By Jessica Brovsky

Can quaffing a pint enrich your very being? The owners of Shine Restaurant & Gathering Place in Boulder believe so, but it goes well beyond simply producing good food and beer. Triplets Jill, Jessica and Jennifer Emich are committed to offering their guests healthy choices throughout the space.

Shine Brewing Co. is part of the Gathering Place and it’s nestled cozily on a side street in Boulder. One of the few women-owned breweries in Colorado, Shine employs head brewer Mike Kasian for the express purpose of creating great brews infused with rose quartz essence. His Ahimsa Gluten Free Ale won bronze at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival for Best Gluten Free Ale. “Ahimsa is Sanskrit for compassion,” says Jill Emich. “Every brew is infused with rose quartz essence to promote compassion, harmony and unconditional love.” It’s condensed into a liquid form and dropped into the brew directly, Kasian points out.

Shine’s creations go beyond beer. Non-alcoholic, herbal potions are created and infused with a variety of gemstones and flower essences. Each potion is meant to promote positive feelings. The room where the potions are brewed smells of herbs and spices and is almost completely shut out from the sounds of the rest of the Gathering Place.

The restaurant also participates and is heavily involved in sustainable practices and the “beyond organics” movement. The movement highlights the digestibility of certain food combinations over others as well as the ability of the body to properly and efficiently absorb all nutrients from the food source. Head Chef Jessica Emich has a master’s degree in holistic nutrition and graduated from the California Culinary Academy. The kitchen is 100 percent non-GMO, gluten free, and meat is grass-fed. “It’s directed at health,” Jessica said, “and taking extra care in the preparation of food.”

As for the Gathering Place, it provides space for dance, yoga and celebrations, such as business meetings and parties. A small room with high ceilings and warm wood walls and floors, the Gathering Place is located near the back of the restaurant, close to the brewery and potion brewing room.

For enthusiasts who can’t get enough of Shine’s approach to health, a cookbook will be released this spring called “Eat, Drink, Shine.” The book will feature paleo-friendly, gluten-free recipes.

-Jessica Brovsky will soon graduate from Metro State University of Denver
with a journalism degree.