Interview with Christa and Ryan Kilpatrick, owners
Q: How did you get involved in this business?
A: With a love of craft beer and a desire to bring a much-needed segment to east Denver. When we began the process of opening a brewery, we looked at the neighborhood we live in (South Park Hill) as the ideal location. It has a lot of residences, no craft breweries nearby and no place to get a proper craft beer in the area . We wanted to change that.
Q: What distinguishes you from other businesses in your category?
A: Each of our craft beer recipes tell a different story through unique flavors, aromas and textures that were inspired by our favorite works of fiction. As a result, some of our beers are mysteriously rich in dark plot twists, while others drip with the lightness of a serendipitous adventure. We strive to be creative — we are currently crafting a collaboration recipe using Glazed and Infused donuts in a bourbon porter. Oh and our taproom is super family friendly, which is a rarity in the craft beer world.
Q: What do you like best about your line of work?
A: Getting to talk to our customers about books and beer. Totally geeking out over a beer style or the brilliance of Jack Kerouac. This is actually work?!
Q: What is your business’ biggest challenge?
A: Finding a balance between crafting the beers we want to drink, beers our regulars want to drink and the beers the greater craft beer community wants to drink. Beer is very subjective and what one person loves, another will hate. So trying to maintain sanity amidst conflicting information and knowing when to listen to a comment to learn and grow and knowing when to look past an individual review.
Q: Something people might be surprised to learn about you or your business:
A: Our location was originally going to be a Pasquini’s Pizzeria restaurant. Fortune seemed to be in our favor and the deal feel through. When we set out to start our business, we did extensive market research and the epicenter of our customer base is Colfax and Quebec, which is pretty much exactly where our location is.
Profile
Business: Fiction Beer Company
Address: 7101 E. Colfax Ave.
Hours: 2-10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 2-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Founded: 2013
Contact: 720-456-7163, ,
Employees: 7
