Chip Litherland

Dry Dock Brewing Co.

In 2005, Dry Dock Brewing Company was the first brewery to open in Aurora, Colorado. Co-owners Kevin DeLange and Michelle Reding expanded their homebrew shop, The Brew Hut, by cutting a hole in the wall into the recently vacated space. They added a seven BBL brewhouse and tasting room in the space for their homebrew customers to enjoy. By word of mouth, the 900-square-foot brewery established itself early on as a community gathering place and Aurora's microbrewery. Within the first six months of being open, Dry Dock's Amber Ale won a Gold at the World Beer Cup in 2006. Dry Dock quickly became known as an awarding winning brewery across Colorado. In 2013, Dry Dock nearly quadrupled its production numbers, jumping from 3,200 barrels to 12,000 barrels in one year. With the increase came the purchase of a 30,000-square-foot production facility, known as North Dock. This allowed Dry Dock to expand and brew more than 20,000 barrels a year and distribute across the entire state of Colorado. The Canoe Room opened to the public in the fall of 2014. It is a twelve tap tasting room inside of North Dock. Additionally, there is an 18 hole disc golf course on the property for customers to enjoy. Dry Dock and The Brew Hut have also expanded their original location, known as South Dock, to have the Barrel Room for private events and a classroom to teach customers to homebrew and make cheese and wine. Since Kevin and Michelle started this adventure, Dry Dock Brewing Co. has brought home several local and international awards for a variety of beer that has been on tap. To date, they have 24 GABF medals and 8 World Beer Cup awards. Dry Dock's most popular beer to date is their Apricot Blonde. Other flagship beers include Amber Ale, Hop Abomination, Vanilla Porter, and Sour Apricot.