Brent Baldwin, the owner of Veterans Wine & Liquor in Colorado Springs, knows that if people work together in the community to push local, especially craft beer and spirits, everybody wins. His approach is knowing what he likes, and understanding the supply chain but also knowing what his customers want and what the brewers and distillers can provide.
“I did seven years in the Army, and when I got out, I purchased my first liquor store. That was MK Wine & Liquor on the Powers corridor. When I sold that, I had the opportunity to open this new King Soopers location. I love our veterans and love the fact that I had the opportunity to serve and be a veteran. I thought it was important to be part of the community and to give back, and I think our name encompasses everything that we are.”
Beginning with the craft beer boom, Baldwin has seen the possibilities grow. “Colorado really encompassed – or I guess embraced – the craft beer market, and it was great to be part of it.” With his first store, he got to collaborate with New Belgium, who would come in, explain what their beer was, what they were brewing next, and how they wanted to partner with him. The way the three-tier system works in Colorado Baldwin says provides a system for small businesses to grow and prosper internally in the state as they can work directly with smaller stores if necessary. It allows different paths to the customer, both in building a customer base and also allowing growing companies to prosper when distribution avenues become available to them. This allows both local and regional brands to find their niche without being completely overwhelmed by out-of-state brands.
Connecting with Red Leg Brewing
A good example of Baldwin where it worked locally from the get-go was with Red Leg Brewing. When Red Leg first opened, some of Baldwin’s colleagues told him to go see Todd, Red Leg’s owner – also a Baldwin.
Brent went to the first location off Forge. Todd was in the back of the brewhouse, using what, at that time, was a tiny system. Todd said to Brent, “Hey, man, we’re going to do cans, and we’d love to sell them at your store since you’re right down the road.” Brent’s response: “I’ll take everything you can brew, man. We’ll get them in our stores and support you. I will talk about your brand and hand it to consumers and tell them who you are and what you’re about.”
Baldwin says to have that ability in this system is awesome, whereas if someone wants to get into King Soopers, it is a little more difficult (especially since they are headquartered in Texas) both in dealing with the parent company and the profit margins.
Baldwin says he doesn’t operate off huge margins but with the number of local products available, there is enough for everyone. Local brands he mentions include 3 Hundred Days of Shine, Red Leg, and Bell Brothers, who recently opened a brewery downtown on Tejon Street.
Baldwin is proud to say between Veterans, Patriots, Freedom, and Clicks Wine & Spirits [all of which are under his umbrella], they were able to take Bell Brothers’ whole first brew batch. “We had 15 cases a piece at each store, and now he’s doing a second batch, and we’re able to move the product through.” This way Baldwin is able to support these small businesses by giving them the opportunity to get on a shelf.
While he likes beers like Sam Adams and Yuengling, Baldwin says he’d rather see Colorado brands on the shelf. As far as his assessment of the new brewers: “They love brewing. Their passion for it … it’s phenomenal. I mean, you can taste the love that they put into these beers.”
He mentions Outer Range Brewing out of Frisco, Colorado as a perfect example. They didn’t have enough beer to sell outside of their brewery. When COVID hit, they had to shut down. They came to Baldwin saying, “Hey, would you partner with us?” “Absolutely. Bring us everything you have, everything you can brew. Keep it coming. And we’ll push it out. And if our stores can’t do it and you have too much, we’ll call other stores.”
Baldwin says they have great relationships with Weber Street, Jack, Cheers, and Newtons locally. “Sarah at Weber was a sales rep of mine before she bought that store. It’s not competition. It’s working together to basically allow each store to be able to survive, have good employees, offer good jobs, grow and to help grow these brands.”
Baldwin is a Fan of the Industry
Baldwin says he’s a big fan of the industry as a whole and that reflects in his selection at the store. “I’m a big fan of all beers. I don’t drink a ton of pale ales. I’ll try them, and I can definitely compare pale ales or lagers and say, ‘Yeah, I like this one a little bit better,’ or ‘Oh, yeah, you did a really great job on that.’”
Baldwin himself is a big IPA guy. “And I love sours. Just in the process of how they make them. Right now many sour beer makers are using Brettanomyces which is a bacteria for bottle conditioning so oxygen is minimal and less acidity is produced. “I am always interested in these processes. I guess I probably should have more knowledge in the brewing aspect of things. But I just let the brewer brew their beer.”
Spirits, especially artisan, Baldwin says, have been catching up to craft beers in recent years. The demographics of who drinks what have changed undeniably as well. “When I first got into this industry in 2006, when a customer would come in around the holidays, there was probably about an 85% chance, just one look at them and I know what they wanted. And I was pretty spot on. The industry has changed so much where now everybody drinks whiskey. Male or female. Everybody loves Pappy Van Winkle. Everybody loves Wellers.”
The Consumer is Undeniably Changing
The consumer, in Baldwin’s estimation, is undeniably changing, especially with the artisan whiskey explosion. “Everybody started drinking whiskey with everything underneath the sun. Now we’re to a point where it’s ‘How old is this? Where was it aged? Is it MGP? Are they sourcing? What’s the mash build? How much rye is in this? How much barley is in this? Have you had this?’ And if you can’t honestly answer those questions, you’ve lost your customer. Their expectations for spirits – it has basically passed over from beer to spirits now.”
It is a new world. Baldwin explains. “If you opened a liquor store [decades ago], the product kind of sold itself. We had the same brands for decades.” Baldwins says twenty years ago, the consumer would walk into a liquor store and get Jim Beam or Jack Daniels but now the consumers are expecting new brands. “They want to know what Axe & The Oak is doing differently. They want to know whether they’re buying it, or aging it in Colorado, or distilling it in Colorado. And it’s really awesome to see this market grow in that sense because it just bonds the industry.”
Baldwin says that the amount of good jobs that are being created is fantastic, citing specifically that New Belgium has done a phenomenal job because those associates, distributors, and sales reps are going out and promoting but they’re also getting a piece of the company at the same time. “They’re getting sales commissions and they’re able to build a life for themselves, around an industry that they love.” Baldwin says “it feels great to be part of that” continuing that one of the only reasons he has stayed in this industry for this long is to help these small businesses grow, and then help give back to our community.
