{"id":555,"date":"2025-06-10T21:00:44","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T21:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/?p=555"},"modified":"2025-06-12T14:27:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T14:27:37","slug":"upslope-brewing-co-founder-debuts-flavor-boosting-beverage-widget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/10\/upslope-brewing-co-founder-debuts-flavor-boosting-beverage-widget\/","title":{"rendered":"Upslope Brewing co-founder debuts flavor-boosting beverage widget"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Upslope Brewing co-founder debuts flavor-boosting beverage widget\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AR5TOyI-JQ0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>Six years ago, Matt Cutter wrote the words \u201chop widget\u201d on his office whiteboard. Last week, he made good on his vision when his startup BevBoost launched at Upslope Brewing in Boulder.<\/p>\n<p>Cutter doled out a new type of beer to a crowded room, filling hands with a yellow can called Hop-Boosted IPA. They contained BevBoost\u2019s widget, a multichamber plastic contraption that sits inside a canned beverage and delivers a shot of flavor when it\u2019s opened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s like third-grade science,\u201d said Cutter, who co-founded Upslope in 2008. \u201cIn the center chamber you\u2019ll put your flavoring, and we\u2019re just borrowing that (carbon dioxide) from the beverage to activate that widget when the can is cracked open.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cutter said the patent-pending device works like a widget Guinness uses to re-nitrogenize its stouts upon opening. But instead of adding nitrogen, beverage makers can add a concentrate \u2014 in Upslope\u2019s case, it\u2019s hops \u2014 to enhance the flavor of a drink.<\/p>\n<p>BevBoost adds 60 days to the upslopbeer\u2019s 120-day shelf life, according to Cutter. It\u2019s the only \u201cboosted\u201d beverage on the market at this point, and can be found in liquor stores around the state.<\/p>\n<p>And BevBoost isn\u2019t limited to beer.<\/p>\n<p>A grenadine-filled widget could explode in a fresh ginger ale, creating a makeshift Shirley Temple. Lime juice could burst into a canned margarita that\u2019s been sitting in the back of the fridge for a month. CBD or THC could be added to a drink on demand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe even seltzers,\u201d co-founder Steve Savage said of another use. \u201cInstead of making nine batches of 400 cases, now you can make one base, put (the widget) in the can and introduce the different flavors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>BevBoost\u2019s widgets can only be put in cans using the company\u2019s proprietary canning system, which it intends to sell to other beverage companies. The price varies widely, from $22,000 to $900,000, according to the speed and capabilities of the machine. One version just drops the widget into the drink, while another model also fills and caps.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7186177\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TDP-L-Upslope-boosted-ipa.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TDP-L-Upslope-boosted-ipa.jpg\" alt=\"Founder Matt Cutter says the BevBoost plastic widget extends his IPA&#039;s shelf life by 60 days. (Hayden Kim\/BusinessDen)\" width=\"2560\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TDP-L-Upslope-boosted-ipa.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"7186177\" data-srcset=\"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TDP-L-Upslope-boosted-ipa.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TDP-L-Upslope-boosted-ipa.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TDP-L-Upslope-boosted-ipa.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TDP-L-Upslope-boosted-ipa.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TDP-L-Upslope-boosted-ipa.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Founder Matt Cutter says the BevBoost plastic widget extends his IPA\u2019s shelf life by 60 days. (Hayden Kim\/BusinessDen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The plastic popper costs beverage businesses between 6 cents each, Savage said. Though BevBoost hasn\u2019t sold to anybody except Upslope, the founders expect businesses to easily recoup the cost.<\/p>\n<p>For the Hop-Boosted IPA, Savage said Cutter saved around 6 cents per can between extending the shelf life and saving on ingredients. That is the main reason Upslope can charge the same $12 per six-pack it does for its other brews.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis checks all the boxes a business needs to be successful,\u201d Savage said. \u201cThe customer experience is super positive, it improves taste, improves aroma, it improves shelf life and it\u2019s not more expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cutter and Savage also said they think the widget can prove valuable in boosting existing drinks. Savage said BevBoost is in various stages of negotiating with 10 beverage companies that each do over $10 billion in sales per year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA Cutwater Margarita kind of sucks, but we have boosted each and every one and the flavor\u2019s been way better,\u201d Savage said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s Inbev. That\u2019s a $40 billion business, and they can\u2019t figure out a way to make it delicious at consumption. There are customer retention savings that I don\u2019t know how we\u2019re going to put a number on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Savage, who founded Boulder-based Eco Products, met Cutter 15 years ago at a local entrepreneurs group called the Insomniacs. They became close over the years, and on a 2023 kiteboarding trip in the Florida Keys, Cutter told Savage what he had brewing in BevBoost.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout a week later, I reached out and asked about getting involved,\u201d Savage said. \u201cAnd we went to Eldora a week or two later and talked more about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since then, they\u2019ve raised $700,000 from 20 individual investors to make a projected 8 million multichamber widgets by the end of the year.<\/p>\n<p>The two also are working on a single-chamber design, which is similar to Guinness\u2019 contraption. Since the stout titan doesn\u2019t sell to outside customers, Savage said BevBoost will have a lengthy list of orders.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\">\n<h2 class=\"widget-title\" data-curated-ids=\"\" data-relation-type=\"automatic-primary-tag\">Related Articles<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/06\/06\/ska-brewing-durango-sells-new-owners\/\" title=\"End of an era: 30-year-old Durango brewery sells to new owners\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tEnd of an era: 30-year-old Durango brewery sells to new owners\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/05\/26\/best-colorado-brewery-patios-new-terrain-knotted-root\/\" title=\"These 7 Colorado brewery patios feel like backyard parties\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tThese 7 Colorado brewery patios feel like backyard parties\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/05\/23\/strange-craft-beer-brewery-buena-vista\/\" title=\"Strange Craft brewery to open outpost in Buena Vista\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tStrange Craft brewery to open outpost in Buena Vista\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/05\/22\/things-to-do-denver-arts-festival-leftover-salmon-beer\/\" title=\"What to do this week: Have a beer on Boulder creek; visit Denver Arts Festival\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tWhat to do this week: Have a beer on Boulder creek; visit Denver Arts Festival\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/05\/14\/burns-family-artisan-ales-closing-south-broadway-denver\/\" title=\"South Broadway brewery closing after 8 years: \u2018We needed more patrons\u2019\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tSouth Broadway brewery closing after 8 years: \u2018We needed more patrons\u2019\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cEveryone else out there that makes a stout, which is almost every other brewery in the world, we can sell to,\u201d he said, noting they are going to test 5,000 next month.<\/p>\n<p>The two are also in the early stages of developing BevBoost for a bottle, but that likely will come toward the end of this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s fun that people will actually see it working through the glass,\u201d Cutter said. \u201cIt feels like we\u2019re taking off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.denverpost.com\/dp\/preference\">Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox. <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Six years ago, Matt Cutter wrote the words \u201chop widget\u201d on his office whiteboard. Last week, he made good on his vision when his startup BevBoost launched at Upslope Brewing in Boulder. Cutter doled out a new type of beer to a crowded room, filling hands with a yellow can called Hop-Boosted IPA. They contained&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":558,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555\/revisions\/558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}