Company: Wynkoop Brewing Company
Headquarters: Denver, Colorado
Industry: Brewing/Beverages
Company Size: Small (annual revenues of less than $50 million)

"The inclusion of art in the Wynkoop world has played a pivotal role in our continued expansion over the past decade. It is the magnet that helps bring our staff and customers together, and keeps them in harmony."
                – John Hickenlooper, CEO

Objectives
To increase name recognition and revenues, to raise the profile of — and heighten interest in — local arts organizations, and to draw attention to historic preservation.

Process

• The Wynkoop Brewing Company hosts opening parties for Denver-area theater companies — including the Impulse Theater, Denver’s longest-running improvisational theater — in the historic J.S. Brown Mercantile Building. This building, restored by the Wynkoop Brewing Company, houses the company’s restaurant, brewery and pool hall.
• Wynkoop also sponsors numerous gallery and museum events for which the company creates special brews to coordinate with the themes of the events. For example, the company created an "Allasaurus Beer" for the Denver Museum of Natural History’s opening of the Prehistoric Journey exhibition.
• The Wynkoop Brewing Company also has its own curator of exhibitions who organizes displays of works by local artists in the restaurant/brewery, which helps to make it a popular stop on the city’s gallery tours, known as the First Friday Art Walk.

Results
The Wynkoop Brewing Company’s support of local theater companies and museums has helped to raise the profile of these organizations and drawn additional attention to their events and special exhibitions. The company’s restoration of its building has also contributed to the preservation of the cultural heritage of Denver.

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