In craft beer, the old adage of “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” doesn’t necessarily apply. Even the most successful breweries and industry events must continue to innovate in this most competitive and fast-evolving landscape.

Avery Brewing, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, is no stranger to change, moving from its humble industrial alley to a state-of-the-art, 5.6-acre campus in 2015 and, most recently, selling a minority stake to Mahou San Miguel in November. And even though the pioneer of high octane and barrel-aged beers has found tremendous success in both their Strong Ale Fest and Sour Fest, the Boulder-based brewery has decided to shift their festival strategy this year to replace the two with an entirely new concept.

Enter The Avery Invitational Festival, which will debut June 2018, aimed at bringing together some of the industry’s best producers without any restriction to style or ABV. “With over a dozen festivals happening each weekend throughout the summer, we realized that our festivals started to feel a little bland,” noted Rachael Burrell, Events Manager for Avery Brewing. “We always want to ensure that our festivals are exciting for our attendees, volunteers and participating breweries, so this year we decided to focus our attention on quality over quantity.”

The Avery team will also look to expand the overall footprint of the festival to incorporate approximately 200 beers poured at the event, whereas both the Strong Ale and Sour Fests averaged between 100-115 beers. Invitations for participation will begin rolling out next week but in narrowing the list of prospective breweries, the Avery events team tasked their employees to contribute their list of favorites.

“In our quest to narrow down an invite list, we decided to poll our employees and sent out a company-wide survey. Basically, we asked if there’s any beer you’d like to see here, just say it. It was a fun list, and it helped us make it a more democratic process,” noted Burrell. “There’s some big beer nerds here and some that just like to drink Coors Banquet. It was a cool way to get everyone involved and narrow our list.”

But aside from just growing their brewery list, Avery also drew inspiration from the industry favorite, the Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines Festival, with the intent to incorporate an educational component to the fest. “We’ve learned a lot from what Laura Lodge has built at Big Beers, so we are hoping to add a sensory tasting, have Travis Rupp discussing his Ales of Antiquity, and Andy Parker will likely be giving a barrel talk for starters,” said Walter Becker, former Events Coordinator at Avery Brewing.

General Admission tickets for the Avery Invitational are currently available for $40, with proceeds benefiting Colorado Water Trust, a non-profit that works with many diverse partners, including breweries, to keep Colorado’s rivers healthy, flowing and full of water.

The initial pour list was provided to us today, and fans of Avery’s past festivals should be assuaged by the mix of familiar local standouts as well a healthy representation by national standouts not usually available in the state of Colorado. As a reminder, this beer list is always subject to change, but does serve as a preemptive framework for what to expect.

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As a quick breakdown of what we’re most excited to try and what not to miss: AleSmith’s Barrel-Aged Speedway Stout, Amalgam’s Secret Family Recipe, pretty much everything from Avery, but most notably 25th Anniversary (changes each year), Nestor’s Cup/Dead Sea Scrolls, Depuceleuse, everything from Bagby, everything from Brewery Bhavana, everything from Boneyard Brewing, Burial’s Deafening Song of Silence, Call to Arms’ Shirtless Putin Nuzzlin’ With Dolphins, Cellar West’s Song of the West, Cerebral’s Personal Day, not sure what’s coming from Commonwealth, but keep an eye out for this riser out of Virginia, Coor’s Banquet… because it’s the beer industry’s beer, Dark Sky’s High Country Brunch, Firestone Walker’s UnderCurrants, Founders’ KBS… we had to know a fellow Mahou owned brewery would bring their signature cult classic!, Funkwerks’ Oud Bruin, Great Divide’s Mexican Chocolate Yeti, Grimm Brothers’ 13th Door Barleywine, Half Acre’s Navaja Double IPA, Liquid Mechanic’s Pimm’s Yo!… perhaps the highlight of Collab Fest makes an appropriate return, everything from Paradox… seriously this is one of the most underrated breweries in Colorado right now, Ratio’s Loveless, Rhinegeist’s Barrel Aged Mastodon Belgian Style Dark Ale, everything from Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Strange Craft’s StrangeTail VII, everything from TRVE, and of course EVERYTHING from Trillium, WeldWerks’ Coffee Maple Achromatic and Mexican Medianoche, and Wiley Roots’ Vanilla Pseudonym and Packed with Peaches.

