John Hickenlooper — Wynkoop Brewing Company

Tourism Star Award Recipient — 2002

When John Hickenlooper was laid off as a geologist in the mid-1980s, Denver was still living under archaic laws dating back to the days of prohibition that prohibited brewing and selling beer in the same establishment. John decided to open Colorado’s first brew pub. The rest is history. Today, the Wynkoop Brewing Co. is recognized as the largest in the United States, second largest in the world. Denver has gone from a city of having no brewpubs to being considered the “Napa Valley of Beer,” the home of the nation’s largest beer festival and America’s largest beer-producing city. John Hickenlooper played a role in all this development. He first lobbied to change the brewing laws, then opened Colorado’s first brewpub in an area that would come to be called “LoDo.” As an urban pioneer, he built some of LoDo’s first lofts and is credited with leading the re-development of this area, which now ranks as Denver’s second most popular tourist attraction. From development of LoDo to the creation of Denver’s microbrewing industry, John Hickenlooper has proven himself a Denver tourism star.

The profile of each Tourism Star is reflective of the time of the award.