Located at 147 N. 1st St in Montrose, Silver Basin Brewing opened its doors three years ago. For owners Bob Ross and Shauna Mikelich, this is a new phase of their careers. Ross was a paramedic (flight medic) for 35 years. Mikelich graduated with a degree in geophysics and spent several winters (their summer) in Antarctica. Eventually she landed on the Western Slope in the restaurant industry. She got her brew training at the Ouray Brewery & Restaurant.

“Given our love of beer, it’s probably fitting that we met a Horsefly Brewing Company on a blind date,” says Mikelich. “We were both still working two jobs when we got word the 2 Rascals Brewing Company was wanting to sell its operation. We jumped at the chance!”

Silver Basin Brewing at 147 N. First St. (Jen Wolfe for the MBT)

The pair named the operation Silver Basin Brewing because it is their favorite place to go jeeping in the San Juans. Their logo has the Silver Basin skyline and a jeep on it, to reflect their love of the outdoors.

The Challenges

“Our biggest challenge getting started had to be that we were both working full time jobs for six months after buying the place,” says Ross.

“That and getting the word out that we are here,” Mikelich adds. “We’re guessing three-quarters of Montrose and the surrounding area still has no clue we exist. We are just a block off Main Street and Townsend and easy to find, but not on the main drags through town.”

“After three years of operation, our biggest challenge these days is inflation,” says Mikelich. “Credit card processing fees have gotten outrageous and although most of our materials are sourced right here in the U.S., we do brew many German-style beers, and those hops are sourced from Germany. We also expect our liquor prices to rise with the tariffs. In fact, we’ve already seen our tequila prices (sourced from Mexico) rise by a couple of dollars per bottle.”

The taproom at Silver Basin Brewing. (Jen Wolfe for the MBT)

Silver Basin is combatting the credit card processing fees by encouraging cash payments with incentive discounts. They also intend to find new sources for hops right here in the U.S., probably taking advantage of the great hops grown by the local growers Billy Goat Hop Farm located just south of Montrose.

Brewing Great Beer

Craft brewing takes many steps, and both Mikelich and Ross, who is now also a brewer, are proud of their unique flavors. There are actually lots of interim steps than those listed below, but to simplify the process, here is the process of brewing great craft beer.

“Every beer we brew has a different grain profile. Our grains are sourced from growers in the U.S.,” says Ross. “The dried grain is soaked in water which starts the growth process in the kernel then the ‘sprouted’ grain is dried in kilns/ovens to varied levels of roastedness. The sprouting converts the starches in the grain to sugars. After drying/roasting it’s bagged and shipped to brewers.”

“The grain is stored on our second floor, where the grinding takes place. Brewers grind the grain to allow access to the sugars in the kernels,” says Mikelich. “Ground grain is fed into the mash ton with hot water. The resulting liquid creates a sugar concentrate and is the beginning of the wart. The wart is then fed into the kettle for the boil and hops are added at different intervals: different hops are used for bittering, flavor and aroma. Our biggest beer, the Western Slope, has 7 different types of hops.

“After boiling the wort is run through a heat exchanger and sent to the fermenter where the yeast awaits,” says Ross. “The yeast eats the sugars and creates alcohol and CO2, and ferments for 5 to 14 days depending on the type of beer (ale vs Pilsner/lager). From the fermenter it goes to the serving tank where it is carbonated with CO2. And finally … we have a delicious beer!”

Currently, Silver Basin Brewing offers the following beers:

• Summertime Pilz – A crisp American style pilsner with light fruit notes.

• Honey Blonde – English style Blonde Ale brewed with local honey from Montrose, Colorado.

• Honey Brown – Full, malty-rich flavor, lightly hopped with a honey finish.

• Silver Stout – Deep, rich malty with caramel and chocolate notes.

• English IPA – A well-balanced malty and hoppy English style IPA.

• Western Slope IPA – A well-balanced malty and hoppy English style IPA.

Silver Basin also has a full bar and soft drinks.

“My favorite beer has always been a great Guinness Extra Stout,” says Ross. “That is why my favorite of our own offerings is the Silver Stout.”

“My favorite beer is a ginger beer brewed in a bar in Christchurch, New Zealand. I’ve never found anything that tasted like it,” says Mikelich. “We had a stopover of a couple weeks before heading to Antarctica and I found the place on my first trip. Sadly, the last earthquake they had wiped out the bar. As for our brews, I’m also fond of our Silver Stout.”

This summer, Ross intends to experiment and create a blueberry cider as well as an orange peel IPA. Stay tuned!

Silver Basin Events

“As beer lovers, we plan our vacation stops around breweries for lunch and dinners,” says Mikelich. “We’ve learned a lot about what is popular in other places and have brought some of those ideas to our operation.”

“Since Colorado seems to be a state where you absolutely have to own a dog, we have a dog friendly patio that our patrons and their pooches love,” says Mikelich. “In summer, the patio is appropriately shaded by hops vines.”

Here’s the Silver Basin lineup of events:

• The first and third Thursdays of every month are Trivia Nights.

• Every Wednesday is Bingo Night.

• Two Comedy Nights during the summer.

• A Hot Wing Contest during the summer.

For Parties and Special Events

Silver Basin Brewing (the bar as well as the patio) are available for rent for special events, parties, wedding receptions and more. Customers can enjoy the bar snacks, hot dogs and pizza provided by Silver Basin, or bring in their own catering.

The owners plan to add a large pizza oven this summer for pizza and beer nights.

Learn More

Follow Silver Basin Brewing on Facebook or Instagram and they’ll let you know what special events are coming up!

Jen Wolfe is a freelance contributor for the Montrose Business Times.