Most Coloradans know Coors as the brand behind the beer we drink to endure a Rockies game or celebrate on the summit of a fourteener. But the name has a long history in the Centennial State beyond booze. When Prohibition dried up the company’s beer profits, the family turned to a new moneymaker: ceramics.
Today, this branch of the Coors empire is known as CoorsTek, a manufacturer of high-performance technical ceramics for industries like aerospace, defense, and automotive. But the company has cycled through multiple identities over time: Coors Porcelain Company, Herold China and Pottery Company, and, initially, Colorado Glass Works.
Under its various names, Coors created glass bottles, dinnerware, porcelain malted milk containers, and labware on property the family has owned since 1884. Now, this six-block site is being redeveloped into a new mixed-use district called Clayworks, which the company hopes will serve as an extension of downtown Golden…