Meet the Team: Jimmy Sweeney

We love to talk about beer, spirits and cider but we love to introduce our awesome team to the world even more. So meet Jimmy Sweeney, our amazing Denver Metro Account Manager who handles all things Denver for us! Jimmy is one of our favorite people and his outgoing personality and love for all things beer and music make him a hard person not to love.

Learn more about him in his interview below!

What brought you into beer? It seems everyone has a story that made themselves want to work in our industry?

It simply started as a love for discovering new flavors that I never knew existed. Diving into various beer styles, learning where they come from and their history, the importance of malt, the possibilities of yeast, hop varietals, and the list goes on - I never knew beer could be so fascinating! Then I saw the comradery around the craft beer industry, the thrill of chasing a beer you haven’t had, visiting a new taproom, going to a tap takeover event or finding a beer at a store that you’ve been wanting. I couldn’t continue to sit back at my desk job and watch this industry grow, so I happily followed my passion!

What made you want to work at Culture? What do you like best about your job?

I love that Culture Beverage is an independently family owned company, and the niche hand selected portfolio excites me! Our suppliers are all family owned companies as well, with great teams and values, and awesome products to boot! The passion of my fellow employees and owners shines, and they immediately made me feel like part of the team. What I like most about this job is having access to such crazy beers from all over the world, and being able to supply them to the good people of Colorado!

If you were to describe your sales approach in three words, what would they be, and how do these words define your style?

Drive, Knowledge, Realism. I have the drive to make things happen and be available to people whenever they need. Knowledge of products and craft beer is of course important, but also knowledge of how stores and restaurants operate to be successful. Which leads into being realistic. I love making the sale, but I also understand the need to be realistic and do what makes the most sense for the buyer. I like to be the salesman that is here for you!

Craft breweries often come up with creative names for their beers. If you were to name a beer after yourself, what would it be called, and what style of beer would it be?

Row Jimmy Row, a Czech Style Pils (a crusher with friends, perfect for a show!)

If you could organize a beer-tasting event at any iconic Colorado location, where would it be, and which beers would you feature?

Lager Fest @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre featuring 3 live sets by Phish! with a Special VIP experience includes early access, and special lukr pours! Or a barrel aged beer festival @ Arrowhead Golf Course would also be awesome!

Colorado has a vibrant craft beer scene. What excites you the most about representing and selling our portfolio?

The diversity of our portfolio. I love representing beers from in state, out of state, and other countries.

Which supplier from our portfolio needs more love? What do you wish customers knew about them?

Lambiek Fabriek, Beautiful and affordable lambic from Belgium. Most industry folks get it, but I wish more consumers understood and appreciated the complexity of these exceptional beers!

As a beer enthusiast yourself, what advice would you give to someone who's just starting to explore the world of craft beer?

Dive in! Try different styles! Find what you like! Take your time and don't over indulge. Go style by style, don't muddle your palate. Chase what you havent had! Don’t always believe the hype, but then again, you might not want to miss out ;)

Desert Island beer style, and two desert Island beers, what are they?

Style: Pils! An Unlimited supply of Fox Farm Gather and Tree House Green would do me well.

Meet the Team: Stefan Beck

Why run a distributor? It’s the People!

The thing that makes our industry so special is not just the wonderful beers, ciders, spirits, and meads we get to taste and explore, but the people we meet and work with along the way. We wanted to highlight the awesome people we are lucky enough to work with here at Culture. So it’s time to meet Stefan Beck (if you don’t already know him!). We have known Stefan for more than 8 years and are so lucky to have him as part of our team. He is one of the most down to earth and honest people we know, and is one of the best people to share a pint with in our industry.

Cheers.

Xandy and Sheila

Where are you from? What is the coolest part of where you grew up?

I was born in Boulder and grew up in the foothills just northwest of town. Growing up in Boulder in the 80’s was very cool, but also it was nice being in the mountains and having lots of room to run around outdoors. 

What is your first memory with Craft Beer?

In my early twenties, I decided I liked IPA. Before I really even knew what it was, or that those intense flavors were derived from hops. It was just the biggest, most expressive flavor I could find at the time. Later on, like every good beer geek, I learned to love Belgian beers and lagers.

What did you do before joining the Culture family?

I worked in sales with Elite Brands of Colorado before Culture Beverage and CR Goodman before that. My previous work life before joining the wholesaler side of the industry was in restaurants.

What are your favorite things about being a distributor salesperson?

