After 13 years of great beers, heavy metal music and honest takes, TRVE Brewing founder Nick Nunns said Thursday that he is closing both of his taprooms in Denver and Asheville, N.C.
“It hasn’t been an easy choice, but this brewery has run its course, and for a huge number of reasons, itap the right time to send this thing off into the lake trailed by a fiery arrow,” Nunns wrote on and Facebook.
The final day will be Saturday, July 12. Nunns didn’t say whether beer production would also stop. Reached via text, he declined to comment to The Denver Post.
Music City Hot Chicken, located inside the Denver taproom, said on social media that it hopes to remain in the space and possibly take over the lease, adding “TRVE gave us a home, believed in what we do, and created a space where our food and their beer could come together in a way that felt truly special. We owe them more than we can put into words.”
TRVE opened at 227 Broadway in a long, narrow space — a former art gallery — with only a few windows in the front and a tiny, three-barrel brewing system in back. Although a craft beer Renaissance was taking place at the time, in 2012, with taprooms opening across the city, TRVE stood out because of its owner’s penchant for black clothes and black metal.
After a few years, its beers caught on, and TRVE began canning and distributing sour ales, IPAs, lagers and other styles, staying away from trends if possible, and focusing on the beers that its employees — including head brewer Zach Coleman — liked to drink.
Eventually, TRVE opened its own production facility, and later, Nunns, his wife, EJ Nunns, and Coleman all moved to North Carolina, where they created a second location. In 2024, TRVE moved its production to New Image Brewing in Wheat Ridge.
“With a mediocre business plan, no professional brewing experience, and way less money than I needed, I opened TRVE with no grander machinations than making some good beer and listening to the music I liked,” Nunns wrote in his Facebook message this week.
“I cannot have done any of this alone; my sincerest and deepest thanks to everyone who made their indelible marks on TRVE. From the maniacs in the brewery to the masochists behind the bar, you were all such an immense part of why this place was what it was. I always wanted so much more for you all,” he continued. “Equal thanks go out to all the patrons who called this place home. Heavy Metal Cheers it certainly was. Y’all kept the lights on, hell or high water.
“I constantly say that our beer got good when I stopped making it. So much of our notoriety is largely thanks to Zach who truly made our beer program what it is today. I am so sad that we are having to do this when the beer coming out of Asheville is some of the best you’ve made in your career. I hope your continued quest for perfection in your art never ends.
“More than anyone, I have to thank my wife, who helped Zach and I by keeping the wheels on this thing through crisis after crisis after crisis. I’m so sorry it was so hard for so long. I love you. Ultimately, this brewery has provided me with things that cannot be measured by capitalism, no matter how hard that vicious and broken machine may fumble around with spreadsheets and ledgers and trying. I am rich beyond measure and handshakes, high-fives and hugs. My mantra in making this decision has been and will continue to be, ‘No man is a failure who has friends.'”
