Farm-style brewery opens in Prost's former Old Town space

A former taproom in Old Town's Old Firehouse Alley has gone back to Fort Collins' agricultural roots with its transformation into a farm-style brewery.

Salt Road Brewing will officially open Saturday, April 22, at 321 Old Firehouse Alley, bringing its farmhouse ales, saisons and other brews to the public — and longtime home brewer Scott Ficarra's dreams to life.

Ficarra, who co-founded the brewery with his wife, Kelly Ficarra, has been working for months to transform the Old Town space, formerly home to Prost Brewing's downtown taproom. This included creating a new brewhouse in the unit's back half, which is now lined with fermentation tanks, a hot liquor tank, a keg washing machine and more.

Daily hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. are planned, Scott said.

After getting into home brewing while living in California in the mid-1990s, Scott told the Coloradoan he started pursuing the hobby more seriously after moving to Windsor in 2011. He found his footing with farmhouse ales and saisons. When it came time to open and name his own brewery, Scott went with Salt Road Brewing as a nod to the ancient network of trade routes, or "salt roads," that were used to move goods throughout Europe and Asia.

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"They used to move beer along these routes, and there were farm breweries along this road that used what (ingredients) they had nearby," Scott told the Coloradoan earlier this year. "As a result, a lot of the beers we drink today were a result of using ingredients that were (in close proximity to these breweries)."

Drawing on that farm brewery inspiration, Ficarra said 90% of ingredients used at the brewery are from Colorado — with many coming from Fort Collins.

Earlier this week, Salt Road Brewing inched closer to reality as Scott and his crew — including husband-and-wife duo John and Kris Gawthrop — worked on finishing touches in the space. The Gawthrops formerly owned the home brewing shop Elevated Fermentations in Loveland, where they came to know Scott during his home-brewing days.

After closing their shop following the COVID-19 pandemic, and briefly moving to Indiana, the couple returned to Colorado to help Scott run Salt Road Brewing. John and Scott will brew Salt Road's beers, and Kris will manage its taproom, she said.

Salt Road Brewing has 16 taps and plans to open with seven of its own beers on tap as well as a seltzer from Funkwerks. They include beers Scott and John have honed, like Salt Road's rye saison, strawberry blonde, Belgian blonde, hazy saison hybrid, pale ale and German Kellerbier.

"I'm having the time of my life, but I'm super exhausted," Scott said in his final push before the brewery's weekend opening. "It's been quite a ride."

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This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: New Fort Collins brewery Salt Road debuts in Old Town