California distiller’s Colorado outpost anchors major new outdoors complex

By Jay McKinney

With the San Juan Mountains towering on the horizon, the Uncompahgre River flowing through town, and fishing, hiking, or biking often taking precedence over work, Montrose is a stereotypical Colorado town.

After Grand Junction, it’s the second largest municipality on the Western Slope but it has maintained the small-town charm that people from all walks of life have fallen in love with.

For Shelter Distilling, this became part of the allure that led to their expansion to Montrose last May. In 2017, the distillery was founded in Mammoth Lakes, California, by brewers Jason Senior and Karl Anderson, along with Matt Hammer, who owned a coffee roasting business in town. Shelter’s original location remains a popular pitstop for adventurers in the Sierra Nevada Mountains as it offers beer, spirits and food. However, the distillery was looking for a new site to build a larger production facility and focus on distribution.

The Montrose location was suggested by Gavin Filarsky, who was the distillery’s original bartender and has since worked his way up to be the director of sales and revenue. Filarsky lived in Telluride for a season and thought Montrose would be a great town for expansion.

After exploring various locations across the country, Senior visited the town for the first time with his wife and they loved what they saw. Roughly two years later, Shelter Distilling opened within a large development named Colorado Outdoors, which has the tagline, “live where you work, work where you play.” The development along the Uncompahgre River includes a residential component along with various businesses and roughly 40 acres of open space.

“The location here on the river really sealed the deal because it allowed us to build a big building, have the production space we want for distribution but also have an attractive enough space for the restaurant and bar so we can do retail business too,” Senior says. Nothing beats a cold beer or tasty cocktail after a long day exploring in the nearby Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park or fly fishing on the river.

In addition to embracing the adventurous spirit of Colorado, another reason Montrose was an appealing location for the distillery was the high-quality mountain water and grain sourced from the San Luis Valley. Even before moving to Colorado, Shelter was using malt grown in the valley because of its quality. However, the distillery looks to source local ingredients as much as possible and that is much easier to do now.

Shelter Distilling was also able to secure a tasting room location within the Montrose Regional Airport thanks to fortuitous timing of a remodel. The Shelter tasting room opened months before the primary location (in October of 2023) and allowed the distillery to introduce its products to those traveling through the airport. It is still there today and can satisfy the hankering for a pre-flight cocktail.

“They were looking for a cocktail bar and the facility was just getting built so we figured what a great marketing opportunity to have our stuff in the airport for people to see when they come and go,” Senior says. “We put in a bid for it and won the bid. It was definitely a little early because we had to ship all the beer and spirits out from Mammoth Lakes.”

The primary location is fully operational, making it easier to supply the airport tasting room. While the larger facility will allow Shelter to accomplish its broader distribution goals, it is also an excellent addition to Colorado Outdoors that locals have embraced.

“Anytime you bring food and great drinks together in a really fun atmosphere, to me that’s a recipe for success and I think that’s exactly what the Shelter team has figured out,” says Heidi Dragoo, director of community relations for Colorado Outdoors.

Along with Shelter are a handful of other companies operating within the Colorado Outdoors development. The anchor tenant is Mayfly Outdoors, which is the parent company for popular fly- fishing brands such as Abel, Ross Reels, Airflo and Dyna-King. It makes sense for fly fishing brands to be located along a river but there are also other outdoor manufacturing businesses operating out of the space that fit in with the ethos of Colorado Outdoors.

Dragoo says there are a handful of essential support businesses as well. There is a Hotworx, which is a national franchise that offers infra-red sauna workouts, a company called Controlled Hydronics that handles various plumbing services, and a Fairfield by Marriott hotel. Presently, Colorado Outdoors also has two excellent restaurants: the all-day eatery Toasty and the Italian restaurant Trattoria Di Sofia.

“The whole purpose of Colorado Outdoors is to bring together people and businesses and really build upon the synergy of being together,” Dragoo says. “When you’re with people from different backgrounds, different businesses, different walks of life, we find that really amazing things can happen.”

While Colorado Outdoors is envisioned to be at least a 25-year project, Shelter Distilling has already established itself as a primary destination within the development and Montrose as a whole. The distillery’s products are currently sold in California and Colorado, but with the larger production facility approaching its one-year anniversary this spring, more people will be seeking Shelter as the brand continues to grow in the coming years.

Jay McKinney grew up in Sedalia and graduated from the Metropolitan State University of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in communications. During his free time, he enjoys playing golf, shooting pool and hiking throughout Colorado and neighboring Utah.

This story appeared in our January-February print issue of Thirst Colorado magazine. Flip through the full digital magazine here, or find a copy at one of these fine establishments around Colorado.