2018 Avery Invitational Initial Pour List

BREWERY	BEER NAME	BEER DESCRIPTION
4 Noses	FRUITED BERLINER WEISS	Modestly sour,easy drinking fruited wheat ale
4 Noses	Whimsy New England India Pale Ale	Aromas and flavors of oranges from the loads of Amarillo, Citra, and Jarrylo hops
4 Noses	Orange Velvet	Blood Orange Milkshake IPA
105 West Brewing Co	Rocky Mountain Juice IPA	American IPA
105 West Brewing Co	Squirrel Nut Sipper	Nut brown ale
AleSmith Brewing Company	Barrel Aged Speedway Stout 2018	Bourbon Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout with Coffee
AleSmith Brewing Company	Sublime Mexican Lager
AleSmith Brewing Company	Spezial Pils
Almanac	Hibiscus Ginger Lime Sour	Barrel Aged sour blonde ale with hibiscus, ginger and lime
Almanac	Farmer's Reserve Blueberry	Barrel aged sour blonde ale with blueberries and spices
Amalgam	Secret Family Recipe	Bourbon Barrel-Aged Golden Sour Ale Refermented on Colorado Grown Peaches, Madagascar Vanilla Beans & Cinnamon Sticks
Amalgam	Freeform	Solera Golden Sour fermented/aged in oak puncheons, refermented on 5 lbs per gallon of hand picked Danube Cherries from the western slope.
Asher Brewing Company	Hempin' Ain't Easy	American Pale Ale brewed with 50 lbs of organic hemp hearts (seeds)
Asher Brewing Company	Ginger Bomb Ale	Light amber style ale brewed with fresh organic ginger
Asher Brewing Company	Hippie Nectar Wheat	Crisp, refreshing wheat ale brewed with organic wheat malt, oranges and limes
Atom Brewing Co.	Blueberry Harvest	Barrel aged Farmhouse Ale aged on whole Blueberries
Atom Brewing Co.	Peach Sour	Barrel aged Golden Sour aged on Palisade Peaches
Avery Brewing Company	White Rascal	An authentic Belgian style white ale, this Rascal is unfiltered and cleverly spiced with coriander and Curaçao orange peel producing a refreshingly zesty classic ale.
Avery Brewing Company	Bug Zapper
Avery Brewing Company	Avery Lager
Avery Brewing Company	Go Play
Avery Brewing Company	Vanila Bean Stout	Bourbon barrel-aged stout with Tongan, Ugandan, and Mexican vanilla beans added
Avery Brewing Company	Coconut Porter	Bourbon barrel-aged porter with copious amounts of coconut added
Avery Brewing Company	Tangerine Quad	Bourbon-barrel aged Belgian-style quadrupel ale with tangerine zest added
Avery Brewing Company	Apricot Sour	Barrel-aged sour with apricot
Avery Brewing Company	Ginger Sour	Barrel-aged sour with ginger
Avery Brewing Company	25th Anniversary
Avery Brewing Company	Radler
Avery Brewing Company	Polyhymnia
Avery Brewing Company	San Juan Sour
Avery Brewing Company	Depuceleuse	Ale brewed with sour cherries and aged in zinfandel barrels. 100% Brettanomyces fermentation
Avery Brewing Company	Tectum et Elix	Sour ale aged in cabernet sauvignon barrels
Avery Brewing Company	Finer Things
Avery Brewing Company	Triple Dry-hopped Chowdah
Avery Brewing Company	Double Dry Hopped Maharaja
Avery Brewing Company	Nestor's Cup/Dead Sea Scrolls
Avery Brewing Company	Calipygian	Stout aged in bourbon barrels with coffee, cocoa, cocoa nibs, and vanilla beans added
Avery Brewing Company	Sandy Claws
Avery Brewing Company	Staff Challenge Beer #1
Avery Brewing Company	Staff Challenge Beer #2
Avery Barrel Tappings	Coconut Porter
Avery Barrel Tappings:	Plank'd
Avery Barrel Tappings:	Vanilla Bean Stout
