After six-plus years in Longmont, Primitive Beer, known for its commitment to spontaneous fermentation and sour beer excellence, has bid farewell to its Longmont Barrel House and Tasting Room, which closed on Dec. 24.
The closure marked the end of an era but paved the way for an exciting new chapter as Primitive Beer relocates its operations to an annex at New Image Brewing in Wheat Ridge.
Co-owners Lisa and Brandon Boldt, the driving force behind Primitive Beer, expressed bittersweet sentiments about leaving Longmont, where they’ve cultivated a dedicated following over the years. However, they see the move as an opportunity to refocus entirely on what they are most passionate about — brewing, blending and packaging their fermentations.
The decision to move to New Image Brewing is not just strategic, it’s rooted in a longstanding friendship between the Boldts and Brandon Capps, founder of New Image Brewing who opened the brewery in Arvada in 2014.
Primitive Beer had been situated in its current location for an extended period, and the landscape evolved significantly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the post-COVID era, they found themselves navigating a new terrain, seeking to understand how people prefer to spend time together.
“It was honestly too big of a space for either production or retail. But splitting it for both was a mismatch. You know, we’re paying retail prices, retail square footage prices for our production space. And it also just wasn’t quite generating the foot traffic we’d hoped for,” Lisa Boldt said.
The move will enable Primitive Beer to focus on its core mission of creating the best beer without the challenges of juggling a retail space and will allow it to collaborate with New Image Brewing and other partners housed within the same warehouse roof.
“It was getting to the point where we had no zero work-life balance, and we really weren’t putting out as much beer as we wanted to,” Lisa Boldt reflected on the decision.
In addition to her role as co-owner of Primitive Beer, Lisa Boldt is a skilled juggler, managing multiple responsibilities and serving as a program manager at the Colorado Grain Chain. Balancing professional commitments is just one facet of her multitasking skills. Lisa Boldt also embraces the joys and challenges of family life, with another addition to the Boldt family on the way.
Primitive Beer plans to continue engaging its fanbase through monthly pop-ups at the new location, ensuring a steady flow of innovative and unique offerings. Lisa Boldt reassured supporters that while the move may impact the production method and flavor profiles due to the location change, Primitive Beer remains committed to transparency and communication.
“As a function of moving to a totally new space with different microbes and different air, it will be different. But as long as people want to find our beer, they can find it. We're a very open book. If people reach out, we get back to them and explain where you can find our beer,” Lisa Boldt stated.
With the move to the Denver area, Primitive Beer anticipates collaborating with new malt providers, exploring custom malt projects, and co-hosting events with New Image Brewing. Despite the changes, Primitive Beer looks forward to the next exciting chapter, embracing opportunities for growth and collaboration in the vibrant craft beer community.
“There’ll be a lot of fun, exciting changes in the future,” Lisa Boldt said. “And we'll release new beers. We'll do maybe food pairing events, things like that. But it won't be three or four days a week open. It'll just be, you know, once a month, or maybe twice a month.”