I love meeting all of the different people, sharing beers that I love with them, and hearing their perspectives. We are lucky to work in a business full of good hearted people. It goes without saying that I also love to taste all of the amazing beverages we have access to. I try not to take it for granted - we have incredible suppliers who are constantly innovating and upping their game.

If you could give one piece of advice to our producers what would it be?

This is kind of tough to put into words, but I think producers and distributors sometimes lack outside perspective on how customers see the market. We get really into minute details, chasing the latest styles, etc. but people can sometimes be overwhelmed by all of that and need things plainly laid out. Most of all, clearly put the style of beer on the can in an obvious place.

Which one of our suppliers do you wish people knew more about?

Fenceline! They make wonderful ciders with tons of character using heirloom cider fruit. It’s definitely one that I like to taste with people and have them realize how complex canned cider can be. When they try them side by side with some other canned ciders, it’s clear that Fenceline ciders are worth spending an extra dollar or two on. 

What do you wish customers would do more of?

I love when our accounts have staff education programs. Our portfolio definitely benefits from having a well educated and informed staff that can hand sell. Likewise, it’s always a good idea for breweries to host staff from accounts and give them an opportunity to taste their wares and ask questions.

What is your favorite style?

I love pretty much all beer but have a soft spot for saison, especially with brettanomyces. I will always drink IPA and have been really into lager for the last few years. Also, I love a good pale ale, I hope that there is more enthusiasm for this style in 2023.

What are your desert island beers?

Rather than naming specific beers, I’ll just say that I hope my desert island beer cooler was well stocked with German style pilsner, West Coast IPA, and funky saison.

What do you enjoy outside of work?

I like to cook and enjoy pairing beer and wine with food. I also love to hike and enjoy this beautiful state we live in. Live music is one of my favorite things in life and I go to a lot of concerts. I am also a musician and spend a lot of time outside of work making weird sounds (https://goldenbrown.bandcamp.com for the curious/brave).

Top Beers of the Year

Culture’s Top Beers of 2021

It can’t be the beginning of a new year without a top 10 list right!? We worked hard in 2021 to bring beers, ciders and meads to independent bottle shops, liquor stores, restaurants, and bars across Colorado. Needless to say we had a beverage or two after some long days moving cases, cleaning up shipping messes and driving all across the state to get our customers and beverage nerds the best from across the world. Here are the top beverages we enjoyed this year. These are in no particular order, and are our personal favorites of the year.

Culture’s Top 10 in 2021

Ubahdank, New Glory Craft Brewery

West Coast IPAs are not dead. In fact if you listen closely, you can hear a quiet rebellion brewing among IPA drinkers looking for a ‘return’ of the classic style. Ubahdank takes a modern approach to the West Coast IPA with a massive upfront bitterness followed up by juicy apricot, pineapple and grapefruit. It might even have a permanent home in our fridge in 2022.

Augur Porter, Dutchess Ales

Dutchess has long been one of our most underrated breweries and they simply knocked it out of the park with this classic English porter. Dry with notes of coffee, cacao and roasted grain, this beer is a world class example of the style.

Farnum Hill Farmhouse Cider

When we try to convert ‘I don’t drink cider’ people to the wonderful world of true dry traditional cider, Farnum Hill’s Farmhouse is our weapon of choice. Made exclusively with estate grown apples on their New Hampshire orchard, this dry cider is a shining example of what an ingredient focused cidery can deliver.

Colfax Cream Ale, WestFax Brewing Co.

Colfax Cream Ale proves that every other brewpub since 1999 has simply just been doing it wrong. Light, refreshing, and with a mouthfeel that takes the best of what an ale can be, this beer is a world class example in a style that is often ignored. This beer with a hamburger and fries makes you wish for a resurgence of cream ale.

BUTCHER, Black Project Artisan Beer Project

Black Project’s BUTCHER, a Cherry and Raspberry spontaneously fermented sour, is one of the prime examples of why spontaneous beers will always have a place in a modern beer world. Bone dry with tons of acidity and barnyard characteristics are balanced by large fruit notes of cherry and raspberry. Sheila said ‘Why isn’t this everywhere??’

Ectogasm, Drekker Brewing Co.

Drekker joined the Culture family late in the year but has quickly become one of our most popular breweries. While people go nuts for their Fruit Smoothie Sours and A La Mode beers, we absolutely love their flagship Hazy Ectogasm. A soft mouthfeel with big tropical fruit notes and juice for days, this is a hard Hazy to pass up.

