About Us

A locally owned and operated brewpub, Big Trout Brewing offers a wide selection of craft beers, tasty bites and a comfortable environment. We are located at Cooper Creek Square in downtown Winter Park next to the Winter Park Transit Center on the bottom level of the parking garage overlooking the courtyard. Enjoy some drinks inside our spacious open brewery or sit outside on our patio and take in the fresh air and warm sunshine.

Family brewery in Winter Park CO

How Did We Get Here?

Owners, Tom and Emily Caldwell, have been proud members of this amazing community since 2006 and are eager to give something back by way of delicious libations. We started working on a plan to start our own brewery in the spring of 2017, with the passion for brewing delicious beer, the desire to give something back to Grand County and provide for our growing family. As we dove into the business plan and started tossing around names, Tom was walking into daycare with our daughter, who was 2 years old at the time, and asked “What do you think about Trout Brewery?” To this, our budding angler responded, without hesitation, “No daddy, BIG Trout Brewery.” And so, it was. We officially opened the brewery on June 12, 2020.

Who Makes the Beer?

Co-owner, Tom Caldwell, has been professionally brewing since 2009, when he started at the Grand Lake Brewery. He was hired to bottle beer and his skills were quickly identified and he was brewing with the brew master in no time. It is clear, to all those who have ever had Tom’s beer, that he not only has the passion for brewing beer, but also possesses an intuition for crafting what we all want to drink. In addition to beers, Tom is excited to eventually offer some craft sodas.

What’s the Big Deal?

brewhouse

We have invested in a state-of-the-art brewhouse through IDD, a brewery equipment company out of California, called a High Efficiency Brewing System (HEBS). The HEBS utilizes a Mash Filter which offers several environmental and operational efficiencies of which we are proud.

First, the Mash Filter reduces water waste by 20-30%. Sitting at the headwaters to the Colorado River, one of the most endangered rivers in North America, we believe reducing our water usage and waste is extremely important.

Second, the mash filter increases our extraction rate to roughly 98%, compared to a standard system extraction rate of 75-80%. This means we can get the most out of our grain and can use 10% less per batch.

We are excited to be able to do our part for the environment, the rivers we love to fish and this wonderful community. We are proud of our product and proud of the companies we support, like American Keg, the only American keg company producing kegs right here in the USA with American steel, IDD, which produced our brewhouse out of California, and Forgeworks, which produced our tanks in Colorado.

Beer on tap at Big Trout Brewing
Brewery tour in Winter Park CO

Big Trout in the Community

We believe in giving back to the community whenever possible. Since our opening, we have selected certain beers where we donate a percentage of the proceeds to a local non-profit. Here is a list of donations we have been able to make with your help!

2023 Donations: $6,441 + in-kind donations

  • $300 to the High Country Stampede Rodeo
  • $1,100 to the East Grand Volunteer Firefighters Fund
  • $2,160 in Beer Donated to the Winter Park Competition Center for Bike Races
  • $120 to East Grand School District
  • $100 to Fraser Valley Hockey Association
  • $500 to Grand Kids Learning Center
  • $600 to Grand Concerts
  • $761 to Grand County Search and Rescue
  • $800 to Scott Ciufo ALS Fund

2022 Donations: $7,300 + in-kind donations

  • Mountain Family Center, Giving Tree fundraiser – $2,460 ($1,230 raised by customer donations, with a Big Trout match of $1,200)
  • Fraser Elementary School PAC, dining night fundraiser – $500
  • Headwaters Center River Journey Museum – $500 (Q2 Rick Stout sales)
  • Grand Kids Learning Center, Dining Night fundraiser event – $450
  • Grand Kids Learning Center for 2022 Fall Festival & Bert & Ernie Golf Tournament Sponsor – $450
  • Grand Concerts – $1,000
  • Shining Stars Foundation – $1,010
  • Mountain Family Center – $930 (2021 Q3 + Q4 Rick Stout sales, donated in 2022)
  • $3,300 In-Kind Donations including, but not limited to, gift cards and gift baskets donations to various fundraisers and events

2021 Donations: $6,854 + in-kind donations

  • Headwaters Trails Alliance – $375
  • Grand Kids Learning Center, dining night fundraiser – $357.88
  • Grand Foundation – $4,100
    – Grand County Wildfire Emergency Fund, East Troublesome Pale Ale sales
  • Grand Foundation Brammer Family Fund, Pilates and Pints event – $350
  • Church of Eternal Hills Project 2020 – $741.35
  • Grand Concerts – $400
  • In-Kind Donations including, but not limited to, gift cards and gift baskets to various local non-profits such as Headwaters Land Trust and Grand Kids Learning Center. In addition, Big Trout donated 1 Half Barrel to Paralympian Patrick Halgren to support his team, 3 Half Barrels to the Annual Headwaters Trout Unlimited Banquet and 5 Half Barrels to the First Annual East Troublesome Fire Memorial.

2020 Donations: $3,481 + in-kind donations

  • Colorado State Fire Fighter’s Foundation, via Fight Fire with Beer campaign (related to East Troublesome Fire) – $2,004
  • Grand Foundation – $738.52
    – General Donation from pre-opening Web Sales – $53
    – General Donation from Pint Day 2020 – $66
    – Grand County Wildfire Emergency Fund – Rick Stout sales – $619.52
  • In-Kind Donations including, but not limited to, gift cards and gift baskets to various local non-profits such as Headwaters Land Trust and Grand Kids Learning Center.

Proud Business Members of Trout Unlimited