Flower Shop Beer Werks opens RiNo brewery with distribution-first plan

Flower Shop Beer Werks opened in RiNo with a footprint so small it could be easy to miss, but founder Jacob Sabo is building the brewery around reach, not just foot traffic. The first brick-and-mortar for Sabo and his wife, Ava Olmstead, took over 900 square feet at 3501 Delgany Street, the former Mockery Brewing space, with a greenhouse-style room filled with hanging plants and a business plan that sends most of the beer beyond the taproom.

That plan is the story. Flower Shop Beer Werks expects to produce about 2,000 barrels a year, with roughly 75 percent going to distribution. In a year when Colorado breweries are still dealing with inflation, supply-chain issues, labor shortages and softer drinking trends, that kind of split gives Sabo a model with more flexibility than a taproom-only launch. It also gives the brand a shot at building a wider audience while keeping a physical home in one of Denver’s most competitive beer corridors.

The beer list is built to stand out on draft and in package. Flower Shop Beer Werks lists Sillage, a cedarwood IPA, Cjoors, a Nordic ale with orange peel and spruce tip, and Halcyon, a lavender cream ale, as its flagships. Other planned pours include a strawberry habanero hazy and a cedar wood-infused IPA, alongside hop waters, seltzers, ciders and non-alcoholic options. Heritage Flame Barbecue is handling food, and pints are priced in the five-to-six-dollar range, a notable draw in a neighborhood that leans heavily on destination beer stops.

Sabo’s path into the market also runs through Cheetah Coalition, the brewery co-op and incubator he helped found to push new brands into distribution before they take on the cost of a standalone site. In June 2025, the group was described as a shared-production effort involving Goldspot Brewing, Neon Buzz Beerworks and Flower Shop Beer Werks, with all three brands brewing out of Goldspot at 4970 Lowell Blvd. in the Regis neighborhood. The strategy now has a public face in RiNo, but the production logic behind it is the same: share space, split costs and get beer into more hands sooner.

The address itself underscores how quickly Denver brewery real estate can turn over. Mockery Brewing closed its 3501 Delgany Street home after nine years, Dewey Beer moved in during January 2024, and The Shambles followed in March 2025. Flower Shop Beer Werks now inherits that same high-traffic corner, but with a lighter hospitality build and a broader distribution plan, it is betting that a small taproom can support a much bigger footprint.