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

Hi Stephen, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I always knew I would open a brewery one day, working for myself has been a life goal of mine. I made a 20 year goal when I first started homebrewing and fell in love with the craft. I beat it by 3 years, but a lot of things had to line up for it to happen

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?
We are a paperless, sustainability-focused nano brewery featuring local ingredients, including 100% Colorado grown and malted grain, and 100% Colorado yeast. We incorporate as many upcycled materials as possible into our taproom design, and have our own in-house composting program. We donate 1% of all sales to a charity we started a couple of years ago, Brew Like a Girl Scholarship Fund. Our beer design focuses on using local ingredients from a variety of farmers/beekeepers/foragers around Colorado

I can say my success today is built around the depth of my experience, not just in building breweries and production brewing, but also gaining a deep understanding of hospitality management through 23 years in the industry and really embracing the true essence of hospitality in a post-covid world where higher levels of service have significantly dropped especially in the brewing industry.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Tourist Stuff- Meow Wolf, Casa Bonita, Botanic Gardens
Best Restaurant – UCHI or Barolo Grille
Breweries – Cerebral, Cannonball Creek, or Comrade for IPAs, River North for Stouts,

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My friends whom I met during my brewing program in Chicago/Germany, Siebel Institute of Technology. I have leaned on them the entire way, and in turn have gotten to a place where I can dispense with some advice of my own occasionally

Website: https://www.monolithbrewing.com

Instagram: @monolithbrewingco

Facebook: @monolithbrewingco

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/monolith-brewing-denver

Image Credits
Stephen Monahan (Owner/Brewer)
Mckinna Dowson (Bartender)

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