Event Preview | Boulder’s Winter Craft Beer Festival
The Winter Craft Beer Festival is out with a pour list that’s sure to coax even the most stubborn out of hibernation.
The festival, taking place in Boulder on March 3, boasts a lineup of 52 breweries from 10 states this year, including Colorado mainstays Oskar Blues Brewery, Odell Brewing Co. and Left Hand Brewing, as well as out-of-state favorites like Surly Brewing Co. of Minnesota and Dogfish Head Brewery of Delaware. Cold-weather styles like porters, stouts and Belgian strong ales are prevalent, though the list is also rounded out by lagers, IPAs and offerings as diverse as sours and even a chili beer.
Regardless of their size or origin, participating breweries will have one thing in common this year: They satisfy the Brewers Association definition of “independent craft brewer.”
“This is important to us because we believe that festivals are an important part of the marketing for craft brewers,” festival co-organizer Ross Bowdey explained. “So if our attendees can know that all of the beer they are tasting is independently owned, it can help them make decisions at their local liquor stores in the future.”
Bowdey said he started the Winter Craft Beer Festival with friend Trevor Rhodes in 2015 because there are fewer events during the winter months despite the fact that “there are so many more styles being brewed to allow for the most versatile beer lineup possible.”
A gander at the pour list certainly underscores that assertion. Asked what in particular he’s excited about, Bowdey cited the Dragon’s Milk stout from New Holland Brewing of Michigan, Surly’s Darkness, a Russian imperial stout and 2×4, a double IPA from Melvin Brewing of Alpine, Wyo. Locally, he pointed to the Peanut Butter Porter from Lafayette-based Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co., the Double Chocolate Smores stout from Boulder-based Wild Woods Brewery and the India Red Ale from Fate Brewing Co., also in Boulder.
One notable absence from the lineup will be Avery Brewing Co. The Boulder powerhouse no longer qualifies as an independent craft brewer under the Brewers Association’s guidelines after selling a 30-percent stake to Mahou San Miguel, a Spanish company that owns a similar stake in Founders Brewing Co. of Grand Rapids, MI.
The Winter Craft Beer Festival is taking place in an underground parking structure underneath the 29th Street mall. To guard against the cold (last year was particularly chilly), Bowdey said organizers have been testing different heaters, as well as moving the festival to an even more protected space to prevent wind chill. In addition to beer, festival-goers will have access to food trucks, a live band and a silent disco.
Tickets are $45 for general admission, including a souvenir glass and unlimited samples, and $70 for the VIP package, which comes with access to exclusive, small-batch beers and a one-hour early entrance. But use the promo code PORCH for $10 off either ticket type. Designated drivers can gain admittance for $5. A portion of the festival’s proceeds will go to Community Cycles, a local bicycle advocacy organization.
Brewery | Beer 1 | Beer 2 | Beer 3 | Beer 4 | VIP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 Noses | Bout Damn Time IPA | Raspberry | Whimsy | ||
Asher Brewing | Green Bullet IPA | Ginger Bomb | |||
Aspen Brewing | Independence Pass IPA | Silver City Ale | This Season's Blonde | ||
Black Shirt Brewing | Colorado Red Ale | Fourtrack Porter | Electric Ladyland Raspberry Saison | ||
Blind Faith Brewing | Patersbier | Dubbel | |||
Call to Arms | American Lager | Ballroom Beer | Feats of Strength Double IPA | ||
