Since its founding in 2015, WeldWerks Brewing Co. has carved out a niche for itself with inventive flavors that push the boundaries of beer. Soon, however, the Greeley-based brewery will go beyond those boundaries as it ventures into the ready-to-drink cocktail space.
In July, WeldWerks will debut two canned RTDs under a new brand called bo͞oz, including a vodka-based drink named Orange Creamsicle Crush and one with whiskey called PB&J Bourbon Smash. They’re the first of what head brewer Skip Schwartz expects will be a growing line of spirit-forward offerings with new recipes coming later this year.
WeldWerks began eyeing a move into RTDs more than a year ago, intent on bringing the brewery’s ingenuity to cocktail creation because “the world doesn’t need another straight Paloma cocktail,” Schwartz said.
WeldWerks leaders have long been interested in breaking into the spirits industry, he added, but it wasn’t until recipe development for RTDs that they felt they found the right avenue. The company partnered with Denver’s contract beverage house Sleeping Giant to make bo͞oz, which uses real liquor.
“Pretty much the whole team at WeldWerks loves to have options and look at things differently, so that’s been a big thing for us, just expanding our toolkit,” Schwartz said.
Because of beer’s kinship with whiskey, bourbon felt like a natural place to start. WeldWerks has previously released peanut butter and jelly stouts and sour beers, so the team reimagined those flavors as a fruited whiskey smash cocktail. Schwartz described the PB&J Bourbon Smash (12.1% ABV) as smooth and refreshing, with the creaminess of the peanut butter balanced by the abundance of strawberries used in the recipe.
The Orange Creamsicle Crush’s origin story starts in Virginia, home to a beach-perfect cocktail called Orange Crush. According to the state’s alcoholic beverage control authority, it’s made with orange vodka, orange juice, Tripe Sec, and club soda.
“It was one of the best, different cocktails that I had last year that really sparked my interest,” Schwartz said.
WeldWerks’ 10.5% ABV version similarly features vodka, but adds an original spin with the addition of orange and vanilla for a creamsicle-inspired summer thirst quencher.
Beer makers in Colorado and beyond have begun producing cocktail-inspired recipes and RTDs in recent years to meet the demands of shifting consumer palates. Even the Great American Beer Festival will allow participating breweries to pour RTD samples for the first time at this year’s event.
But Schwartz said the headwinds facing the beer industry were not factors in WeldWerks’ decision to enter the RTD space. The brewery produced 14,589 barrels of beer in 2023 and currently distributes to 32 states – a rarity in today’s market.
“There’s been opportunities for us to step outside of beers in the past with seltzers and ciders, but we decided that wasn’t for WeldWerks. It just didn’t feel right,” Schwartz said. “RTDs, with that category growing, is more where we see an opportunity rather than anything negative with beer.”
WeldWerks will begin self-distributing bo͞oz products to liquor stores along the Front Range by the Fourth of July. Because of its licensure, the spirit-based drinks will not be available at the brewery taproom. Eventually, WeldWerks hopes to bring production in-house, at which point bo͞oz could be sold there, Schwartz said.
