We’ve got to start this brewery feature backwards.
Whenever we highlight breweries or distilleries here on the Root Shoot blog, we do our research: we look at every business’s website, we read local articles written about them. We surf their social media and check out their posts.
But we also send them a short list of questions to get their personal input. We want to hear the first-hand stories about opening a brewery, what it’s like to run one, and anecdotes from this crazy craft world we all work in. And the last question we always ask is a loaded one: What are your beer recommendations for a first-time visitor?
Asking a brewer or a brewery owner for their favorite beer is like asking a parent to pick their favorite child. But we do it anyway. We want to know! So, let’s cut to the chase:
There’s a new brewery in Denver! Public Offering Brewing Company, on South Broadway.
And their beer recommendation for folks checking them out for the first time?
Open Spaces Kölsch.
Okay, yes, we’ll admit it’s a Root Shoot beer (it uses Root Shoot Pilsner, Vienna, and Malted Wheat) but that’s not why we love it. Or at least not entirely why.
It’s Open Spaces. You all…if you don’t know that you’re following a farm and malthouse obsessed with both land conservation (open spaces) and community (open spaces!) you need to regroup and go spend some more time on our socials.
So our hearts kind of melted when we found out there was a Root Shoot beer at a new, Root Shoot-supporting brewery called Open Spaces. We tuned into a pile of happy, kölsch-drinking mush. Public Offering is our kind of brewery. And the owner, Cody Higgenbottom is our kind of people.
A hobby home brewer with a background in finance (Public Offering is partially a play on that previous profession) Cody decided to take his hobby pro…but he did his research first. He earned a brewing certificate from Regis University and interned at Station 26, another Root Shoot-supporting brewery. (Fun fact: our Genie Pale malt was developed specifically for Station 26’s Juicy Banger.)
It was, in fact, at Station 26 that Cody first become familiar with Root Shoot’s malt, and he continued using it in his home brews while developing recipes. When he made the leap to opening Public Offering, he stuck with us. “I wanted to focus on using as many local ingredients as possible,” he said. “I have always had great success with Root Shoot grains so it was a no-brainer to continue to partner with Root Shoot when we finally opened.”
Well, that just warms the corners of our little kölsch-loving hearts.
Cody and his crew began looking for a space to open their future brewery in the fall of 2019 but then - you know - COVID…and things were delayed. Eventually, however, they found their spot: an old Cadillac dealership turned auto body shop turned antique store and now, brewery. Remodeling a building with that many different past lives took some serious work, but you have it admit…it looks stunning.
In addition to a play of words from his finance career, Cody chose the name Public Offering as a representation of what he wants the brewery to be. “The entire concept of the brewery is trying to create a place where everyone not only feels a connection to the brewery but a part of it,” he told us. “Our goal is to make our guests and our community feel like our brewery is their brewery and create one big neighborhood of beer-loving friends. Public Offering is meant to reflect the concept that we're offering our beers and brewery to everyone.”
Open spaces.
See why we’re so excited about this place?
It’s early in the game - Public Offering just opened in mid-November, but already they’re feeling embraced by their neighborhood. “We've received a ton of positive feedback from guests about how comfortable, welcoming, and warm our taproom feels, and how friendly and inviting our staff is,” says Cody.
From our visits there to deliver malt (okayyyy, and to maybe have a few beers, too) we have to agree.
It’s inviting. It’s cozy. The beer is delicious, the company excellent and the business - from grain to glass - is local.
So, next time you’re cruising through South Broadway, go check them out. Order an Open Spaces that was grown just up the road on some (recently protected!) open spaces, and marvel at what community can do, when they choose to Save Farms (and open breweries) One Beer At a Time.
