Square Peg proposes brew tasting room

ALAMOSA — Two local residents hope to soon open a different kind of alcohol establishment in Alamosa — a tasting room.

Alamosa city council unanimously supported a liquor sales room license for Square Peg Brewerks LLC at 625 Main Street, Alamosa, two doors from San Luis Valley Brewing Company.

Co-owners Derek Heersink and Mark Martinez explained the concept to the council during a recent meeting. They said they hoped their business would complement other brewing operations in the area, such as their brew pub neighbor, and they are working with other brewers to highlight this new industry in the San Luis Valley.

“We are just brewing,” Heersink said, “not a pub, no food. All of our beer is our beer.”

Although folks will be able to buy a snack such as popcorn or bring in their own, the tasting room will not be an eatery, he explained.

“It’s different from a brew pub or tavern,” added Martinez. He said there would be no hard liquor at the business “and only our beer.”

He added, “We are not a bar … There’s a lot of nice eateries in Alamosa. Our main focus is beer.”

Heersink said there would be shuffleboard and some board games so folks could “hang out.”

Having applied for a wholesaler’s and manufacturer’s license from the state, the two will be focusing on distribution of their brews but will also host a tasting room where customers can buy individual drinks. They are planning to be open from about 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. and plan on having eight beers on tap with the brews rotated every couple of weeks. They would probably employ four or five people part time.

“This is a pretty good market for that type of thing,” Martinez said.

He said there are about 300 breweries in the state, but the majority of them are on the Front Range. He said he would like to see southern Colorado become a destination for things like brew festivals.

Alamosa City Attorney Erich Schwiesow said this was not a typical license but was very limited in scope. He added that the city does not approve this license — the state does — but the city’s role is simply to determine if the license would have any impacts on the city such as traffic or noise. The city also determines that the business would meet city zoning laws, which it does.

City councilors had no objections to the state issuing a license for Square Peg.

Heersink and Martinez said their application also met state requirements so should not have any problems being granted.

They said they have gone through TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures) training to provide responsible alcohol service. City Councilor Kristina Daniel said she was glad to hear the owners had gone through TIPS. She also commended them for cooperating with other brewers in the area and trying to put Alamosa and the San Luis Valley on the map for this industry.

“I would attend a beer fest in Alamosa,” she said.