Meet the Brewers
The Bruz Crew is dedicated to providing you with the freshest, highest-quality Belgian-style beers in Colorado. Come by and join us for some great Bruz!
“I’ve been visiting Colorado for almost 3 years now. Bruz is still my favorite brewery.”
MARCUS
Charlie Gottenkieny
Charlie is a co-founder of Bruz Beers and is the architect of our portfolio of fine Belgian-style beers. Charlie started his brewing journey as a home-brewer – a pursuit he began in the late Eighties as a result of his travels to Belgium. In those days, Belgian beers were hard to come by in the U.S. and craft breweries were still in their infancy. But after tasting his brother John’s home-brew, Charlie realized that “if you can’t buy it, brew it yourself.” So, he set out to teach himself how to make Belgian-style beers at home.
After 27 years and more than a hundred competition medals – including two AHA Home-brewer of the Year awards – Charlie was ready to scale it up a bit. He has brewed at a number of commercial breweries and is the head brewer at Bruz. He has taught brewing and beer styles at several community colleges, has spoken publicly at beer conferences and events, and is a nationally recognized beer judge
Cooper
The Bruz Brew Dog!
Ryan Evans
Ryan is a co-founder and CEO of Bruz Beers. A Colorado native, Ryan has an MBA from the University of Denver and has extensive business experience - having held executive positions in several industries. Ryan discovered Belgian beer while backpacking through Europe and couldn’t get them out of his mind. He returned from his travels with a thirst for Belgian beer and a love for Belgian culture.
An avid outdoor sports enthusiast, Ryan has climbed nearly all of Colorado’s “fourteeners” and is a lover of hiking, camping and backcountry skiing. He has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and Denali in Alaska, adding them to the list of famous mountains he has experienced. Having been on Denali three times, he says he still has another trip up that amazing mountain in him!
Cooper and Mr. Bentley, the Bruz Brew Dogs, are he and his wife Rachels favorite kids!
Dave Olson
Head Brewer. Dave’s beer creed has always been this: Understand the history, techniques, classic styles, and ingredients perfected and honed over centuries of tradition; use that knowledge to consistently push the envelope of modern beer styles and flavor; while at all times keeping quality at the forefront and never compromising on ingredients. When Dave is not at the brewery he can be found in the mountains hiking with his wife and 2 girls or baking some sourdough concoction in his Morrison home.
Sustainability
Bruz is dedicated to minimizing our impact on the Earth. We utilize sustainable practices wherever possible, making the most of our water, ingredient and fuel resources and avoiding the use of non-eco-friendly chemicals and cleaning agents. We recycle at every opportunity – conserving water and fuel – and donate our spent grain to local farmers and ranchers.
As Bruz grows in the years to come, we will strive to acquire only the most efficient and sustainable technologies and utilize eco-friendly practices.
