What started as a distribution-only brewery in Spokane, Washington will soon open as Hello Brew Co. in downtown Fort Collins.
Hello Brew Co. first opened in Spokane in February 2020, one month before the state of Washington shuttered its doors for the pandemic. Hello Brew Co. distributed its beer for about 18 months, and once the lease was up, co-owners Christine Luckasen and Ryan Maliski had other plans.
Luckasen was born and raised in Fort Collins, so she decided to move home. During an online search, the two found the Fort Collins space, which had been hard to lease during the pandemic. “We just got really lucky in the right place and right time,” Luckasen told What Now Denver.
The interior of the new Hello Brew Co. taproom is just a shell now with renovations underway. It was previously a house and later an architecture workshop.
Hello Brew Co. will not brew onsite but instead will do nomadic and contract brewing. They will serve standard brewery fare of chips and dips and hope to partner with area restaurants to offer delivery options to the taproom.
“Besides it just being a cute little spot, we specialize in IPAs,” Maliski said. “We want a comfortable homey environment to enjoy some quality beers.” Hello Brew Co. will primarily serve IPAs with light and dark beer options.
Part of Hello Brew Co.’s mission is creating beers to raise funds for local causes with several donations given during their time in Washington. “We donated to a local LGBTQ teen resource center. We’ve done beer that raised money for an organization in Arizona that helps people secure a safe path to citizenship,” Luckasen said.
They also created a beer that included a QR code for brew lovers to check their voter registration status. “That’s something that is important to us and part of our mission,” Luckasen said.
Hello Brew Co. is a place for people to enjoy a beer and support the community. They hope to open Hello Brew Co. at 405 Linden St., Fort Collins, CO 80524 sometime in late February 2022.
