Provided by Bierstadt Lagerhaus
It’s been a good month for the team at Denver’s Bierstadt Lagerhaus.
Fresh off its gold medal win at the recent Great American Beer Festival for its Japanese rice lager Infinite Hotel collaboration with Wayfinder Beer, co-founder and head brewer Ashleigh Carter was just named Brewer of the Year by Food & Wine magazine’s 2026 Drinks Visionary program.
Now in its second year, F&W’s Drinks Visionaries recognizes the most influential and forward-thinking voices in the beverage world, as nominated by industry leaders and selected by the magazine.
“It means so much to me to receive any honor, but it’s even more impactful to be recognized by my industry peers,” says Carter. “Since our opening, we’ve made it a point to brew traditionally-inspired beers and leave the pressure of following trends behind, honoring both the timeless styles and still exploring what lager means to us. I’m so grateful that our industry continues to appreciate our mission and that we have been able to inspire so many other incredible brewers in their own journeys.”
The publication highlights Bierstadt’s flagship Slow Pour Pils, a lager that famously takes seven minutes to pour.
“The American craft brewing industry is awash in India pale ale, big hoppy brews teeming with bold flavors that have a strong but fickle consumer following,” the feature reads. “Yet brewers of all stripes gravitate to lagers when it’s their time for happy hour. And when they want to drink and to learn, they come to Bierstadt — Carter is considered one of the most gracious mentors in the business.”
It also gives high praise to the brewery itself, noting “many in the industry consider her cavernous brewery on Blake Street, down the road from Coors Field, the official center of the craft beer universe.”
Provided by Bierstadt Lagerhaus
We tend to agree. Our recent Ultimate Guide to Denver’s Best Breweries names Bierstadt Lagerhaus as one of the highlights. The RiNo brewery, known for its 35-barrel all-copper German brewhouse built in 1932 and flown in from Germany, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Over the years, Carter has become an industry leader, mentoring newcomers to the brewing business and traveling the world to publicly speak, judge competitions and consult.
“I only want to be really good at a couple of things,” Carter says in the F&W profile. “I wasn’t enamored with trying to come up with a new recipe every week. I don’t like the idea of not being able to dial something in. I like doing the same thing over and over and over again, and lager lends itself to that.”
Bierstadt Lagerhaus is located at 2875 Blake St., open from 2 to 10 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, noon to midnight on Friday and Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, visit bierstadtlager.com.
