Bonfire Brewing Expands Capacity; Announces 2020 Milestones

Bonfire Brewing owners Andy and Amanda Jessen

EAGLE, CO— Bonfire Brewing is poised for growth going into 2021. The Eagle Valley brewery turned ten in 2020 among several other community milestones. Gather ‘round for Bonfire Brewing’s 2020 Year in Review.

In 2020, Bonfire Brewing produced just under 3500 barrels of beer, equating to more than one million cans. The brewery is wrapping up installation of an expansion in capacity and improvements to existing equipment. These include an upgraded glycol chiller system, the addition of 1600 barrels of fermentation capacity, equipment to facilitate the packaging of barrel aged beers, and the ability to package beer in 16-ounce cans.

Bonfire revamped its draft system that now sports 25 beer lines this year, and added the now famous rotating beer slushies to the menu. Tasting room additions in 2020 also include a partnership with the Roaming Gourmet food truck, and a heated tent the size of a city block for winter to help offset COVID-related capacity restrictions. 

Bonfire continued support of local non-profits with product and financial donations, including another record Mug Club auction— which this year, topped $8,500. The mug purchase benefited the Vail Veterans Foundation and Olivia’s Fund.

Bonfire’s patio expansion project is an ongoing one that gained more than 600 square feet of new seating in spring with employee-built Adirondack chairs to boot. 

More accolades rolled in for the brewery in 2020, including three Best of Vail awards and medals in the Best of Craft Beer Awards with a gold for WtFO DIPA, and in the “Beer Wars” competition with a Silver for the Rope Drop Hazy IPA. Bonfire is also the proud new recipient of Eagle’s “WassailMeister” title. 

Bonfire maintained its Actively Green Business certification, introduced composting to the tasting room, adopted and maintained five miles of the Haymaker mountain bike trail, and continued to make strides in sustainability and efficiency throughout operations this year. 

In November of 2020, Bonfire Brewing celebrated a decade of business in downtown Eagle with a week of throwback beer releases, specialty slushies, and an anniversary Quadrupel Brown Ale aged in Laws Whiskey House barrels. 

In the wake of Coronavirus, the Bonfire team developed and grew a popular contactless pick-up service and digital ordering system at the tasting room. 

Most importantly for Bonfire in 2020, the company retained 100 percent of their employees amid the impacts resulting from the global pandemic. “We fully employed everyone throughout the year by pivoting and adapting to every obstacle thrown our way,” says owner Andy Jessen. “[I]t took years to put this talented team together, and one of our biggest fears at the outset of the pandemic was the chance we might lose that. Being able to keep the team intact is something we’re very grateful for.”

Also in response to the pandemic, Bonfire created the BonFamily t-shirt that features all 16 employees, for which all proceeds directly benefited staff. “We couldn’t have done it without the people that make up the BonFamily, and that includes our customers near and far,” adds owner Amanda Jessen. 

For more information about Bonfire Brewing, contact Emily Hutto at hutto@radcraftbeer.com. 

ABOUT BONFIRE BREWING

Craft enthusiasts and outdoor adventurers gather around Bonfire Brewing in Eagle, Colorado, where the beers are driven by quality, curiosity, and community. Founded in 2010, Bonfire continues on their path of sustainable growth with cans of their year-round beers available in liquor stores and restaurants across Colorado. Gather ‘round Bonfire online at bonfirebrewing.com.

Ska Fabricating Debuts the Half Pint OD Mobile Depalletizer

DURANGO, CO— In their never-ending drive to pioneer the industry’s leading packaging line solutions, Ska Fabricating is proud to announce the new and improved “Half Pint OD” mobile depalletizer.

The OD (Orbital Discharge) features the same lightweight, low-footprint spirit of the original Half Pint with a new patent-pending rotary table design. This machine’s 30” wheel is the first of its kind, allowing for more accumulation, higher line speeds, a smaller footprint, and a better drop angle for the rinse cage. The wheel can run clockwise or counter-clockwise, making it possible to install two discharges for different container sizes with little to no changeover. 

Small, challenging spaces are no problem for the OD, with removable gates that allow for over 180 degrees of flexibility for discharge and rinse cage placement. It still comes on wheels and can be easily moved in and out of the canning line area. And the noisy vibrator is gone, so this machine is essentially silent.

"The Half Pint OD is a breakthrough design when your situation calls for a fully automated solution that fits in a small space. The higher discharge height and much smaller footprint adds a huge amount of options." says Jim Mackay, CEO of Ska Fabricating.

The product has been tested and proven under working conditions, and the innovative design was driven by customer feedback Ska Fab’s commitment to engineering solutions for packaging line automation. You can see this machine’s debut at CanLand as a part of the California Craft Beer Summit in Long Beach, CA Thu, Sep 12, 2019 – Sat, Sep 14, 2019. It is available for order and shipping as of October 29, 2019.

Contact Emily Hutto at coop@radcraftbeer.com for more information about the Half Pint OD, and with all media inquiries about Ska Fabricating.

ABOUT SKA FABRICATING

Founded by Ska Brewing Co-Owner Matt Vincent, Ska Fabricating automates packaging lines for craft businesses, specializing in depalletizers, palletizers, conveyance systems, rinsing, drying, fill detection and date coding products. With more than 700 customers worldwide, Ska Fab has the products and experience to help you increase your production while saving expense. Learn more at skafabricating.com.