Just west of Denver, Colorado, in the Valverde neighborhood, there’s a quiet, unassuming strip mall that Wit’s End Brewing Company has brought to life since its opening in 2011. The modest, 2,100-square-foot building holds the now 7-barrel system that “owner, brewer, and dreamer” Scott Witsoe operates with his brewing team and comfortable tasting room that sports a collage of used grain bags on the walls.
Originally, though, Witsoe operated on a one-barrel system solo. Those decorative grain bags had yet to be used, and the walls were a bit more barren. Back then, Witsoe belonged to a newer generation of brewers making incredibly small batches, usually between one and three barrels at a time. Alongside Strange Craft Beer Company just a few blocks away, Wit’s End is often noted as one of the pioneers of Denver’s nano-brewing movement.
“I didn’t necessarily want to trail-blaze this nano movement,” Witsoe admits. “It was financially motivated—I could either open up with a one-barrel system or not open up a brewery. I figured worst case scenario I’d lose a lot of money, but I’d get back to corporate America and collect my paycheck and benefits again … But I don’t think this beard would do well in corporate Ameri-ca.”