Bruz is a Belgian style focused brewery in Denver, CO
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!
Mr. Bentley and Trip, the Bruz Brew Dogs, are he and his wife Rachels favorite kids!
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