10 Degree, Urban Roots

10 Degree is the perfect example of why lagering times matter. Urban Roots lagers this beer for two months, cutting no corners and using high quality European grains to create the perfect example of why Czech lager is the king of the lager world. Crisp bread like notes combined with floral Czech hops create a beer that we go back for often and would be a close contender for the ideal desert island beer.

Popfuji, Brouwerij West

Can you tell we like delicate dry beers? Popfuji is a beer that has slowly been creeping up on us for over a year. While the first few batches sent to Colorado were good, the last three we have received have nailed the Kellerbier style and taken it from good to world class. A heavy hand is used with bittering hops in this beer giving it a refreshing finish that is complimented by leaving this pilsner unfiltered. Just one more reason to keep exploring the wonderful world of Lager.

Smile More? Anchorage Brewing Co.

Yes we all know Anchorage makes sours and barleywines, but they have been coming out with some insanely strong Hazy IPAs in 2021. Their ability to translate their brewing success into a whole new world of Hazy IPA is best shown off by this year’s Smile More? Double dry-hopped with the impossible to find Phantasm and Sabro, this beer is exactly what we were looking for in a Hazy IPA; large tropical fruit notes and a creamy mouthfeel that is simply hard to resist.

Long Snacks Peanut Butter Cup, Peculier Ales

Like many of our industry friends we believe pastry stouts are typically best served 4oz at a time, but we make an exception for Long Snacks Peanut Butter Cup. As Zac said, “I wanted to dislike this beer on principle, but it is sooooo good.” Peanut butter and chocolate dominate with a silky texture that hides its 11% ABV.

Culture Beverage’s Best Sellers of 2021

We often get asked what our ‘best sellers’ are and this is definitely a loaded question for a small distributor with less than three years under their belt and a constantly revolving portfolio. That being said we still wanted to show off our best selling offerings in 2021. We expect locally made beers like Urban Lumberjack from WestFax and Peculier Ale’s Hopportunity Knocks to move up the list quite significantly in 2022. To point out our product diversity at Culture Beverage, not ONE of these beers made up over 3% of our total sales, (take that Budweiser!) and the whole list is less than 15% of our sales. Hurray for supporting a wide range of products Colorado. We can’t wait to see what 2022 brings!

Top Selling Culture Beers of 2021

• Trial By Wombat, Thin Man

• Minkey Boodle, Thin Man

• Like Riding A Bike, Urban Roots

• Dig My Earth, Brouwerij West

• Picnic Lightening, Brouwerij West

• Braaaaaaains Series, Drekker Brewing Co.

• Bliss, Thin Man

• Things for Your Head Mango, Brouwerij West

• Ubahdank, New Glory Craft Brewery

• Sci-Fi Hamster Wheel, Thin Man

• Blueberry Spaceship Box, Superstition Meadery

• 10 Degree, Urban Roots

• Pills Mafia, Thin Man

• 305 Alive Series, Peculier Ales

• Urban Lumberjack, WestFax

Thanks again to all of our accounts and suppliers for their support in 2021. We couldn’t do this without all of you.

Cheers,

Xandy, Sheila, & Zac

WestFax Joins the Culture Family

Culture Beverage and WestFax Brewing Co. Team up For Colorado Distribution

Westminster, CO 11/8/21- Culture Beverage, an independently owned Colorado distributor, is proud to welcome WestFax Brewing Co, as their fifth Colorado producer to join their growing family of quality focused and independent breweries, meaderies, and cideries.

“We are so excited to welcome WestFax into the Culture family,’ said Culture Beverage Owner and GM Xandy Bustamante, “We love their beers like their best selling Urban Lumberjack Hazy IPA & delicious Colfax Cream Ale, but more importantly we love working with people like Anthony and Jackie Martuscello.”

WestFax Brewing Co, founded by Anthony and Jackie in 2016 started as a small taproom focused on their local neighborhood, but with the COVID-19 pandemic they adjusted their plans and began distributing their beers across the Denver Metro and quickly became surprised at the demand.

“We always loved our beers but we were shocked at how well they did at local liquor stores and bars once we started self-distributing during the pandemic,” said Anthony.

His wife Jackie began calling on local accounts and growing their brand across the state, but over the past year and a half demand quickly exceeded their ability to distribute their beers while running a brewery and balancing family.

