Greetings from beautiful Colorado!
Living here in our great state requires great balance – there’s just simply too much to do! Soak in over 300 days of sunshine a year. Catch a show at Red Rocks. Climb to the top of 14,255’ Longs Peak. Catch an Avs or Rockies game. Drop into some fresh powder at A-Basin. Tee up on the first hole at Haystack Mountain. Fly fish the South Platte. With so many choices, how does one manage? We sum it up all in one word: balance.
Too much of any one activity leaves you missing out on another, always wondering if the other was better. A healthy dose of all things in a balanced way keeps your right brain feeling good and the left brain knowing it’s all good. We believe the same to be true with craft beer. Everyday we strive for that perfect balance between malt and hops, from our lightest to our darkest—allowing a unique flavor experience in every bottle. From a golden crisp Polestar Pilsner to a roasty, black Wake Up Dead Imperial Stout, our balanced portfolio of handcrafted ales & lagers will keep your mind and your palate in a happy state of equilibrium. Now, we can talk about our beers all day, but we’d rather sit back and drink one with you. Next time you’re in town, swing by our Tasting Room for a tour, a few pints, and a great deal of balanced befuddlement about life. See you soon!
- The Crew @ Left Hand
We Love Beer
More specifically, we love great craft beer. Just like you do. As we heard at a recent craft beer conference, “people are having epiphanies with craft beer every day.” We couldn’t agree more.
Our story started in December of 1990 with a small homebrewers kit. Dick Doore, the co-founder of Left Hand, received the kit as a Christmas present from his brother. According to Dick, “it was all downhill from there.” His obsession with homebrewing led him back to Colorado in August of 1993, where he met up with a former college buddy and soon-to-be Left Hand co-founder, Eric Wallace.
It didn’t take the two long to start brewing beer. Dick had been homebrewing for years, and Eric had traveled extensively internationally, seeking out great beers wherever and whenever he could. After brewing several batches that impressed their friends and lucky neighbors, they became more confident in their craft. It was only after drinking quite a lot of really good dry stout that Eric had brewed that they had their epiphany: “Let’s start a brewery.”
A few weeks later, in September of 1993, we incorporated as Indian Peaks Brewing Company, in honor of the serrated ridges and jagged peaks of the Indian Peaks wilderness that you can see nearby. Then the search for the location was on ñ from Golden to Loveland. In November of that year, ëhome’ became a former meat packing plant nestled next to the St. Vrain River near downtown Longmont. In just a few weeks, the brewery was starting to take shape, labels were being produced, and kegs and bombers were purchased. The place was hopping. However, the euphoria was quickly sidelined when a conflict of interest surrounding the brewery name surfaced. Indian Peaks was being used by another brewery for a beer style. So, not wanting to start off on the wrong foot, we quickly changed the name of the company to Left Hand, in honor of Chief Niwot, whose tribe wintered in the local area. (The name Left Hand is derived from the southern Arapahoe word “Niwot” meaning left hand.)
Finally, we opened our doors for business on January 22, 1994. Our first batch of beer was Sawtooth Ale (still kicking after all these years!). It didn’t take long for the public to notice that we were brewing great beer. In October of that year, at the Great American Beer Festival, Left Hand took home 2 medals, a Gold Medal in the Bitter Category for Sawtooth Ale, and a Bronze Medal in the Robust Porter Category for Black Jack Porter. We were on our way!
Over the next several years we started to grow. We added people. We added machinery. We added several styles that are still with us today: Good Juju Ale and Wake Up Dead Imperial Stout. And we had a few styles that we remember fondly: Ambidextrous Ale, Motherlode, Maid Marion and Deep Cover Brown Ale. In 1995, we were able to start putting our logo on bottle caps. But when it came down to shrinking down the original logo to put on a crown, you couldn’t read it. We created a small hand to be the logo. It morphed into a sticker, and eventually into the company logo as you see it today.
By 1998, we had merged with Tabernash Brewing from Denver, which helped both breweries to start packaging 12 oz. bottles for 6-packs (we had only been bottling 22 oz. bombers and kegs to that point). In the same year, we started our own distribution business, Indian Peaks Distribution Company. The next 10 years added some interesting chapters in the life of the brewery to be sure. Tabernash was phased out and Indian Peaks Distribution Company was sold, allowing us to do what we do best… brew beer.