Avery Barrel Tappings:	Raspberry Trufffale
Bagby Beer Company	Boy Wonder
Bagby Beer Company	Like it like a Latte
Bagby Beer Company	Sweet Ride
Ballast Point	High West Barrel Aged Victory at Sea	Imperial Porter- Coffee, Vanilla added, High West Rye/Bourbon barrels
Ballast Point	Gin Barrel-Aged Sour Wench
Ballast Point	Red-Wine Barrel Aged Three Sheets Barleywine
Brewery Bhavana	Grove	Sunny, Citrusy Double IPA
Brewery Bhavana	Piglette	Tart & Funky, Ultra Light Grisette
Brewery Bhavana	Brett Saison	Solera Foeder-Aged Wild Ale
Bierstadt Lagerhaus	Eisbock	Freeze distilled Doppelbock
Bierstadt Lagerhaus	Slow Pour Pils	German Style Pilsner
Boneyard Brewing	Wooden Femur	Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged English Style Barleywine
Boneyard Brewing	Barrel Aged Suge Knite	Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
Boneyard Brewing	Notorious 3IPA	Triple IPA
Bootstrap Brewing	Wreak Havoc	Massively hopped Imperial Red Ale
Boulevard Brewing Company	Bourbon Barrel Quad	WHISKEY BARREL-AGED BELGIAN-STYLE DARK STRONG ALE
Breakside Brewery	Err to Excess	Bourbon-Barrel aged Stout with Sea salt, caramel, chocolate, and hazelnut
Brewery Ommegang	Brewery Ommegang Pale Sour	Pale Sour is a mixed fermentation sour
Brewery Ommegang	Brewery Ommegang Rosetta	Blend of old & young Flemish brown ale with a fruity kriek, cherry beer
BRU handbuilt ales & eats	Beezel Belgian Style Golden Strong Ale	Belgian style strong ale made with honey and black pepper
BRU handbuilt ales & eats	Loch Wee Heavy Scotch Ale	peated malt / fuggle hops
The Bruery & Bruery Terreux	The Wanderer
The Bruery & Bruery Terreux	Mash and Coconut
The Bruery & Bruery Terreux	Frucht Peach
Burial Brewing Company	Beacon of the Abyss	Bright Lager
Burial Brewing Company	Deafening Song of Silence	For those times when the utter absurdity of pure emptiness speaks at such a piercing shrill. Made with Honey and Oats. Double Dry-Hopped with Simcoe, Citra and Cascade.
Call to Arms	The Ballroom Beer	Pure lager refreshment brewed with 1000% CO Rocky Mountain water.
Call to Arms	Shirtless Putin Nuzzlin' With Dolphins	Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Baltic Porter W/ Coffee added
Cannonball Creek
Cannonball Creek
Cellar West Artisan Ales	Song of the West	oak aged Super Saison with Oregon rye, Colorado wheat, and Brettanomyces Clausennii. Collab w/ Alesong Brewing and Blending.
Cellar West Artisan Ales	Dry Hopped Meager	oak aged Table Saison with Brett and Dry Hopped with Galaxy
Cellar West Artisan Ales	Creek King	wild blonde ale aged in oak barrels and refermented with Colorado tart cherries
Cerebral Brewing	Personal Day	We took Work From Home and aged it for 12 months in Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrels then conditioned it on a rare cold-processed Colombian coffee from Middle State as well as Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans and cassia bark.
Cerebral Brewing	DDH Remote Island	Brewed with oats and aggressively hopped in the WP and DH with Galaxy, Motueka and Hallertau Blanc at 10#/bbl. Notes of guava, ripe melon, white grape and a hint of pine.
Cerebral Brewing	Bird of Paradise - Passionfruit/Raspberry	Soured with Lactobacillus and fermented with a clean American strain, then conditioned on lactose, passionfruit and raspberry.
