John Hickenlooper - From Brewing Beer to Colorado's Governor

On January 7, Wynkoop Brewing Company released Hickenlooper’s Inaugurale.  This new draft-only beer commemorates Wynkoop founder John Hickenlooper being sworn in as Governor of Colorado on January 11. The beer will be sold at Wynkoop Brewing Company while the supply lasts, and will be served at the official inauguration dinner on January 11 at Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium.

Attendees of the dinner will receive a commemorative glass with the beer’s logo. A limited number of these commemorative glasses will also be available for purchase at Wynkoop Brewing starting on January 7.
 
 

 
Hickenlooper’s Inaugurale is a rich and flavorful beer, a cross between a hearty brown ale and a winter warmer. Neither too malty nor too hoppy, the beer is a bipartisan, reach-across-the-aisle creation perfect for the current political climate in Colorado and the US.

“At about 6.8 % ABV,” adds Wynkoop head brewer Andy Brown, “it’s got the extra backbone one needs for taking on a tough gig in tough times.”

The beer is made with all Colorado-grown base malts and a wealth of specialty grains. These grains include golden oats, honey malt, crystal malt and black patent and chocolate malt. These grains give the beer extra layers of body and flavors of toasted and roasted malt, caramel and nuts.

The beer gets extra heft and complexity from an addition of Colorado beet sugar. The sugar doubles as recognition that no one in Colorado could beat John in the election.

Hickenlooper’s Inaugurale gets additional special-occasion charm from an aging on American toasted oak and a dry hop addition of whole leaf English Kent Goldings hops.

“That hop gives the beer a spicy note that really works in a winter warmer,” Brown says. “And it reflects our love of the English-style ales that have been a hallmark of ours since Wynkoop’s beginning.”

Wynkoop Brewing Company was founded in 1988 by then out-of-work geologist (and current Denver mayor) John Hickenlooper and a group of urban pioneers that included Mark Schiffler (current Wynkoop COO) and Ron Robinson, Wynkoop’s current GM.

Wynkoop Brewing is Colorado’s first brewpub and a pioneer of America’s craft beer movement. The brewery brewed some of the first styles of craft beer ever seen in Colorado and the US, and the Brewers Association’s annual award for innovation is named after Wynkoop’s original brewer Russell Schehrer.

The brewpub was a key catalyst in the rebirth of Denver’s formerly decaying lower downtown section (now known as LoDo). Hickenlooper and Wynkoop Brewing helped open additional brewpubs across the US in the Nineties in neglected historic buildings similar to Wynkoop Brewing’s circa 1890 home.

In 2007 Hickenlooper sold his ownership interests back to Wynkoop Holdings, the parent company of Wynkoop Brewing Company and its allied restaurants.

Hickenlooper was elected mayor of Denver in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. Read the city of Denver's bio on Hickenlooper at http://www.denvergov.org/mayor/MayorsOffice/About/tabid/436848/Default.aspx .

Members of the media seeking more information, photos, samples and interviews can contact Marty Jones at 303-860-7448 or martysjones@att.net or marty@wynkoop.com .