Pop culture-themed brewery settles into Arvada shopping center
By the Thirst Team
Three former employees of SomePlace Else Brewing in Arvada opened their own business a little farther north in the same northwest suburb.
Alex Godfrey, Stephanie Ference Stone, and Shane Eskew debuted Stay Tuned Brewing this fall, and it replaces SomePlace Else’s pinball passion with a penchant for pop-culture.
Class of 2024
We are closing out 2024 with profiles of a few new breweries that opened this year.
A centerpiece and conversation piece at the new brewery is the DVD wall behind the 13 beer taps. The selection, as well as the beer names, reflect a particular soft spot for old-school comedies, with a Jessica Rabbit Red Ale, Vote for Pedro Mexican Lager and Water Boy seltzer line.
In fact, every beer is named after a movie, song or tv show. In addition to the homebrewed beers, Stay Tuned sells non-alcoholic beer and wine from Grüvi, as well as snacks and sodas. The owners also welcome guests to bring food from restaurants in the surrounding shopping center. They also invite film fans to stop in before or after a movie at the neighboring Spanish-language Sonora Cinemas, which shows both Latin American movies and first-run American blockbusters, dubbed or with subtitles.
We asked Stone for her thoughts on the brewery a few weeks after opening:
Why did you start your brewery?
Shane is a physical therapist and had been doing that for over 20 years. It is getting really hard on his body. He has always loved beer and brewing, and was a home brewer for years as a hobby. He and I shared a dream of one day owning a brewery and making excellent beer, so they decided 2 years ago to start planning, and here we are. We knew Alex from working together at a brewery in the past and we asked him if he was interested in coming on board and we are excited to have him!
What makes your beer unique?
I don't know that it makes our beers unique, but we strive to use really high-quality ingredients, and because we have the help of a great team around us, we are able to put our main focus as brewers and owners on making really good beer, while others are able to focus on the other important things of running a business like marketing.
What are your flagship beers?
Our Mexican lager "Vote for Pedro" and our west coast IPA "Mountain Mama" are our top beers so far. A lot of breweries will only have a Mexican lager on during summertime, but it's looking like we will keep ours on all year. We will also have our mainstay "Rump Shaker" hazy IPA on all year and at least one stout, a malty beer like a red or amber, and one of our lighter beers like our "Highway to Helles" helles lager and "Party On" bohemian pilsner. We like options when we visit breweries, so that's what we want to provide for our customers as well.
What has been the biggest surprise of your first months in business?
Not a surprise per say because we knew we were coming into a great community, but we are impressed by the support our community has given us so far, and we hope to be here for a long time because of that continued support! We also love seeing and hearing the conversations our custom tap wall prompts, it's been fun!
Any plans for 2025?
We are excited to see what 2025 brings. Along with continuing to plan fun events at the brewery, you'll likely see us at some beer festivals and maybe we'll try our hand at GABF in 2025. We are planning on doing some collabs with some of our favorite breweries. Our customers may see a front patio addition to our space in the summer as well, if all goes to plan. So, stay tuned!