Storm Peak Brewing Co. opens Bus Stop near base of Steamboat Resort
Brothers Wyatt and Zach Patterson opened the Storm Peak Bus Stop this week, and people have already started flowing into Steamboat Springs’ newest taproom for their house-crafted beers.
“We’ve always wanted something on the mountain side,” said Zach Patterson. “We talked about it for a few years, and then it presented itself.”
The brothers signed a lease in March 2021, but getting all the proper approvals took a little longer than expected.
They moved forward with construction in October 2021 and opened the tasting room on Wednesday, Jan. 19, adjacent the slopes of the Steamboat Resort at 2500 Village Drive.
“It took a while, but we are really happy with how things turned out,” Wyatt Patterson said.
The new location is actually bigger than Storm Peak’s taproom on the west side of Steamboat at 1885 Elk River Road. It has room to seat more than 180 people and is 4,600 square feet. It also offers 32 taps, but only about 30 of those taps are in use right now.
“This is still basically a tasting room; that’s what our license is for, and that’s why we can’t serve any other beer, we can’t serve wine or alcohol,” Wyatt said. “This is all us.”
Storm Peak will continue to produce its beers on the west side of town, and the brothers have four brewers working at that location to keep up with demand.
“It’s going be hard to keep up with production,” Zach said. “We’ve been adding every year.”
In 2020, the company produced 2,633 barrels of beer. That number increased to 3,573 in 2021.
Storm Peak Brewing Co. currently supplies its two taprooms, as well as distributing its beers to several locations in Routt County, Fraser, Winter Park, Granby and Grand Lake. The company also distributes to locations in the Denver area.
“We will have all the beers that you’ll find over there (at the west location) with the exception of some maybe fun, smaller, one-off stuff that will only be found here,” Zach said. “We will have cans to-go and similar merchandise at our other location.”
The new location used to house the Iron Waffle and Steamboat Bauhaus but has been turned into a single room and completely renovated. The space includes one of the longest bars in Steamboat Springs.
The brothers said they chose the name Bus Stop because it is conveniently situated between two stops.
“It helps promote the idea, psychologically, to take the bus or some public transit, or bike, or something, because the parking situation here is pretty tight,” Zach said.
The new location will follow the same plan as the west side location in which Storm Peak works with nearby food providers and allows customers to bring in outside food. The new location will not serve food, but will encourage people to order from Après Burger Bistro above the tasting room or Wild Plum across the street.
Now that the new tasting room is open, the brothers say they can turn their attention to the rooftop bar at the west location, which has been under construction since the summer.
“We still have plumbing, electrical and are working to build out the bar,” Zach said. “We’re hoping to have that open in March and to capture some of that springtime skiing business.”
The Pattersons also say they owe Steamboat for the growth of their business, and the new location will have foosball and the Golden Tee Golf games, which are popular at the other location.
“We would not be in a position if it was not for the support of our community,” Zach said. “We’re blessed.”
John F. Russell is the business reporter at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach him, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.