Six months after opening, brewery near DIA attracts craft drinkers, artists, musicians

By Kyle Kirves

When your brewery is as close to the airport as Danico Brewing Co. is, the beer-flight puns come fairly easy. “Flight of hops before you hop a flight?” “Denver International Beerport – because that’s why you REALLY came.”

Or my favorite: “IPA till I DIA!” “

About Danico
The name Danico is a combination of the owners' names (Dan and Nikki) plus a “CO” for Colorado. It is located at 18490 E. 66th Ave., and opens at 10:30 a.m. seven days a week. The brewery closes at 10 p.m. on weekdays, 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 9 p.m. Sundays. Click here for upcoming events and more details.

“We get people all the time coming in from the airport with their luggage or their skis or their golf clubs,” says Nikki Harwood, co-owner and co-founder of Danico. “Sometimes they’re heading out, but more often they are coming into Colorado and are waiting for friends or to check in at their hotel.”

Imagine being in that position – one of the first faces to welcome you to your Colorado vacation is asking what beer they can get you. Now that’s Colorado hospitality!

Danico is just eight miles from DIA (more like four as the, uh, crow flies) making it a natural stop as people come and go through the Mile High region. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a hit with locals.

“This area,” Harwood says of the area along I-70 and east of I-25 that includes Reunion and DIA, “has been really super supportive. We hear all the time how grateful craft beer fans are to have something in the area, something more local. The community has been great.” She is quick to thank the regulars for the early and ongoing success.

Artists also are attracted to the new brewery. An eye-catching mural by a world-famous artist adorns the side of the building. And some of the most creative musicians in the area are already playing regular gigs in the spacious and welcoming taproom.

It is a success that, as it turns out, was far from guaranteed. But it is a good story of faith and perseverance and the sometimes unexpected aid that comes to the rescue.

“Starting a brewery when we did was really challenging,” Harwood says of Danico’s origin during the pandemic. “We’d secured funding and then, near the end, we heard ‘Well, we decided as a bank that we’re not really funding any food or beverage right now because of COVID.’”

Crushing? Yes. But the story, naturally, has a happy ending. Harwood cites some key financial consultation coming together, but also credits the fraternity of brewers in Colorado for their support.

“We had a lot of brewers say to us, sure, we can open our books to help you make the case. They were really supportive and great to work with,” she said.

Groundbreaking happened shortly thereafter, and the result is a truly beautiful space that is welcoming and elegant – a brewery emblematic of 21st century cool. It is a marvel to look at, but the signature piece is the mural by Nashville-based (and Littleton native) artist Kelsey Montague.

While her mural work appears all over the world, Kelsey is perhaps best known for her “wings” pieces – massive renderings of towering wings painted on exterior spaces in Nashville. They are interactive, and allow passersby to insert themselves between the wings and become a winged creature themselves, if only in photos.

Harwood is an avowed fan of Montague’s work.

“I've seen all the ones in Colorado, California, New York and Arizona and her work really speaks to me and makes me happy,” she said. ”When Dave (co-owner and co-founder Dave Lotierzo) and I were doing our initial design of the building we knew we had that mural wall out front, and we were talking about doing a music theme or something. And then I said, ‘I think I’ll ask Kelsey to do a mural there and he got behind that so I just reached out to her via her website.’”

Montague created a more floral landscape, appropriately replete with hop flowers and wheat stalks in colors that mesh magnificently with Danico’s motif. And part of the contract specified that Danico would make a beer just for Montague – a peach wheat that remains a staple in the Danico lineup.

A couple of musicians also are early supporters of the brewery. Acclaimed Denver indie pop band Pandas & People played the brewery’s grand opening last December, and has more upcoming gigs there on June 24 and July 15. And this Sunday brings Facebagel, aka Matthew White, a Golden-based singer-songwriter, didgeridoo player and percussionist.

People may go to a brewery because of the art outside, the ambience or music inside, but they likely stay – or come back – for the beer. Enter Chris Kennedy, formerly of Heretic Brewing in California. Harwood recruited Kennedy to be head brewer at Danico knowing that the proof of a brewery’s worth is in the tun, keg, and glass. Harwood and Kennedy had partnered previously in the brewing game. Kennedy brings years of California brewing experience to Danico and Harwood credits him with a lot of the innovation and experimentation that goes on there.

Harwood hopes that the success of Danico in the region will bring a few more breweries to the area as well to make the area a kind of mini-craft district. “I don’t know about you, but when I’m someplace new, I like to go to two or three breweries in the area and just try them all out,” Harwood says. Here’s hoping a few more in the region can take flight.