Outside of the occasional brew offered during a flight, beer and aviation isn’t typically a top-of-mind pairing. FlyteCo Brewing in Denver, CO is bridging the gap, however, with its location in a defunct airport control tower.
Travel + Leisure reports that the tower ran Denver’s international airport from 1929 to 1995, prior to the brewery taking it over. As the name alludes, FlyteCo Brewing is the perfect occupant for the space. The aviation-themed brewery is no stranger to incorporating previously-used airport staples as decor. FlyteCo Brewing’s first location utilizes a salvaged plane wing and Boeing 737 replica to drive home its concept.
“The opportunity to occupy the former air traffic control tower of an international airport could not be passed up. We could not have scripted a better place to open FlyteCo 2.0,” Morgan O’Sullivan, a FlyteCo Tower co-owner, said in an interview with Travel + Leisure.
As of right now, the brewery uses the first and second floors at the control tower’s base, but there are big plans for the top floor. Expansion into the third floor will feature golf simulators, axe throwing, a private event space and, of course, those gorgeous Colorado views.
“The idea of sipping a FlyteCo beer from the top of a former air traffic control tower, while watching the sun set behind the Denver skyline and Colorado’s Front Range is a dream we will never let go of,” O’Sullivan says. He also notes that the top floor should be accessible within the next two years.
If the novelty of enjoying an aircraft-themed beer in an airport control tower isn’t enough, the brewery also has two floor-to-ceiling aviation murals, a scale model of a Wright Flyer aircraft, runway markings, and several loaned aviation exhibits from the Wings Over Rockies Air & Space Museum. The brewery is also near Denver’s international airport, a former aviation manufacturing facility and the United Airlines Flight Training Center.
FlyteCo Brewing’s new location also has six bowling alleys, mini golf, a full arcade, lawn and board games. The beers on tap also play into the aviation theme, including Vets in Jets Cream Ale, the Beechcraft Blonde Ale, and the Aeromexico Mexican Lager. Non-beer drinkers can tap into the coffee shop, which also serves breakfast sandwiches.
The brewery’s love affinity with aviation also extends into its philanthropy. Travel + Leisure notes that the owners of FlyteCo Brewing give 10 percent of earnings from both locations to nonprofit organizations and scholarships that support aviation. According to O’Sullivan, their commitment has gone on to fund pilot scholarships with Young Aviators 43, Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, Stripes To Bars, and more. Many of these scholarships serve underrepresented demographics in the industry, including women, low-income pilots and those navigating life after the military.
Roshae Hemmings is an arts and culture magazine journalist from St. Louis, MO. A graduate from the Missouri School of Journalism, Roshae has bylines in the Columbia Missourian, Vox Magazine and 5280 Magazine discussing topics ranging from pop culture, social justice and eat and drink. She is a foodie at heart and enjoys eating food as much as learning about the story behind it. When she’s not working on a story, Roshae enjoys cooking, watching and analyzing reality TV, and spending time with family and friends.
If you enjoy our perspective on travel and Black culture, please sign up for our newsletter. You should consider joining our travel club, too. Or maybe write a piece for us about your favorite destination. In other words, let’s stay connected!
©2023 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
