As one of the first breweries to open in the now brewery rich River North Art District (RiNo) of Denver, Our Mutual Friend Brewing has had great success through measured growth, while maintaining a constant focus on quality and locally sourced ingredients. As a result, they’ve become one Colorado’s most respected and award-winning breweries, with a vast catalog of quality beers accessible to every taste.
Our Mutual Friend Brewing, more commonly referred to as OMF, opened the doors of their initial 1 barrel brewhouse in December of 2012. The founding partners Bryan Leavelle, Andrew Strasburg, and Brandon Proff, with the latter operating as Managing Partner and Graphic Designer to this day, immediately looked to expand their brewing knowledge following their collective homebrewing experiences. Shortly after opening, Jan Chodkowski joined the team, eventually becoming Head Brewer in 2016.
From the start, the brewery has made a point of procuring as many ingredients as possible from Colorado and to this day source 99% of their malt and a number of their hop varietals from their home state. In the early days, they went by Our Mutual Friend Malt & Brew and actually roasted their own malt up until 2020. As the RiNo District grew in popularity and local housing increased, the brewery grew in kind as their brew house ramped up from 1 bbl, to 3 bbls, then 7 bbls, and was ultimately upgraded to a 10 bbl brewhouse. This deliberately measured maturity in production enabled them to focus on educating themselves of the process, to ensure quality and drinkability of the finished product, even if it meant losing a batch.
The results of their hard work speak from themselves, as they earned a silver medal in the wood and barrel aged sour category at the Great American Beer Festival for 24FPS, a 100% Colorado mixed-culture fermentation Barrel-Aged Sour Beer and have since won GABF silver medals for a collaboration with Cerebral Brewing (Dreamy Thing, 2016) and Saison Trystero (2017), both in the Brett Beer Category, as well as a gold at the 2018 World Beer Cup (Saison Trystero). Most recently, at GABF 2020, they earned a bronze for International Pale Ale with their Inner Light Pale Ale. The brewery has also been recognized with stellar reviews, as five of their beers have been scored at 90 or more by Craft Beer & Brewing, four of them being Saison/Farmhouse Ales and the fifth a smoked Blonde Ale.
Since their founding, they’ve also continued to foster the neighborhood’s arts community. In addition to their unmistakable multi-colored taproom, they’ve also created a program called “Keep The Glass.” Every Tuesday since October of 2013 (that they’ve been able to serve draft beer) they’ve offered glasses with art designed by local artists, nationally known artists, plus artists from other breweries they collaborate with. One of their keystones has always been about “the power of neighborly acts and the spirit of neighbors taking care of one another within the local community. OMF supports and strives for the Denver community to know each other better and enjoy beer while we are at it.” Furthermore, OMF’s taproom has become one of the most popular landing spots for brewers and beer nerds who arrive in town for the Great American Beer Festival. They’re also known for their annual Gratitude event, a festival dedicated to showing appreciation to their neighborhood with live music, food and beer specials.
Day One has been grateful to work with Our Mutual Friend for just over 2 years now and are always excited to feature the delectable assortment of brews they send Oregon’s way! The following beers, most available in package and draft, started being distributed throughout the state on Wednesday and will continue to be through at least next Tuesday:
- Times Arrow ~ West Coast IPA With Citra & Idaho 7 hops – 7.7%. Available in cans and on draft.
- Neon Nail ~ House Hazy IPA w/ Vic Secret and Galaxy Hops – 6.9%. Available in cans and on draft.
- Super Blue ~ Sour Ale refermented on Blueberries – 6%. Available in cans and on draft.
- Clever Creature ~ Hazy IPA w/ Mosaic, Strata, Citra, El Dorado, & Idaho 7 Hops – 7.8%. Available in cans and on draft.
- Mr. Prickles ~ Sour Ale with Prickly Pear – 6%. Available on draft only.
- Barachan ~ Hazy Double IPA w/ Leopold Bros. Floor Malt & Mosaic, Citra, Simcoe, & Azacca Hops – 8.5%. Available in cans only.
Content and imagery for this article sourced from Our Mutual Friend Brewing, Pellicle Magazine, Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine, Thirst Colorado, Porch Drinking, and Colorado Brewers Guild.
Day One Distribution 