Chilling out

Former Avs star defenseman Tyson Barrie has moved onto the next chapter of a retired hockey player: beer.

Barrie (or should be say “Beerie”), who retired from the Nashville Predators last August after 16 years in the NHL, recently launched his beer brand “Chilly Ones” in Colorado. (Yes, down here we call them “cold ones,” but apparently up in the great white north, where nose hairs regularly freeze, beers are called “chilly ones.” It’s all relative.) 

Barrie, who currently lives near his hometown of Victoria, B.C., launched the beer in January and plans to move back to Denver for the full build-out next fall, according to a story by Max Scheinblum in BusinessDen.

So far, the brand has only one beer: a 3% ABV “less-than-light” offering, which is popular in Australia and parts of Europe. Barrie said he felt the beer would be a good fit with today’s health-conscious, active lifestyles.

But if the thought of a 3% beer gets your breezers in a bunch, not to worry. There’s a higher-octane 4.5-5% offering in the works, as well as a N/A version for those who, God forbid, like to stay somewhat lucid for their beer league games or the drive home.  

“It’s pick your own adventure,” Barrie told BusinessDen. “We’re not going to judge you.”

Barrie said the idea came to him one night years ago when he was having more than a few chilly ones with friends. In his phone’s notes app, he jotted down the idea to start a beer brand with his NHL buddies and call it by his colloquial name.

Serendipitously a few years later, in 2024, somebody from the beverage world reached out to see if Barrie was interested in starting a wine or whiskey company. “And I was like, ‘I’d do a beer,’” he recalled.

The now-34-year-old gathered several of his fellow skaters, including Avs star Nathan MacKinnon, and other career connections, like Lumineers frontman Wesley Schultz, and Chilly Ones was born.

Oskar Blues founder Dale Katechis and White Claw/Mike’s Hard Lemonade alum Todd Anderson are serving as advisors.

Barrie said Chilly Ones wants to test all three options in Colorado and get feedback before expanding outside the state.