Commonwealth	Marvolo	Imperial Stout
Commonwealth	Big Papi	DIPA
City Star	Widow Maker	Imperial Stout
City Star	Scarlet	Sour Barrel Aged Stout with Cherries
Coors	Banquet
Crooked Stave	L'Brett d'Apricot
Crooked Stave	Silly Cybies
Crooked Stave	Sour Rose
Dark Sky	Blood of My Enemies	Hazy IPA with passionfruit and hibiscus
Dark Sky	Slice	Berliner Weiss brewed with tangerine and dry hopped w citra and Mosaic
Dark Sky	High Country Brunch	Imperial stout w coffee and maple syrup
Dogfish Head	90 Minute
Dogfish Head	2017 Olde School Barleywine
Elevation Beer Company	Arete	America Barleywine
Elevation Beer Company	Signal de Botrange	Chardonnay barrel-aged farmhouse ale
Elevation Beer Company	Double IPA	Double IPA
Finkle and Garf	Barrel Aged Imperial Red	Our Imperial Red aged in Rye Whiskey barrels.
Finkle and Garf	Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout	Our BBA Imperial Stout aged on Cherry and Vanilla.
Firestone Walker Brewing Company	UnderCurrants	Wild Ale fermented with Black Currants
Firestone Walker Brewing Company	Sucaba	Barrel-Aged Barleywine
Firestone Walker Brewing Company	Bretta Rose	Berliner Weisse aged in French Oak with Raspberries
Founders	Double Trouble	An Imperial IPA that was brewed to turn your world upside down. Pungent aromatics up front pair with a malt-balanced backbone and a smooth, bitter finish.
Founders	Solid Gold	Our take on a classic, Solid Gold is a drinkable premium lager brewed with the highest quality ingredients.
Founders	KBS	An imperial stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates, then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish.
Funkwerks	Deceit	Belgian-Style Golden Strong Ale
Funkwerks	Oud Bruin	Belgian-Style Sour Ale aged in red wine and whiskey barrels
Funkwerks	Level 13 (needs)	Barrel-Aged Belgian-Style Strong Ale
Good River Beer	Fu Fighter Belgian Golden Strong	Big, bold, dry and drinkable Belgian Golden with complex fruit flavors.
Good River Beer	Class V (5)	Big balanced double IPA with dry finish and great hop flavor.
Good River Beer	River Right	Tropical wheat ale
Great Divide Brewing Co.	Mexican Chocolate Yeti
Great Divide Brewing Co.	Gosefaced Killah
Great Divide Brewing Co.	Sour Apricot Collette
Grimm Brothers	The Ballinderry Sword	Blackberry Braggot with Clover Honey
Grimm Brothers	Barrel 29	Single Barrel Sour
Grimm Brothers	13th Door	German Style Barleywine
Grossen Bart	Chin Curtain	A dank ass IPA
Grossen Bart	Handle Barley Midnight Wheat Wine	Dark wheat beer brewed with all the wheats commercially available
Grossen Bart	Frida SMaSH	Single Malt and Single Hopped Barley Wine
Half Acre Brewing Company	Navaja	Double IPA
Horse and Dragon	Hopsweeper IIPA	Hop-o-rama IIPA!
Horse and Dragon	Dragonfire Imperial Stout
Horse and Dragon	Maracuyá IPA	Passionfruit IPA
Jack's Abby	Barrel Aged Framinghammer	Bourbon Barrel Aged Baltic Porter
Jack's Abby	Graham Cracker Barrel Aged Framinghammer	Bourbon Barrel Aged Baltic Porter...with Graham Crackers
Jack's Abby	Springdale Kriek	Barrel Aged Golden Sour, finished on cherries
Jessup Farm Barrel House	Fancy Pants	Dry-hopped, oak barrel-aged Brett IPA
Jessup Farm Barrel House	Jimmy Buffett Problem	Rum and bourbon barrel-aged DIPA w/ Pineapple and Coconut
