of Colorado to help with distribution. Around that time, it took over a space right next to the taproom and brewery in Broomfield so it could add a much larger canning line and increase the fermentation space. Its expansion journey also included opening Wild Provisions Beer Project in east Boulder in May 2020 and acquiring Odd13 Brewing Company in Lafayette from founders Ryan and Kristen Scott in 2021.
Park Hill was just one of many spots on its list of possible places for a new location, but the layout of the space proved to be ideal for its desire to grow its brewing and packaging capacities.

"Expanding not only allows us to move production to a much larger fermentation space facility, but we've also added a much larger brewhouse to the equation," Ramey says. "In Broomfield, we can make a batch of IPA in about eight and a half to nine hours; in Park Hill, we're able to double the amount we make in about half the time. The building is about 23,000 square feet. Once all tanks are in, the maximum capacity of fermentation will be about 22,000 barrels. Now, that is not a quantity that we're going to hit this year or next, but we do know that that's where our capacity lies, and we still have more square footage for fermentation in the future."

The new brewery features cutting-edge equipment, including a fifty-hectoliter, three-vessel BrauKon brewing system and a specialized whirlpool vessel, enabling 4 Noses to experiment with diverse beer styles and flavors.

"Here in this facility, we can mash directly into the lauter tun and the kettle, which allows us to make beers a lot more efficiently," Ramey explains. "We can move grain back and forth much more easily; up in Broomfield, we were cutting holes into the end of the mash, trying to be able to do that over time. We knew that we liked what that did to our beers and were excited to experiment more with that process, not only through lager, but what could it do to a West Coast IPA? What could our process do to a stout or something like that? We're excited to play around with that."
While 4 Noses has been working to open the Park Hill location for almost two years, the approval process took longer than expected. After paying rent while receiving no revenue, the owners wanted to open the space as soon as possible, and they held a soft-opening launch just 36 hours after receiving a temporary occupancy permit on September 28.

"We didn't have anything inside, so it was all hands on deck to get the interior ready for customers," Ramey recalls. "Everyone was putting beers into cases, building seating and making sure the space looked good. And then, for the next three weeks, we figured out what we needed to work on to prepare for our official opening on October 20. It was important for us to have a grand-opening date in mind. Otherwise, we could just float in the space and be kind of open, but we wanted to make sure that the community knew that we're open now and they could come in all the time."

The brewery's commitment to the community is reflected in its partnership with local food trucks. "We really want to focus on the beer that we make, but we also know that this experience is elevated by having good food in this space," Ramey says. "And Colorado, especially the Front Range, has a number of awesome people experimenting with food trucks. At Broomfield, we kind of had a set schedule of what the food trucks would do, and we're trying to build that rapport with the food trucks in Park Hill because ultimately, we want different places here so we can build those food relationships, because I believe our product is elevated by their food and vice versa."

What sets 4 Noses Brewing Company apart isn't just its exceptional beers, but also its dedication to inclusivity. "We really want people who live in this neighborhood to show up," Ramey emphasized. "Being an active part of this community is really important for us."

The brewery aims to break traditional industry molds by making craft beer a welcoming space for everyone. Now, with its doors wide open, 4 Noses Brewing Company invites beer lovers and neighbors alike to celebrate this exciting new chapter.

"We are excited to be part of the growing Park Hill neighborhood," Ramey concludes. "Right now, we have a Juicy Banger IPA from Station 26 Brewing Co. and something from Cohesion Brewing Company as well. Our plan is to have a tap dedicated to other Park Hill breweries, whether that’s something we make through collaboration or featuring one of their beers. We’re big proponents of the idea that a rising tide raises all ships, especially in a neighborhood like this. Personally, I know that if my family and I go to a brewery, we will probably go to two or three, and the closer they are together, the better. So cheers to a growing local beer community in the neighborhood!"

4 Noses Brewing Company is located at 4040 Dahlia Street in Denver and is open from 2 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit 4nosesbrewing.com.