“Culture seemed like an obvious fit when we started thinking about distribution, they are a small family run operation just like us, and already carry some of the best brewers from across the country.  We felt they were a natural fit for us.’ Said Jackie.

Culture will begin expanding their distribution footprint outside of Denver and into Boulder, Fort Collins, the I-70 Corridor, and Colorado Springs starting this week.

“We have been growing rapidly the past three years and we are ready to help WestFax get to the next level.  With WestFax joining Peculier, Black Project, Primitive Beer, Fenceline, alongside our phenomenal imports and U.S. brands; we couldn’t be more excited for the future,” says Bustamante.

About Culture Beverage

Our mission at Culture Beverage is to bring beverages with soul to Colorado bottleshops, bars, and restaurants.  We represent some of the world’s most renowned and sought after breweries and cideries, and our team is dedicated to helping our customers and all Coloradans learn more about fermentation and drinking cultures from around the world.  www.culturebev.com for questions or interviews contact xandy@culturebev.com 

About WestFax Brewing Co.

Born on March 19th, 2016, in Lakewood, CO, WestFax Brewing Company was on a mission to artfully craft quality brews that everyone can enjoy in our Colorado community. Our goal is to “Liberate Beer” by creating beer we think would be delicious, which at times means combining flavors others wouldn’t dare to do. We spend less time concerning ourselves with whether a beer meets a style guideline and more time on crafting beer of the highest quality and, most importantly, that tastes delicious. www.westfaxbrewing.com for questions please contact Anthony@westfaxbrewingcompany.com

An Interview with Primitive Beer

Méthode Traditionnelle comes to Culture

We sat down for a long chat with Primitive Beer, a spontaneous fermentation side project from Lisa Boldt (Odd13) and Brandon Boldt (Four Noses/Wild Provisions). We wanted to learn more about what makes Primitive so special and share why we are happy to bring them on as the newest member of the Culture Beverage Family.

Why start a brewery in one of the countries most competitive craft beer markets?

We’re in good company here! Even before starting Primitive Beer, we chose our migration to Colorado to experience the Beer Renaissance in “real time” at its epicenter. The abundance of craft breweries creating world class beer have fostered a feverish passion for creative fermentations, an accelerated exchange of ideas within the industry, and a highly educated consumer base. The spirit of healthy competition encourages us to rise to the challenge to meet the expectations of fellow brewers and consumers and perform our best work. Additionally, given our ethos for sourcing/supporting local ingredients and developing an authentic terroir, Colorado agriculture supports the growth of the barley, wheat, hops, and fruits that comprise the structure of our beers.

The koelschip at Primitive Beer.

Tell us what makes your beer different from other spontaneous projects and breweries?

There are only a handful of breweries concentrating on spontaneous beer (it’s a fool's errand that demands immense time and patience) and to our knowledge, we’re the only spontaneous beer brewery focused exclusively on Méthode Traditionnelle for the rules that govern our production and aging techniques. In other words, our goal was to create Lambic blendery outside of the traditional appellation (and therefore cannot be called Lambic). We believe in the history and tradition of lambic and therefore give it the utmost respect by following the specific guidelines that have been honed over the last couple centuries. 

You have an interest, specifically, in the history of lambic - what sparked this?

We were (pre-COVID) avid beer travelers! We believe the best way to get to know a new place  is by the handmade foods and drinks that people are passionate about. When visiting Belgium we were able to tour and taste some truly fantastic Lambic and G(u)euze that pair so perfectly with the local fare. It was during these times that we got to meet and talk to people from the region and learn what makes Lambic (as a beverage and especially as a culture) special, beyond the flavors and difficult brewing process. The rich traditions and history as well as the familial pride in Lambic production for generations really spoke to us. It is a form of fermentation genuinely connected to time and place and that speaks to the importance of skill and technique. As a beverage, no two batches can be identical, despite the use of blending to “close the gap”, and these fermentations have the potential to evolve and change continuously. As brewers and drinkers, Lambic is the one style that never seems to lose it’s mystical allure.

Who are some of your influences? What are your favorite beers?

Our main influences are, not shockingly, in Belgium. Lambic producers that have been running family breweries and barrel houses for generations are so fascinating to us. We love Oud Beersel, Girardin, Cantillon, 3 Fonteinen, and Boon, to name some of our “go-tos”. Some of the newer kids on the block in Lambic production/the up-and-coming experimental producers very much speak to our spirit as young brewers and blenders; this group includes De Cam, Antidoot, Bokke, and Tilquin. 