Jessup Farm Barrel House	Legal in Europe	Whiskey barrel-aged Imperial Stout w/ cacao nibs, chiles, and cinnamon
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales	iO Saison	Saison with rose hips, rose petals, and hibiscus flowers
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales	Bam Noire	Dark Farmhouse Ale
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales	Saison S	Saison with notes of Brett, oak, and tropical fruit.
La Cumbre Brewing Company	Project Dank	American IPA
La Cumbre Brewing Company	Fievre d' Abricot	Apricot Saison
La Cumbre Brewing Company	Siberian Silk	Baltic Porter
Lefthand Brewing	Travelin' Light	Golden, crisp, dry and refreshing with herbal hops.
Lefthand Brewing	Good Juju	A LIGHT ALE BREWED WITH FRESH GINGER TO CREATE A SPICY AROMA AND UNIQUE FLAVOR.
Lefthand Brewing	Left Hand IPA	PALE ORANGE, LIGHT MALTINESS. HOP PROFILE OF ORANGE, PASSIONFRUIT, PEACH AND LEMON.
Liquid Mechanics	Pimm's Yo!	Collab beer with Wiley Roots based on the Pimm's Cup cocktail. Cucumber, strawberry, mint, key lime and ginger.
Liquid Mechanics	Revolver	v2.0 of our Lost Abbey Collab. Based on the revolver cocktail. Chestnut, coffee and orange In a 13% Bourbon BA RIS.
Liquid Mechanics	Coconut BBA RIS	13% RIS aged in Spirit Hounds whiskey barrels for a year, then we add toasted coconut.
Melvin Brewing	2x4	Our flagship Double IPA, gold medal winner at GABF and World Beer Cup
Melvin Brewing	Hop Shocker	100% lupulin powder Double IPA
Merchant du Vin	Trappistes Rochefort 10	Belgian quadruple, great strength balanced with a complexity of flavors
Mountain Sun	Superkind
Mountain Sun	Nihilist	Russian Imperial Stout
New Belgium	Le Kriek Noir 2018	Blend of Oud Beersel Kriek + NBB Oscar, aged in red wine barrels
New Belgium	Terroir Noir	Dark sour dry-hopped with HBC 438
Odd 13	Saint Newcole	Russian Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon barrels with Vanilla and Coconut
Odd 13	Robot Librarian	Collaborative Double IPA brewed with Cerebral, Fiction, and Weldwerks
Odd 13	Codename: Superfan	New England style IPA
Odell Brewing	Fee Fi Fo Fum	Triple IPA! Hops hops and even more hops!
Odell Brewing	Barrel Aged Extra Special Red	Imperial Red Ale aged in rye whiskey barrels
Paradox	B'aril Blood
Paradox	Arno Pommer
Paradox	Cafe Vibrante
Paradox	Salty Lemons 2018	Preserved Meyers lemons, then blended them into our mixed-fermentation sour golden ale with Sorachi Ace hops and Himalayan Pink salt.
Ratio Beerworks	Barrel-Aged Genius Wizard	Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout
Ratio Beerworks	New Wave	Strawberry Berliner Weisse
Ratio Beerworks	Loveless	Barrel-aged sour saison with raspberries and blackberries
Rhinegeist	Truth	Intensely hopped, dry IPA with Centennial, Citra, Amarillo and Simcoe hops.
Rhinegeist	Knowledge	Extreme additions of American hops lend notes of resinous pine to this dry, crisp Imperial IPA.
Rhinegeist	Barrel Aged Mastodon	Belgian Style Dark Ale aged 10 months in bourbon barrels & 3 months in red wine barrels.
Rowley Farmhouse Ales	Mixed Dubbels Curling	Sour dubbel aged in rum barrels and finished with plums
Rowley Farmhouse Ales	Notorious BdG - Apple Brandy	Biere de Garde
Rowley Farmhouse Ales	If You Must	Berliner Weisse
Ska	BHC (Bad Hop Contract)	Lucious, juicy, hop overload, tropical DIPA
Ska	Pink Vapor Stew	Beets, carrots, apples, ginger kettle sour
