Art on the Inside, Art on the Outside.
Before founding Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, owner and brewmaster Chad Yakobson wrote his Master’s thesis on Brettanomyces yeast species and their use in the brewing industry. Wanting to spread the wealth of knowledge, Chad published his research as an open-source website to provide a greater understanding of Brettanomyces yeasts for brewers. Focused on strain-specific fermentations and the major compounds produced during pure culture anaerobic fermentation in wort, the application of these yeasts has proliferated throughout the brewing industry.
Our Story, Our Name.
Founded in Denver, Colorado in late 2010, Crooked Stave is the product of “Brettanomyces Guru” Chad Yakobson’s open source Master’s research, The Brettanomyces Project. Crooked Stave’s progressive brewing approach blends science and art through creativity and passion. The resulting creations, most of which use Brettanomyces yeasts and mature in oak, are beers of extraordinary complexity.
Crooked Stave is a play on the word Stave – one of many strong wooden slats collectively bound together by metal hoops to shape a wooden barrel. Our name is a commitment to how closely we work with each barrel and embodies the love we put into each beer. Wooden barrels are the focal point of our brewery and the beers we brew. We are Crooked Stave by way of origin: unique in our beginnings and set apart from our peers. We set our own path, releasing specialty Brettanomyces-only, wild, sour, and barrel-aged beers.
