Meet Sam Nicholson | Co-Owner, Head Brewer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sam Nicholson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sam, what do you attribute your success to?
Our little brewery in Lakewood, Colorado, has seen double-digit growth the last 2 years in a row in a time when the brewing industry has seen a lot of decline as a whole. One of our biggest factors to that is how much we engage with our community and find opportunities to be a gathering place for the people who are our neighbors.

We make a point to partner with nonprofits in our area like The Action Center by providing them a beer for their annual fundraising dinner or the Lakewood Symphony as our quarterly partner and raise funds through a portion of our beer sales and collecting donations from customers. Partner that with the active role we’ve played with local organizations like the Lakewood Business Association and Alameda Connects, we have an opportunity to connect with a large portion of our community. Early in 2025, just a couple of months before our brewery’s 6th anniversary, we even led the charge for the City of Lakewood to officially declare January 21 as 121 Day, celebrating the business along the Highway 121 Corridor (and the namesake of our brewery).

Community is truly at the center of everything we do.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Not only do we create award-winning beers at Old 121, but our connection to our patrons really sets us apart. When we set out to grow the brewery, we used both Katie’s (my wife and business partner) and my backgrounds as stepping stones for that growth. Katie has long worked in nonprofits, creating relationships and building engaging events and I have a background in marketing from CPG to alcohol and even medical companies.

We took the jump to go head-first into the brewery and help it grow. The first year of ownership we both maintained full-time 9-5 jobs while running the company. That changed about 12 months in when I went full-time at the brewery and left my marketing career behind. It was definitely scary to take the jump, but the extra focus on the business has paid off in a big way.

We aren’t just a brewery making beer for people, but creating a space for members of the community to gather. And behind all of that is a crazy amount of passion and hard work to make it happen. That energy we bring translates out to our staff as well, making every person who walks in the door feel comfortable and welcome.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Lakewood doesn’t get a lot of of love in the Denver Metro area for having a rich array of places to eat, drink, and enjoy, but that’s far from the truth. If someone was coming out, we first have to think about the other breweries that are in the area. There are 5 other breweries in our community that are also award-winning like Green Mountain Brewing and Westfax.

We have some incredible Italian food here as well. We would most likely take friends for Italian sandwiches at Carmine Lonardo’s or pizza at Pizzeria Leopold. For more delicious local fare, we would visit Brockmeyer’s, Kickin’ Chicken, or T Street Roadhouse. Wrapping up the day we’d reserve a table at the world-famous Casa Bonita and grab cocktails at Ballmer Peak Distillery.

As far as entertainment, Roller City has been a staple of the city for years and we would definitely go for a hike at Green Mountain or Bear Creek Lake State Park.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We were not the original founds of Old 121 Brewhouse back in 2019. Brett and Karla Zahrte started the brewery and were our mentors as we joined the craft beer community. Sam interned as a brewer with Brett just a few months after the brewery opened its doors. Funny enough, when Katie and I bought our first home together in Lakewood, we wanted to celebrate by going to the nearest brewery. Turns out that was Old 121 and we walked in the doors the very first day they were open.

We wanted to continue what they started when we took over the brewery in September of 2022. We kept a lot of the original beer recipes, kept the same name, and wanted to continue the relationships that had been built through Old 121.

Website: https://old121brewhouse.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/old121beer/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/old121beer