At a time when craft beer production is declining, one Colorado brewery is bucking national trends and growing at an exponential rate, according to newly released data from the Brewers Association.
On Tuesday, the trade group unveiled the based on production volume, and Tivoli Brewing Co. cracked the list at No. 18. That means the company is now the second largest craft beer producer in Colorado, behind only Monster Brewing — parent to Oskar Blues and other out-of-state brands — which landed at No. 9. Fort Collins-based Odell Brewing Co. was the only other Colorado operation on the list at No. 32.
When accounting for all U.S. beer makers, including non-craft giants like Anheuser-Busch InBev and Molson Coors, Tivoli Brewing Co. ranked as the No. 28 producer by volume in the nation. CEO Ari Opsahl said the brewery’s growth has been fueled by its newest brand, , which seeks to be a craft alternative in the macro lager aisle.
Tivoli’s rise comes amid a challenging climate for craft beer. Production volume declined 5.1% across the country in 2025, the Brewers Association said, with only 39% of craft beer makers reporting annual growth. Craft beer’s retail dollar value also decreased 3.6% year-over-year to a total of $27.8 billion, and brewery closings (481) outpaced brewery openings (300), the report said.
One bright spot: “Breweries with strong brand identity and clear market positioning continued to outperform, with brands like Garage Beer and Outlaw (by Tivoli Brewing Company) among notable gainers,” the Brewers Association said. (Ohio-based Garage Beer is .)
Launched in 2022, Outlaw Light is a no-frills lager (4.2% ABV) that the brewery conceived to compete with macro brands like Bud Light and Coors Light. Opsahl tells The Denver Post that, in the first few years, retailers and distributors were skeptical of his intention to take market share from beer giants like AB InBev and Molson Coors. However, he saw domestic light lagers as the category ripe for the most growth amid a slump in craft beer sales post-COVID.
Tivoli’s strategy appears to have paid off. Outlaw Light now accounts for 95% of the brewery’s production volume and sales, Opsahl said. He estimates Tivoli produced between 90,000 and 100,000 barrels of beer in 2025, up from between 40,000 and 50,000 barrels a year prior. (The Brewers Association will publish the exact production output figures next month.) It’s now available at liquor and grocery stores in 49 states, as well as Walmart and Costco.
Opsahl, who formerly worked in sales and marketing roles at AB InBev, said the beer’s success shows that there’s still room for growth in the beer industry — just not where most producers are looking.
“There’s a new RTD drink every week, and there’s a new craft brewery seasonal release every week. When was the last time you heard of a new light beer, at scale?” he said. “It’s certainly disruption from a price perspective, and we’re also having the benefit of being something interesting in an extremely stale and stagnated space for the consumer.”
Tivoli has also strategically aimed to reach the domestic-drinking crowd by working with country musicians like Hardy and Koe Wetzel, who both invested in Outlaw Light, as well as brand ambassadors like NASCAR driver Jeffrey Earnhardt and podcaster Pat Spinosa.
As distribution has grown throughout the U.S., feedback has shaped the brand. The beer used to be called Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer, but Tivoli dropped the “Mile Hi” around the beginning of 2025 because consumers outside of Colorado thought the beverage contained THC, the intoxicating cannabinoid in marijuana, Opsahl said.
“In Colorado, itap clear to the consumer. If you walk into a dispensary, you’re buying THC, and if you walk into a liquor store, you’re buying alcohol,” he said. “Go to Total Wine in Minneapolis, they sell Delta-9 (THC), they sell beer, they sell wine, they sell spirits, non-alc.”
Outlaw Lightap explosion marks an interesting new chapter for the brewery, which is named for one of the state’s oldest and most storied beer makers. The original Tivoli was founded in 1900, though its roots on what is now Denver’s Auraria Campus dated back to 1859. The company went out of business in 1969, but was revived in 2015 at the Auraria college campus by a former Coors executive named Corey Marshall, whose goal was to honor Denver’s beer history while also tapping into the craft beer boom. (Marshall is no longer with the company.) The facility also served as a teaching facility for students at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Opsahl took over the CEO role in 2021 following a series of leadership changes. In 2023, Tivoli moved operations to a production facility in the southeastern Colorado town of La Junta before closing the Tivoli Tap House in Denver last year. Its name is also still on a bar at Denver International Airport, although Tivoli is no longer associated with it.
Tivoli will continue making its portfolio of craft beers in Colorado, like Helles Lager and Bo Girl Pilsner,, which pay homage to the brewery’s rich heritage, Opsahl said. However, they are not a major focus for the business. Instead, Tivoli plans to invest in new products, like Outlaw Light Tea — yes, beer with iced tea in it — which is expected to hit store shelves in May.
Despite market headwinds, Opsahl expects to double production in the next year.
“When we launched Outlaw Light, I said, ‘Hey, I think this could be the next No. 1 beer in America.’ Thatap where you get people looking at you like you’re a little crazy. But at the same time, I truly believe that itap possible,” he said.
