COLORADO SPRINGS — A local brewery in Colorado springs celebrated their “Beer-versary” by opening their taps to the competition.

“We had just a fun time each day. Started Thursday night. Invited all the breweries in town to come, participate, do stuff. Then Friday was the DJ which was kind of different. Never had a DJ in a brewery but it was fun,” said co-owner and co-founder Leif Anderson.

There is plenty of space on the back patio to enjoy a beer and food from the nearby food truck. Credit: Rachel Saurer

Their own playlist may have started off a bit flat, opening in March of 2021 right in the middle of the pandemic, but owners said it may have given them a bit of a headstart.

“In some ways that gave us a good advantage to knowing what we were going to open to. It would have been really hard to open right before COVID and then try to navigate that and change business structure as that progressed,” said Bryan Close, co-owner and co-founder of Mash Mechanix Brewery.

It wasn’t always their plan, though, to open during 2021. In fact, the owners said they were originally aiming to open in 2020, but the pandemic quickly put a halt to that. So, they sat on it for a year, brewing beer and brewing ideas.

The brewery has 15 taps on hand. Credit: Rachel Saurer

“We had a whole extra year to get things done,” Anderson said.

Some of those ideas came in the form of a make-your-own seltzer bar, which they said was their wives’ idea.

“You can have as much flavor or as little flavor… you can do margarita flavor you can do Pina coladas… whatever you like. And in the summers we do slushies as well so it is a very popular item,” Close said.

Of course, they also carry a variety of beer brewed in house. They say they have enough to choose from to suit the taste of any beer drinker.

“Our motto is ‘a beer for everyone’. We have everything from a light American Lager to your Hazy IPAs,” Anderson said.

Mash Machinax Brewery said they pride themselves on being a brewery that can suit almost any taste. Credit: Rachel Saurer

But they said they couldn’t have opened when they did if it hadn’t been for the consistent business since day one.

“Being able to open and watching the community come together for a place to gather,” said Kevin Olsen, co-owner and co-founder of the brewery.

“Come on down, have a great time, be part of our family,” Close added.