A selection of beer available at Ursula Brewery in Aurora on Oct. 13, 2016. (Anya Semenoff/The Denver Post)
Scott Procop is getting out of the brewery business. But he’s not going far away.
The owner of Ursula Brewery, which opened in 2014 next to the Anschutz Medical Campus, Procop decided this year that it was time to sell the brewery in order to focus on his family restaurant at 2100 Ursula St., Cedar Creek Pub, which is across the street from the brewery.
That happened this week, and the new owners, who he didn’t name, plan to reopen the brewery with a different name in early or mid-2024.
“I’ve been in the restaurant business for 34 years, so this is sort of like going back to my roots,” Procop said about turning his attention to Cedar Creek, which he opened in 2011 with his wife. “It was a good run (at Ursula). We did great, and this is the end of the story.”
The last few years have been harrowing for small brewery owners, who have dealt with the effects of the pandemic, rising costs for raw materials and supplies, and static beer sales in an industry that had been previously experiencing double-digit growth in the early and mid-2010s.
“Everyone is hurting,” he said about fellow craft beer breweries and taproom owners. As an example, Procop pointed to one of his most well-known and well-loved beers, Crustless, a peanut-butter-and-jelly porter, and an imperial version of the beer that was aged in bourbon barrels. “We used to have lines down the street of people waiting for that beer. Now it’s nothing.
“Brewing is a young man’s game, and I can’t figure it out anymore. I got to a point where I just wasn’t sure what to do next. But restaurants aren’t going anywhere.”
And that’s how Procop intends to continue supporting craft brewers in the future. Cedar Creek, which serves burgers, sandwiches, fish and chips, and other traditional pub food, has always had a wide selection of craft beers on tap as well and hosts rare beer tastings on occasion.
After Ursula closes, it will still have a few of the brewery’s beers on tap, and Procop said he’ll carry the new brewery’s beers in his restaurant as well if the new owners ask him to. (Procop would say only that it is a business group that hasn’t owned a brewery before.)
In the meantime, he’ll be working the bar at Ursula by himself until the brewery’s last day, Dec. 22. But not before he throws one final two-day party for the winter solstice. The annual fest is typically the release of the Sacred Fire, an imperial Scotch Ale. Procop also will have a hot poker by the fire to caramelize and warm the malty beer.
“We want to go out with a bang at the end as a thank you to our customers,” he said.
This story was originally published by The Denver Post, a BusinessDen news partner.
A selection of beer available at Ursula Brewery in Aurora on Oct. 13, 2016. (Anya Semenoff/The Denver Post)
Scott Procop is getting out of the brewery business. But he’s not going far away.
The owner of Ursula Brewery, which opened in 2014 next to the Anschutz Medical Campus, Procop decided this year that it was time to sell the brewery in order to focus on his family restaurant at 2100 Ursula St., Cedar Creek Pub, which is across the street from the brewery.
That happened this week, and the new owners, who he didn’t name, plan to reopen the brewery with a different name in early or mid-2024.
“I’ve been in the restaurant business for 34 years, so this is sort of like going back to my roots,” Procop said about turning his attention to Cedar Creek, which he opened in 2011 with his wife. “It was a good run (at Ursula). We did great, and this is the end of the story.”
The last few years have been harrowing for small brewery owners, who have dealt with the effects of the pandemic, rising costs for raw materials and supplies, and static beer sales in an industry that had been previously experiencing double-digit growth in the early and mid-2010s.
“Everyone is hurting,” he said about fellow craft beer breweries and taproom owners. As an example, Procop pointed to one of his most well-known and well-loved beers, Crustless, a peanut-butter-and-jelly porter, and an imperial version of the beer that was aged in bourbon barrels. “We used to have lines down the street of people waiting for that beer. Now it’s nothing.
“Brewing is a young man’s game, and I can’t figure it out anymore. I got to a point where I just wasn’t sure what to do next. But restaurants aren’t going anywhere.”
And that’s how Procop intends to continue supporting craft brewers in the future. Cedar Creek, which serves burgers, sandwiches, fish and chips, and other traditional pub food, has always had a wide selection of craft beers on tap as well and hosts rare beer tastings on occasion.
After Ursula closes, it will still have a few of the brewery’s beers on tap, and Procop said he’ll carry the new brewery’s beers in his restaurant as well if the new owners ask him to. (Procop would say only that it is a business group that hasn’t owned a brewery before.)
In the meantime, he’ll be working the bar at Ursula by himself until the brewery’s last day, Dec. 22. But not before he throws one final two-day party for the winter solstice. The annual fest is typically the release of the Sacred Fire, an imperial Scotch Ale. Procop also will have a hot poker by the fire to caramelize and warm the malty beer.
“We want to go out with a bang at the end as a thank you to our customers,” he said.
This story was originally published by The Denver Post, a BusinessDen news partner.
