Count to ten: Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op celebrates the decade mark

While craft breweries are quite prevalent throughout the country, Bathtub Row Brewing in Los Alamos is one of the few and proud to successfully utilize a co-op model.

In a co-op, the business is owned by its members instead of outside shareholders. The brewery, affectionately called The Tub, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a variety of special events that began on April 22 — the date of the establishment’s grand opening in 2015 — and concludes on May 24 with the Big Bang Bash, which recognizes the release of the brewery’s first beers. According to a release, The Tub is just one of eight brewing co-ops in the United States. It began with 100 original members, but has expanded to more than 1,200 people today.

Last year was a milestone in itself, as the brewery paid off all member loans and reached nearly $1 million in total sales.

“It was amazing that we were able to raise the funds here from the community and then get the place open,” said Bill Myers, one of the founding co-op members and current board president. “It’s just hard to believe it’s been 10 years, actually. There’s (been) a lot of hard work by a lot of people.”

A lifetime membership costs $250, and in addition to discounts on drinks and merchandise, includes voting rights and board of directors eligibility. According to general manager Doug Osborn, the demographic of the area — which primarily includes Los Alamos National Laboratory employees — is conducive to the co-op model because they aren’t necessarily looking to start their own business.

“It’s one of those things that it worked out well because, say, somebody bought a membership. Well, they’re gonna go be a customer at the place they’re a member of. So that’s helped out a lot,” Osborn said.

“The other thing that helps this community, whether we like to admit it or not, (is) we’re kind of a one-trick pony up here. Either you work for the labs, or you typically work for somebody who works for the labs. There’s not a lot of people looking to be entrepreneurs in this part of the world, just because they’re all gainfully employed.”

The Tub has evolved considerably to what it has become today. Since opening, it has built a patio space with a firepit, renovated its “back 40” outdoor space and added an outdoor service operation for warmer months.

“We have one of the most beautiful beer gardens in the state, I would argue,” said longtime bartender and board member Steph Krantz. “And it all came to fruition during COVID. The expansion that we were able to get during that time really helped us lay the foundation for an amazing community space.”

In 2023, The Tub upgraded from a three-and-half barrel brewing system to a seven-barrel system. Interestingly enough, Myers says, the original system came from Bosque Brewing’s old Alameda location.

“They called it the magic system because using that system, (and) they took off from there,” Myers said. “You know how big they are now. There was some good mojo with that system. When we upgraded to the seven-barrel system, I think we actually worked out a deal with them. And then we gave them back their original system.”

Krantz was the lead architect behind the month-long celebration. After The Tub’s five-year anniversary plans were shut down due to the pandemic, there was plenty of enthusiasm to go big for the decade party. The planning committee agreed that 10 days of celebration would be fitting, and the goal was to combine the brewery’s history with a focus on food, music, charity and thanking members with various discounts and giveaways.

With 10 years in the rearview, The Tub is appreciative of the community support that has helped it grow, survive and thrive.

“Being a cooperative puts us in a really neat position because we have so many people that utilize this space for a variety of different things, whether it’s for weddings or showers or birthday parties,” Krantz said. “To see the community come together and support our place has just been amazing. And we’ve got a lot more work that we want to do.”

Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op celebrates the decade mark