CB & Potts | Inversion Layer IPA | "If You Got 'Em" Rauchbier | Irish Stout | ||
Cigar City Brewing | Jai Alai IPA | TBD | |||
Crooked Stave | Sour Rose Wild Ale | Coffee Baltic Porter | Vieille - artisan ale | Serenata Notturna Blueberry | |
Crystal Springs Brewing | Blood Orange Kolsch | Crystal Springs IPA | Hudson Mid-Coast IPA | ||
Declaration | Impure Penelope Armstrong | Hardtack Copper Ale | TBD | ||
Denver Beer | Summit Sunrise Red Rye IPA | Graham Cracker Porter | Japance Off Saison | 4 Sheets Belgian Quad | |
DeSteeg Brewing | Chocolate Orange Stout | French Saison | Milkshake IPA | ||
Dog Fish Head | Liquid Truth Serum IPA | SeaQuench Ale Session Sour | Red & White | ||
Endo Brewing | Tandem Belgian Dubbel | Kingdom Trails NE IPA | |||
Epic Brewing | Pulp Addiction NE IPA | Los Locos Mexican Style Lager | Big Bad Baptist | ||
Fate Brewing | TBD | TBD | TBD | ||
Full Sail | Full Sail Blood Orange Wheat | Session Easy IPA | Sesion Cerveza | Bourbon Porter Bombers | |
Great Divide | Claymore Scotch Ale | Orabelle Tripel | Hop Disciples IPA | Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti | |
Hops and Grain | Porter Culture Baltic Style Porter | Haze County IIPA | |||
Industrial Revolution | TBD | TBD | |||
La Cumbre | Elevated IPA | Malpais Stout | Red Ryeot | Project Dank | Molinillo Stout |
Landlocked Ales | Grenade Jumper Hazy IPA | Squirrel Stash Amber Ale | |||
Left Hand | Left Hand IPA | Travelin' Light Kolsch | Milk Stout Nitro | ||
Liquid Mechanics | Peanut Butter Porter | Hopacity | Beasts of Bourbon | ||
Loveland Ale Works | American Sour Ale w/ Raspberry | IPA | TBD | ||
Mama Bear's Brew | Mama Bear's Brew with Black Tea | Poma Packin' | World Peach | ||
Melvin | Killer Bees Blonde w Honey | Hubert MPA | 2x4 Double IPA | ||
New Holland | Tangerine Space Machine | Dragon's Milk | |||
New Planet Beer | Seclusion IPA | NP Pale Ale | Tread Lightly Ale | ||
New Terrain Brewing | Against the Currant | Golden Haze | Rubus Deliciosus | ||
Oasis Brewing | Scarab Red | Tut Brown Ale | |||
Odell | Rupture | Tree Shaker | Settle Down Brown | Bull Proof | |
Open Door Brewing | Libertas Rye Cream Ale | Short Arm IPA | TBD | ||
Oskar Blues | Dale's Pale Ale | Mama's Little Yella Pils | TBD | ||
Portand Cider | Hoprageous | Concord Grape | |||
Pug Ryan's | Pug's Azanox Strong Ale | Pug's Pilsner | Pug's Dunkel | ||
Ratio Beerworks | Dear You French Saison | Repeater Extra Pale Ale | Genius Wizard | ||
Roaring Fork | Hoppa Road Imperial IPA | Freestone Extra Pale Ale | Flip IPA | ||
Sanitas | Grand Cru Belgian Quad | Black IPA | Saison | Citrus Lager | Sour Deluge |
Ska | Rue B. Soho Grapefruit Lager | Steel Toe Milk Stout | Modus Hoperandi | Ska Face | |
Soulcraft | X-Ray IPA | Coconut Milk Stout | Green Chile Ale | ||
Station 26 | Juicy Banger IPA | Tangerine Cream | Oaked New England IPA | ||
Stem Ciders | Raspberry | Off Dry | Hopped | ||
Surly Brewing | Todd the Axeman | Furios | Xtra Citra | Darkness | TBD |
The Old Mine | Handlebar Hard Cider | Hopped Up Hard Cider | |||
The Post | Townie IPA | Howdy Pilsner | |||
Twisted Pine Brewing | Patio Pounder | Intercept | Northstar | Billy's Chilis | |
Upslope | 2018 Experimental IPA | Craft Lager | Citra Pale Ale | Nordic Feast Ale | |
West Bound and Down | TBD | TBD | |||
Wibby Brewing | Double Dunkel | Moondoor Dunkel | Lightshine Helles | Lightshine Radler | |
Wild Woods Brewery | Big Flakes Imperial White Stout | Double Chocolate Smores Stout | Gin Barrel Tree Line IPA |
Feature image courtesy of Winter Craft Beer Festival.
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