Doug Odell's passion for crafting great beer started in his kitchen in Seattle. After the demand for his home-brew grew, Doug-along with his wife Wynne, searched for a good location to take Doug's passion commercial. They moved to Fort Collins to be closer to Doug's sister, Corkie, who joined forces with them in opening the brewery in 1989.

After brewing and kegging his beer, Doug would deliver it, pick up empties, and make sales calls out of his old mustard-colored Datsun pickup. Our original brewery was located in an old grain elevator built in 1915, and was the second microbrewery to open in the state of Colorado.

During the first five years, the popularity of our hand-crafted ales grew so much that we needed a larger facility to meet the increasing demand. Thus a whole new brewery, with a 50-barrel brewhouse, was built in 1994.

After a 6 year commitment to an all-draft product, we began bottling beers in 1996. A 10,500 square foot addition was needed for the new Krones bottling line. In 1997, the five barrel pilot system (one tenth the size of our main brewing system) was brought in to give the brewers a place to create and innovate in small batches.

Today, Odell Brewing Co. also offers five different keg sizes and half-gallon draft jugs (available only at the brewery). Come visit us anytime, on Lincoln Avenue just three quarters of a mile east of downtown Fort Collins.
     
 

Odell Brewing was recently named a “Best Company to Work For” in Colorado and is an award winning brewery, nationally and internationally: 2009 Stockholm Beer and Whiskey Festival – silver medal for 5 Barrel Pale Ale, bronze medal for 90 Shilling. 2009 BrewNZ Awards – gold for 5 Barrel Pale Ale, silver for 90 Shilling, and silver for IPA. 2009 Australian International Beer Awards – gold for IPA, gold for Extra Special Red, bronze for Isolation Ale, bronze for 90 Shilling, bronze for Cutthroat Porter. 2008 North American Beer Awards – gold medal for 5 Barrel Pale Ale. 2008 World Beer Cup® – gold medal for IPA, silver medal for Double Pilsner, silver medal for Cutthroat Porter. 2007 Great American Beer Festival® – gold medal for IPA, silver medal for Easy Street Wheat, bronze medal for Extra Special Red.

Beers and Awards
90 Shilling
Bronze, English-Style Brown, 2006 Los Angeles County Fair
Bronze, American Amber Ale, 1991 Great American Beer Festival
Easy Street Wheat

Easy Street Wheat
Bronze, American Wheat Beer, 2006, Los Angeles County Fair
Gold, American-Style Hefeweizen, 2005 Great American Beer Festival
Gold, American-Style Hefeweizen, 1993 Great American Beer Festival

5 Barrel Pale Ale
Gold, Classic English-Style Pale Ale, 2006 Great American Beer Festival
Silver, Classic English-Style Pale Ale, 2006 Los Angeles County Fair
Silver, Classic English-Style Pale Ale, 2005 Great American Beer Festival
Silver, Classic English-Style Pale Ale, 2005 Los Angeles County Fair

Cutthroat Porter
Bronze, Brown Porter, 2006 Los Angeles County Fair
Gold, Porter/Stout, 2005 Stockholm Beer & Whiskey Festival
Bronze, Brown Porter, 2005 Los Angeles County Fair

IPA
Gold Medal, American-Style India Pale Ale, 2007 Great American Beer Festival
Silver Medal, American-Style India Pale Ale, 2007 North American Beer Awards

Irish Red
Bronze Medal, Pro-Am Brewing Competition, 2008 Great American Beer Festival

Levity Amber Ale
Silver, Best Bitter, 2006 Los Angeles County Fair
Silver, Best Bitter, 2005 Los Angeles County Fair

Seasonal/Single Batch Series
Isolation Ale (Winter)
Imperial Stout
Extra Special Red
Double Pilsner
Town Pump Pale Ale