A brewery is not just about the beer but a sense of community, a sense of purpose. From the moment Red Leg Brewing Company owner Todd Baldwin opened his doors at his Forge Road location in Colorado Springs, he had a plan. A plan is important but as a business grows, the idea grows. Now moving into his next venture, which will encompass the opening of a massive new facility adjacent to Garden of the Gods, Baldwin sees a continued path.
“The business model was always crafted around being a great local community-oriented brewery and, at the same time, becoming the craft beer of the military, by distributing our beer on military bases across the world. That was spelled out from day one.”
When Baldwin got out of the Army, he had a desk job but was also homebrewing. “And then after a year or so of doing that, I just didn’t want to work for anybody else ever again.” At the time [2012], there weren’t as many breweries as there are today. “And back then, there were even fewer military/veteran-owned businesses out there.”
Looking Ever Forward
After establishing a loyal base, a distribution platform, and their staple of beers at their Red Leg Forge location, Baldwin was looking ever forward. He says they knew they had to expand at some point. The original brewery laws in Colorado Springs dictated that they had to locate in the manufacturing district. A change came, he says, with the Ivywild project coming online.
“I think the city started to change their view of what breweries could do, not only economically, but also from a community standpoint. And we really started looking at, ‘Well, maybe there is something different in our future than just a warehouse.’”
At that point, he said, they started looking at different expansion projects, “Things that were important to me personally.” Baldwin wanted to find a project or a space which was more than just beer. “We really wanted to develop a community space.”
When they could not find a pre-existing venue that encapsulated that, “we were able to purchase this piece of land that we’re on now and kind of hold onto it for a little while” before they moved forward in what would essentially be building a brewery from scratch.
More Than Just Beer
The new location (which cannot open as a brewery until the Forge location closes its doors because of license laws) had “everything we wanted.” It had bike trails and “a really, really large access road [for Garden of the Gods] that a lot of people travel on.” They will be able to have outside food containers with other local establishments. “And then the event/music/all-around space was important. So, you didn’t have to come to Red Leg just for beer. You could come here and enjoy a lot of different things. I think we were able to accomplish that.”
But building a new brew system is not an easy job. “It is not as simple as one-to-one where you’re just making twice as much, now just add twice as much. It doesn’t really work that way. So yes, it’ll take a little time for us to get everything redialed in.”
Baldwin says the good thing about the new facility is that everything that they spent money on – the entire facility has an $11 million price tag – is all toward quality control. “We bought a brew system from arguably the best manufacturer of brew systems in America. It is important to us to buy American-made, and we did that. We have a centrifuge here now.”
They will also have a laboratory to test their product the entire way throughout the system as well as being able to do pilot and small batch brew experiments.
A Singular Commitment
Baldwin has a singular commitment to making Red Leg great. “For me, the personal and business are one and the same. At some point in your business, [you have to surrender] that you are that business, and that business is you. You almost morph into it. There’s no days off. There’s no holidays.”
He says that it is amazing to be able to create jobs for folks. “And I’m a firm believer that community cultures are defined and maintained by a small business community.” He says that Colorado Springs is kind of in an interesting renaissance of sorts, even as money from outside sources is flowing into it.
“I think it’s important to continue the conversation: To make sure people understand when projects like ours … there aren’t a lot of $11 million projects going off in our city that are done by local small businesses trying to grow.”
Baldwin lives in Colorado Springs. His employees live in Colorado Springs. “And we’re doing everything we can to raise our employees’ standards of living, of quality, of life, of insurance. I mean, the whole thing kind of comes full circle.”
And from a military standpoint, it is extremely important for him to root himself and his business in a military town. “But also that wasn’t everything that we are about though that is a really important part of our business. We sell our beer on military bases across the country. But at the same time, we want to be that community project that everyone comes to.”
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