For American breweries and blenderies that were a huge influence on our journey we look to Allagash, Jester King, The Referend, and De Garde. Allagash and Jester King paved the way for a koelschip- and spontaneous-focused brewery to exist. The Referend and De Garde are two places a lot like us, focusing solely on spontaneous beer and sticking to it! We’re excited to see how they, like us, grow and evolve. 

Another batch naturally carbonating.

Describe your consumer, who buys your beer?

Our customers are the best! We’ve been blown away by the support of people who love “AmLam,” koelschip beers, and all things tart, funky, fruity, and oaky. In the beginning, we grew our consumer base exclusively through bag-in-box, uncarbonated, young beers, which selectively pressured a group of adventurous fermentation fanatics from all walks of previous beer experience. We are so grateful to our customers, and have been perpetually impressed with peoples’ readiness to be open-minded and try something new. The addition of bottle conditioned, sparkling, aged spontaneous blends has only made the fandom stronger and a bit more widespread, with a product and format that fits in with the greater understanding of “beer”.

Where do you see your products in a liquor store? What do they add to a store?

We represent the terroir of Colorado and have blended toward our own tastes. While we are not a replacement for Belgian gueuze and lambic on a bottle shop shelf, we add another value with the flavors of Colorado, highlighting our state’s incredible agricultural gems, and our own blending preferences. Similarly, our products can sit unassumingly on shelves, gathering dust, only getting better with time evolving gracefully, patiently awaiting a new home.

Why is your beer expensive?

We make no secret about what goes into our beer. We buy locally grown grains (Arnusch Farms), malted in Fort Collins (Troubadour Maltings), hops from the mountains (High Wire Hops), and fruit from Hotchkiss (Deer Tree Farm). These high quality ingredients are not the cheapest option, but we feel strongly about supporting our state’s agriculture and our friends’ respective businesses. Building these relationships is as valuable to us as the beer we’ve been able to produce. The youngest beer we ever released was aged nine-months and the oldest will be our three-year blend (with a Golden Blend to follow). Barrel aging to this extent is accompanied by necessary destruction of product (bad barrels get the boot!) and requires a range of resources in addition to time (which we’ve been told is money) and climate control. All that being said, we believe that beer, in all forms, should be an affordable beverage and available to all. We chose price points that we believe are fair to our customers and reflective of the costs of making our favorite weird beers. 

Every one of their beers spends time maturing in oak barrels, with the goal of having most releases be blends averaging over three years.

Desert Island style, desert island brewery go:

I mean….I think its gotta be a young bag-in-box lambic. Probably the boxes from Oud Beersel. Maybe our desert island can get one of their dispenser fridges so we can have two bag-in-boxes on tap??? Please?!

What gets you excited? What are you pumped up for?

We love that people are adding koelschips to their breweries in droves... or at least a couple here and there, and it’s EXCITING! While koelschips can be implemented for the production of numerous historic styles of beer, given these vessels were used in nearly all breweries before the advent of modern cooling techniques, more brewers will now have the option to try their hands at the production of spontaneous beers. In other words, the proliferation of koelschips means that we’ll have more options for drinking unique and delicious spontaneous fermentations sooner than later, which is a prospect to which we can raise a glass!

Why did you decide to work with us as opposed to another distributor?

We love Culture Beverage’s approach to the smaller breweries of Colorado. You understand that we don’t have year-round beers, seasonal rotators, and/or a holiday ale. It’s a special company that can let its clients dictate the direction of releases and availability. Working with a large distributor with dozens and dozens of brands just wouldn’t be a good fit for us - we are sooo needy!! Furthermore, as an extension of Shelton Brothers distribution for Colorado, your knowledge of our exact niche and inspiration is unparalleled. We’ve heard a distribution partnership can be a lot like marriage, which is founded on trust and mutual respect.  

Where do you see primitive and your beers in a few years? What is the end goal?

We’re excited to see how the characteristics of our beers change over the coming years. We’ve already seen changes in our overall terroir and are loving the direction things are going. It’s been fun to blend to our tastes, which are also always changing. As far as the end goal, for us it’s about the journey. We are not sure what the future will hold, be we are confident about facing it together as a team!  

To learn more about Primitive Beers check out their website or follow them on instagram.

Culture will be starting with two fruited two year bottled blends; Maximum Hijinx and Harbored in the Fuzz as well as boxes of Lean into the Chaos and Eternity of Gibberish.