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2022

Living The Dream Brewing 2022 Year in Review

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LITTLETON, Colorado— Living The Dream Brewing reported continued momentum in 2022 after their statewide distribution expansion. This past year brought new beers, several awards, and many philanthropic opportunities for the brewery, which donated more than $13,000 to local causes. Here is the 2022 Living The Dream Brewing Year in Review.

PRODUCTION & SALES

The installation of new equipment in 2020 for capacity and its increase in production in 2021 poised Living The Dream for a new distribution agreement with Colorado Craft Distributors in 2022. Since the companies announced their partnership last May, the brewery continues to increase production and sales.

Now Colorado residents and visitors can find cans of Living The Dream mainstay beers— Powder Run Vanilla Cream Ale and its variants, 7-Speed IPA, Mountain Drive American Ale, and Fly Reel Amber Ale— as well as canned seasonals across the Centennial State year round.

TEAM

The Living The Dream team continued to grow and is now up to 15 employees.

In 2022 the brewery promoted Michael Acerra to General Manager, hired Jayme Hillian to manage events and social media, and continued brewing operations under the leadership of Head Brewer Rob Meehan.

BEER

Living the Dream Brewing released an array of specialty beers in 2022, including Powder Run Vanilla Cream Ale variants Lemon Bar, Key Lime Pie, Tangerine, Horchata, and the famed holiday seasonal Gingerbread. Root Beer Float is the newest addition to this series, and currently available in cans and on tap while supplies last.

Living The Dream debuted the High Line Pilsner in cans over the summer, and released many experimental batches on draft throughout the year. These beers included Sunrise Tangerine Wheat, several dark and traditional German-style lagers, and the Port Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout made in collaboration with Littleton’s ROCKER Spirits.

ACCOLADES

Living the Dream received six awards in the 2022 Denver International Beer Competition: Gold for Velvet Imperial Stout and Port-Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout; Silver for 7 Speed IPA, Guava Mountain Gose, and Powder Run Cream Ale; and Bronze for Fly Reel Amber Ale. The brewery also took home a silver award in the American Style Fruit Beer – Tangerine category of the 2022 U.S. Beer Open Championship.

COMMUNITY

Living The Dream invested in its taproom experience in 2022 by adding pinball machines and a pool table, hosting numerous events and a variety of food trucks, and installing new heated patio tents for year-round, comfortable outdoor seating.

Living The Dream’s continued its partnership with the Highlands Ranch Community Association, which includes sponsoring the Highlands Ranch Race Series and hosting a monthly Beer For Bucks night, raised more than $2400 for the association in 2022. Among the brewery’s other philanthropic initiatives were the 2nd Annual Daniel Vogt Memorial in partnership with Proud Souls Barbecue & Provisions that raised more than $11,000 for the American Cancer Society.

Living The Dream also teamed up with Physio Racing, Runners Edge, and Fire Pit Runners on group runs and rides throughout the year.

Living The Dream collaborated with two fellow Colorado breweries– Base Camp Beer Works and Ska Brewing— for the 2022 Colorado Brewers Guild’s Collaboration Festival that took place in April. In October, the brewery continued its support of the beer community at large as a sponsor of the 40th annual Great American Beer Festival.

Living The Dream is proud to partner with RadCraft on its communications strategy, which in 2022 included a revamp of its website in collaboration with Midwest Coast Media.

MOVING FORWARD

The brewery is teaming up on brew days with New Terrain Brewing and Payette Brewing for the 2023 Collaboration Festival, and experimenting with fresh flavors for upcoming beer releases. Customers can look forward to Living The Dream’s 9th anniversary celebration this summer.

About Living the Dream Brewing

Living the Dream Brewing is a craft brewery established in 2014 in Littleton, our home base for adventure in Colorado. Built on a foundation of brewing beer using only the finest ingredients, Living the Dream celebrates the people, places, and activities of the Centennial State.