Ska	Decadent	Citrus aroma, mounds of fresh hops and malt Imp DIPA
Short's Brew	Vieux Rouge	Mixed Fermentation Sour Red Ale aged in bourbon barrels for two years
Short's Brew	Bourbon barrel-aged Ben's Asthma	Imperial Oatmeal Stout brewed with beet sugar and Medjool dates
Short's Brew	Batch 8000	Quadrupel IPA brewed with raspberry
Sierra Nevada	Pale Ale	Original West Coast Pale Ale with Whole Cone Cascade Hops
Sierra Nevada	Hoptimum Triple IPA	Triple IPA providing a blend of Tropical and citrus hop aroma
Sierra Nevada	Bigfoot	Cult classic barley wine style, strong, robust, bruiser of a beer
Stone	Scorpion Bowl IPA	Fruit forward, tropical IPA
Stone	Double Bastard Ale	Amped up strong Pale Ale
Stone	Xocoveza Charred	Bourbon barrel aged Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout
Strange Craft	1000 Barrels Imperial IPA	very hop forward but drinkable Summit hop showcase
Strange Craft	2016 Dr. Strangelove Barleywine	GABF and World Beer Cup winner
Strange Craft	StrangeTail VII	Red wine barrel aged IPA with Brettanomyces
Telluride	Fishwater Project	Double IPA aged in Knob Creek Barrels for 6 months
Telluride	Tripel in Stillwater	Belgian Tripel
The Lost Abbey	Red Poppy	Brown ale base aged in oak barrels wtih sour cherries
The Lost Abbey	Bourbon Barrel-Aged Serpent's Stout	Bourbon-barrel aged imperial stout
TRVE	Coffee Funeral	Imperial stout with Huckleberry Roasters cold brew
TRVE	Starving Gods of Old	Foeder saison with Colorado peaches
TRVE	Sonoran Depravation	Brett IPA
Trillium	Permutation 37	Weizenbock
Trillium	Fruit Salad Wild Ale
Trillium	Dialed In Double IPA
Upland	Boysenberry	Barrel-aged fruited sour ale
Upland	Oak & Rose	Barrel-aged fruited sour ale
Upland	Little Wheat Lies	NE-style IPA
Upslope	Dry-Hopped Brett Saison
Upslope	Barrel Aged Coconut Porter
Upslope	2018 Experimental IPA
Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project	Strange Little Smile	Bourbon Barrel-Aged German Chocolate Cake Imperial Milk Stout
Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project	Somebody to Love	Extra Brut IPA. Champagne IPA with Hallertau Blanc, Azacca, and Galaxy Hops
Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project	MM3	Mountain Man w/Barrel Aged Coffee & Barrel Aged Maple Syrup
WeldWerks Brewing Co.	Extra Extra Juicy Bits
WeldWerks Brewing Co.	Tropical Punch Berliner
WeldWerks Brewing Co.	Coffee Maple Achromatic
WeldWerks Brewing Co.	Mexican Medianoche
Westmalle	Westmalle Trappist Tripel	Belgian Tripel, herbal aroma, malt sweetness balanced with powerful drinkability
Wibby Brewing	Rum Barrel Aged 9 Toed Nihilist	A Russian Imperial Lager Aged in a Rum Barrel
Wibby Brewing	Wibby IPL	IPA-Style Lager
Wibby Brewing	Lightshine Helles	Helles Lager brewed with Centennial hops
Wiley Roots	Vanilla Pseudonym	Laws Secale Rye Barrel Aged Imperial Stout w/ Papua New Guinea Vanilla Beans
Wiley Roots	Packed With Peaches	Barrel Aged Golden Sour With Palisade Peaches

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We’re Giving Away a Pair of Tickets to Saturday’s Fest!

To enter, subscribe to our newsletter by e-mailing [email protected] with your First and Last Name in the Body of the E-mail & AVERY in the Subject Line.

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