All that hard work has paid off. Fast forward to the present, and we’re prospering and growing like never before! Beginning in 2010 with over 30% growth, Left Hand is breaking barrelage records each year, even making the Brewers Association’s Top 50 Craft Brewers list in 2012. What started as a humble brewhouse extension in 2008, has turned into a 5 year $9 million expansion, as our brewery races to keep up with our thirsty fans. In recent years, the brewery has added no less than six 480 barrel fermenters, an additional 500 barrel bright tank, and a new KHS keg line. Moreover, we also expanded the Left Hand property, purchasing the warehouse across Boston Avenue to house offices as well as the site of our new cooler, bringing the total brewery acreage to 5.5 acres. In the fall of 2012, we will welcome our most anticipated renovation, a new bottling line that will fill 200 bottles per minute!
On the first night of the 2011 Great American Beer Festival, Left Hand changed craft beer history forever with the introduction of Milk Stout Nitro in a bottle. Left Hand is the first American brewery to master the science of bottling a nitrogenated craft beer. To our fortunate & delight, the beer has met overwhelming excitement and reception. Fans can currently find bottled Milk Stout Nitro in Colorado, Chicago, Austin, Boston, Phoenix, Atlanta, Cleveland, and New York City.
Since we started out 19 years ago, we’ve racked up 16 medals & 1 honorable mention at the Great American Beer Festival, 8 medals at the World Beer Cup, 3 medals at the European Beer Star (2 gold), a Gold Medal at the International Stockholm Beer & Whiskey Festival, and a growing loyal customer base in 26 states and throughout Europe.
We couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks to all the Left Hand fans around the world. We raise a pint to you and your discriminating palate.
Cheers, The Crew @ Left Hand
What is Left Hand Green?
Left Hand Green is a collection of concerned employees from a number of departments within the company. Meeting monthly, the group discusses ways to improve operational efficiency, reduce water use and waste streams, and make changes towards sustainability in company culture. Formed in May 2009 to organize the many efforts already underway at the brewery, the five-person group identifies and oversees. This committee can be reached with questions, comments, and suggestions at green@lefthandbrewing.com.
What has been done to this point?
Energy –Left Hand has made significant investment in energy reduction and renewable generation. The majority of all incandescent light bulbs in the Left Hand facility have been switched out to compact fluorescents (CFLs), while the rest are slated to be replaced as soon as they burn out. While visible, the changing of the bulbs saves only a fraction of the energy that our flash steam recovery system incorporated into our boiler does. It recaptures 356,805 BTU of potentially lost energy and consequently heats water used for brewing and cleaning. On our west building, we installed a 4.8 kW photovoltaic solar array that can provide enough energy to power our tasting room, offices, and retail coolers, or one of our air compressors.
Waste – In producing our beer, there are a number of waste streams and we are working to minimize the amount of that material going to the landfill. Left Hand is currently recycling all of the items allowable in the single stream process, our large quantities of old corrugated cardboard (OCC), liner low density polyethylene (LLDPE) stretch wrap, high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic woven malt bags, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) green strapping, and poly lined paper ingredient bags. Another large waste stream at the brewery is the spent grain or the organic material after use in the brewing process. This is currently being diverted from the landfill to a livestock farm as feed.
Water – Water is one of the most heavily relied-upon resources in the brewing process. Through submetering and employee training sessions, there has been a reduction in our water to beer ratio of 5.33:1 historically to, from January-September 2010, 4.18:1 (a 21.58% reduction). Further, care is being taken to minimize water used in landscaping – which is mostly xeric – and other various brewery functions.
Natural Gas – We added a Honeywell controller to our boiler to optimize the burn curve, maximizing the efficiency of our boiler and saving natural gas.
Culture – In addition to the formation of the Left Hand Green committee in 2009, we have installed bike racks for both our customers and employees to promote alternative commuting. We are committed to incorporate sustainability into the core values of Left Hand Brewing Company when we reevaluate them in 2011. Stayed tuned for information on more exciting projects underway now and in the future!
