Big psychedelic rock and jam band paraphernalia and live local acts meet nano-crafted brews at Ridgway’s new Floating Lotus Brewery, where the beer is produced on a home-designed system even smaller that of a microbrewery.

Owners Savannah and Kenny Conley, who live in Montrose, had been brewing on the concept for a while: a kid and dog-friendly community gathering space to bring together craft beer and a distinct music lineup.

Located at 44 Campbell Lane in Ridgway, the space can hold over 50 patrons between high and low-top tables, walls of bar seating and three picnic tables on a patio outside. Its black walls are punctuated with rainbow band posters and tapestries and a board game table rests on a corner stage between local live music gigs.

The Conleys were only about one year into what is usually a three- to five-year planning process when the former Bluecorn Candle factory space opened up last July.

Floating Lotus Brewery owners Savannah and Kenny Conley, pictured left and center, visit with customers earlier this month at the couple’s new brewery at 44 Campbell Lane in Ridgway. Erin McIntyre – Ouray County Plaindealer

They jumped on a chance to enter the market and spent the past year in overdrive ahead of opening on Aug. 10.

They built the entire space themselves – including the draft system – sometimes bringing their 4-year-old son along with them.

It’s called a brewery, not a brewing company, because the focus is on the space itself rather than becoming a largescale production, Kenny said. The only thing on the menu is seven craft beers.

They imagine it being more like a coffee shop.

Side dishes come in other forms: Local music acts, food trucks and Yappy Hour on Thursdays, where a dog walker will take your dog for a spin while you sip for just $10.

Customers enjoy live music at the new Floating Lotus Brewery in Ridgway. The brewery plans to feature live bands regularly, and co-owner Kenny Conley hopes the brewery becomes a space where local musicians find each other. Erin McIntyre — Ouray County Plaindealer

Kenny is the brewmaster with a background in music and manufacturing. He started brewing just a couple of years ago but fell for the craft and studied it closely, inspired by pros including brewers at the Pomona Brewing Company in Montrose.

Savannah brings experience managing craft coffee shops to take care of front-ofhouse operations. She also owns Savannah H. Photography.

Community support of her photography business encouraged them to realize their dream in Ridgway, she said. Distinct from a bar, they wanted to create a relaxing watering hole with music by local acts and bands like Grateful Dead and Phish at the forefront.

The market for craft beer wasn’t as saturated here as in Denver, where they moved from in 2019, Savannah said. Ken- ny was inspired by other home-grown breweries on the Western Slope, having seen mostly expensive, large-scale operations on the Front Range.

It took about 100 brews to perfect the seven beers on the menu, he said. Right now they’re just looking for people to enjoy them. So far the best sellers are their Blastoplast New England IPA and the Teocali Mexican Lager.

But aside from the brews, the best part of their opening day was seeing people mingling with each other, relatively phone-free. Kenny said he hopes eventually the brewery becomes a space where local musicians can find each other and create their own bands.

“What we want here is just no distraction,” Kenny said. “Clear your head. Talk to people.”

They’re open from 2 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, closing an hour earlier at 9 p.m. on Thursdays and Sundays. The other three weekdays are reserved for brewing.

Patrons can find more information at floatinglotusbrewery.com.

Lia Salvatierra is a journalist with Report for America, a service program that helps boost underserved areas with more reporting resources.