Renegade Brewing Is Coming Back Under New Ownership

Less than four months after closing its doors at 925 West Ninth Avenue, Renegade Brewing has new owners. Dan Colbourne and Aaron Uhl will take over the brewery, targeting a mid-August reopening.

“I think [Renegade] is like other breweries that maybe grew up with the idea and dreams of distribution,” says Colbourne. “That’s not what we’re doing here. [We’re] trying to take this pretty cool place, add what we can to it, really focus on the taproom and the beer, and really turn it into something that sits well in the neighborhood.”

In the immediate term, Uhl says they will refresh the space a bit. Over the winter, they’ll add seating. “We’re doubling the capacity of the room, from 77 to about 150,” he notes.

The new ownership has tapped Jeremy Gobien, owner of Copper Kettle Brewing, for a new ten-barrel brewhouse through Gobien’s Evolve Outfitters brewing equipment company. That new brewhouse should be ready in October. In the meantime, Renegade will offer a variety of guest beers on its taps, including several collaborations involving Uhl and old friends such as Coda Brewing, Wild Provisions, WestFax Brewing, Call to Arms Brewing, River North Brewery, Upslope Brewing, Bruz Beers and more.

Colbourne is a CPA with experience in buying and selling businesses. He’s also a home brewer, a hobby he shares with Uhl, who got his start by testing recipes out and winning medals on a small scale. Colbourne is a medal-winning home brewer as well, making it to the finals of the prestigious National Homebrew Competition this year, a feat he’s accomplished before. He’s also won medals in other competitions across the country.

The pair met just before the closing of Uhl’s Brewing. Colbourne has had an eye on getting into the brewing industry for a while, but couldn’t find the right partner or situation. Now he’s found both.

“We kept meeting, about once a month,” says Uhl. “We’d take a look at other breweries who were failing and see if there was something we could fix."

Many owner-brewers would jump right back in and grab a brewing job, but Uhl wanted to continue on his terms. “I didn’t want to work for somebody that was like, ‘Here’s the recipe, go press these buttons,’” he says. “That’s not brewing to me. It’s gotta be hands-on.”

Uhl lives in Boulder, Colbourne in Highlands Ranch. “About six months ago, I said to [Uhl], let’s find something about halfway between you and me,” says Colbourne. “And then Renegade popped up, and it’s literally meeting in the middle.” The pair loves the neighborhood, and the more they looked into the numbers, brand and potential of the location, the opportunity made a lot of sense.

Since Uhl’s Brewing closed in August 2023, Uhl has been busy. He spent a few months selling off equipment and tying up loose ends. After a brief stint in New Mexico for some biking and some skiing in Colorado, he spent a month in Belgium, where he learned to blend lambic beer from some of the top minds in the industry. Don’t expect to see much of that highly manual, resource-intensive, niche product at the new Renegade, however. “There’s not enough room here,” Uhl admits.

Both Colbourne and Uhl are on the same page about the beer that Renegade will offer. Uhl says they will utilize the first few months of guest taps to get insight into what customers want, and then Renegade will deliver that when the new brewhouse is set up this fall.

Colbourne says Renegade will offer a diverse range of beers, from lagers to stouts to hoppy brews. “We would love to have 16 to 24 beers on tap,” he notes. “We’d love to have more than one option in the pilsner category, in the hazy category, in the West Coast category, in the sour category and in the specialty Belgian style categories.” He adds that while it doesn’t take long to fill up a beer menu, he's noticed that many breweries make really great IPAs but only focus on that category.

Longtime Renegade fans can expect to find some familiar beers on tap, as well. "We're going to ask the community what they like. It's not just going to be me," Uhl says, adding that he'll take a look at some of the legacy Renegade recipes, revamping some, perhaps, but leaving others alone.

Between business falling off a cliff at Uhl’s Brewing, struggles with investors and the landlord, and the passing of a close family member, Uhl has had a tough few years. “I hadn’t had the chance to shine,” says Uhl. “My luck had to turn." And with the relaunch of Renegade, he feels he's found a stable situation to call home. “I needed to burn Uhl’s down and let go of it," he says.

Uhl will be pouring at Wibby’s Hooplager Fest on July 20 in Longmont under the Renegade tent, pouring beer from Tripping Animals Brewing and Thin Man Brewing. He’s excited to see old friends and share his vision for Renegade.

Colbourne wants the relaunch of Renegade to engage with the local community more, too. While he’s honest about not knowing what that looks like yet, he says that everything is on the table. “We’re looking for thoughtful ways to participate without an agenda. Just a desire to be a part of the community, not just someone who sits there,” he concludes.