Another day, another Colorado craft beer deal.
Longmont-based Left Hand Brewing and Aurora-based Dry Dock Brewing announced they have merged under the craft-centric, crowd-funded platform Left Hand revealed plans to build last year.
The news follows Tuesday’s announcement that Great Divide, with whom Dry Dock forged a strategic production agreement in late 2023, had joined Wilding Brands, the parent company of Stem Ciders, Denver Beer Co. and other craft brands.
Dry Dock “will immediately move all brewing production and packaging to Left Hand’s Longmont facility and will continue to operate its Aurora taproom,” the companies said in a press release.
“After building the Dry Dock brand for 20 years, it was important to find a partner who shares our commitment to quality, independence, and community,” Dry Dock founder Kevin DeLange said in the release.
“We’ve known [Left Hand founder and CEO] Eric Wallace and [chief operating officer] Chris Lennert for years through our work with the Colorado Brewers Guild, and they’ve always supported the industry both locally and nationally,” he continued. “There are significant opportunities to grow Dry Dock with Left Hand’s extensive distributor network. Together we have the opportunity to bring Dry Dock’s beers to more fans than ever before.”
Dry Dock marks the first addition to Left Hand’s platform, which completed a WeFunder round last month and raised $819,668 from 396 investors. The transaction includes equity in Indian Peaks Brewing Company, Left Hand’s parent organization, the release said.
“This partnership is the realization of the vision we shared during our recent WeFunder raise,” Wallace said in the release. “We’re building an independent craft beer platform rooted in community, collaboration, and ownership. This partnership with Dry Dock is the first real step in bringing that to life.”
DeLange will join Left Hand’s sales team. The breweries plan to expand Dry Dock’s offerings to Left Hand’s distribution network with a focus on the brand family that has grown from Dry Dock’s flagship Apricot Blonde (5.1% ABV). Other Apricot beers on Dry Dock’s website include Big Apricot imperial blonde ale (8.1% ABV) and Hopricot IPA (6% ABV). The fruited beers will complement Left Hand’s nitro-centric portfolio.
The platform is “in active discussions with other beverage companies to join us,” Wallace said in the release.
“With the capacity, systems, and expertise we’ve developed, we’re in a strong position to support like-minded producers and work together to strengthen the future of independent craft, both here in Colorado and beyond,” he said.
Left Hand distributes to nearly all 50 states (Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and West Virginia excluded) via a network of 76 distributors, according to its website.
Contract brewing makes up about 15% of Left Hand’s volume, and the facility and its land, which Left Hand owns, is ideal for fellow Colorado breweries seeking production assistance. Longmont’s location, about 40 miles north of Denver where several interstate highways meet, also makes it attractive, Wallace told Brewbound last summer.
Left Hand was the 10th largest regional craft brewery by volume in the Brewers Association’s Mountain West region in 2023. The brewery’s output declined -22%, to 28,313 barrels. Dry Dock’s volume increased +33%, to 17,690 barrels in 2023. The gain followed two roughly flat years in 2022 and 2021, and a -32% decline in 2020.