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Brewers Association 2022 Year in Beer

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BOULDER, Colorado — The Brewers Association—the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American craft brewers—recounts a year filled with varied growth, continued supply chain disruptions, and increased competition. Despite these challenges, 2022 also saw a return to in-person events and the nurturing of the next generation of craft beer professionals.

Breweries, bars, and restaurants continued their long and unsteady recovery in 2022, and while total on-premise sales bounced back to their previous trends, draught beer is still recovering. Small and local brewpubs and taprooms proved nimble during continued supply disruptions, faring better than micros and regionals fighting for shelf space in an increasingly competitive distribution climate.

Climate change and persisting supply and ingredient disruptions and shortages continued to plague brewers throughout the year. Although the 2022 barley harvest improved, the severe depletion of stocks in 2021 kept supplies tight and prices high in a dynamic and changing market. 2022 hop acreage declined slightly in the U.S., while the European harvest was the worst in decades. Disruptions in the supply of aluminum cans and CO2 continued to impede recovery.

“Riding through a challenging and competitive year, taprooms and brewpubs found ways to innovate and keep customers coming through the door, while brands with a retail presence continued to compete with other beverage alcohol choices for shelf space,” said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association. “2023 will be a reset for many brewers as they return to more conscious and thoughtful innovation to balance customer demand and adapt to supply chain fluctuations.”

Nationally and on the state level, the Brewers Association continued its work to ensure small brewers have equitable access to markets, fair tax rates, and sensible regulations.

In the fight for fair treatment for craft brewers, the Brewers Association submitted comments to the Department of the Treasury on wholesaler consolidation, unfair state franchise laws, and restrictions on direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales.

The Brewers Association joined fights against lowered excise taxes for ready-to-drink canned cocktails (RTDs) in Arizona, New Jersey, Washington, and Vermont and grassroots advocacy in Illinois, New Jersey, California, and Colorado. The BA will continue to support direct-to-consumer shipping, protecting existing allowances in states such as California, and bringing the practice to states currently without.

As the craft beer industry continues to mature, industry veterans have embraced their ability to assist newcomers as these rising professionals build their careers. Through its mentorship program, the Brewers Association has connected more than 100 mentors with entrepreneurs and professionals looking to develop their knowledge and skills, and those seeking to break into the craft brewing industry for the first time. With its fourth cohort now complete, the program has hosted 124 mentees and 102 mentors.

Beer lover interest in returning to in-person beer festivals was on full display in Denver October 6-8 as 40,000 attendees convened after a two-year hiatus for the 40th anniversary Great American Beer Festival.

“The maturing craft industry continues to grow more competitive, facing both internal business pressures and externally the continued growth of new beverage alcohol competitors,” said Watson. “While these challenges are daunting, craft brewers are known for their innovation and flexibility, and will need both as they evolve to meet the next generation of beer lovers with new beers and new occasions.”

Given learnings from 2022, the Brewers Association predicts that in 2023:
• Brewery openings will be the lowest in over a decade
• Distributed craft volume will not grow
• Supply chain will remain rocky, but collectively average prices will come down from 2022 peaks
• Total brewery employment will increase

Check out the complete 2022 Year in Beer report here.

About the Brewers Association
The Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. The BA represents 5,600-plus U.S. breweries and more than 37,000 homebrewers. The BA’s independe craft brewer seal is a widely adopted symbol that differentiates beers by small and independent craft brewers. The BA organizes events including the World Beer Cup®, Great American Beer Festival®, Craft Brewers Conference® & BrewExpo America®, SAVOR™: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, Homebrew Con™, National Homebrew Competition and American Craft Beer Week®. The BA publishes The New Brewer® and Zymurgy® magazines, and Brewers Publications® is the leading publisher of brewing literature in the U.S. Beer lovers are invited to learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com® and about homebrewing via the BA’s American Homebrewers Association® and the free Brew Guru® mobile app. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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