Science guys brewing at former Ursula location at Anschutz campus

By the Thirst Team

Andrew Bergeron and Robert Bessett launched Milieu Fermentation last year in Aurora’s former Ursula Brewing location. The brewery focuses on lagers and oak barrel-aged beers, but also crafts a wide range of other styles, as well as other fermented drinks, including hop water, hard tea and hard kombucha.

Class of 2024
We are closing out 2024 with profiles of a few new breweries that opened this year.

The taproom hosts yoga, live music and the Aurora Comedy Show, and the brewers regularly host collaborations with other Colorado breweries.

After a few months in business, we asked Bergeron some questions about his brewery.

Why did you start your brewery?

It was always our dream to open up a brewery together and once Rob completed the Fermentation Science program at CSU, we knew it was only a matter of time. There are plenty of excellent breweries in Colorado, but we wanted to make our own mark; not only create an inviting space that we’d want to hang out in but encourage beer enthusiasts to explore the bounds of what the fermentation process can deliver. That’s actually how we landed on the name, milieu fermentation (pronounced mil-you). “Milieu” speaks to the social environment, or vibe, of the taproom and “fermentation” celebrates all the different brews we will offer outside of beer: hop water, hard tea, hard kombucha and non-alc versions as well!

What makes your beer unique?

Our beers are unique not because of the composition of our recipes, high quality of our raw ingredients, or our attention to details in the brewery, but what is unique are the people involved in our little brewery, the passion that we have for our craft, and the community that has developed around milieu.

Milieu's Be Dope hazy IPA — Milieu’s flagship Be Dope hazy IPA

What’s on tap?

Be Dope is our flagship hazy IPA and a taproom favorite. The beer celebrates a larger than life, dear friend of the brewery who unexpectedly passed away late last year. He unapologetically lived life by the words “Do Dope Shit” and encouraged his loved ones to do the same: go on that next adventure, take the scary risk, don’t take a single moment for granted and treat everyone you meet with unparalleled kindness. In other words, Be Dope. To honor his tenacity for life and giving spirit, proceeds from Be Dope are donated to a different charity each month. It’s one of the most important beers and initiatives we’re proud of.

What has been the biggest surprise of your first months in business?

We always knew creating the right taproom milieu for guests was important, but we’ve been blown away from the support from our local community in Aurora, as well as the greater craft beer community at large. Redesigning the space to establish our identity was our first priority. The vision was to create a modern and inviting environment to accommodate all of our customers’ needs: remote working, happy hour and late night. Every square inch of the taproom was updated with the help of our family and friends; we spent countless hours on the remodel with a purpose behind everything. And taproom guests have noticed. Whether they are newcomers or regulars, they consistently praise the aesthetic and say they love to spend time here. It means the world to us.

Any plans for 2025?

In 2025, milieu will continue to focus on nurturing the community we've grown through our taproom with our first mug club and more engaging events. We're excited to release new barrel-aged products to market later in the year.