2020 Guide to Colorado’s Oktoberfest Beer Releases

It’s clear by now that the year 2020 has no chill, and rather than ease into a gradual shift of in temperature, us Coloradoans have already begun experiencing some seasonal … Read More

Westbound Acquires Former Endo Brewing Facility & Adds Dream Team of Brewers

Throughout pop culture, there’s often been a great deal of fascination around those rare instances when a talented group of individuals is able to put aside individual egos and motives … Read More

Molly’s Spirits Shares Six Fall Beers to Buy this Labor Day Weekend

While nothing is exactly traditional these days, beer drinkers can typically count on Labor Day as the perfect time to shift from crisp Pilsners, session IPAs, and fruited Kettle Sours … Read More

Lady Justice Brewing’s Newest Bottle Release to Benefit Teachers

Walk into Lady Justice Brewing on East Colfax in Denver and you know exactly what they’re about. It’s emblazoned on their logo, it’s on every can they sell, and it’s the motto they live by every day.

“Great Beer, Better World”

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Wiley Roots Brewing Co. Continues to WOW, Turning Beer into Ice Cream

To round out the summer, Greeley, CO-based Wiley Roots Brewing Company released the first two variants in their newest series, Ice Cream Truckz. But that’s not where they stop. This past weekend, they served alcoholic, soft-serve, beer-infused ice cream from their new ice cream machine to celebrate the latest release.

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5 Questions With Crooked Yard Hops Founder Jake TeSelle

While Oktoberfest style beers and Pumpkin Ales get all the attention as summer turns to fall, true beer fans know what September brings: fresh hop season. Fresh hops or wet hops, depending on who you talk to, are only available for an extremely limited time frame and are usually brewed within a day of being picked. Their distinct flavor and unmistakable aroma are as exciting for brewers as they are for beer fans. But the story doesn’t start with the harvest—it starts years earlier under the care of hops farmers.

With fresh hop season quickly approaching, we chatted with Jake TeSelle, founder of Crooked Yard Hops, to discuss every beer lover’s favorite ingredient: hops.

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Sacred Waters Brewing Co. | Guts ‘N Grit

It seems like it was a lifetime ago when I was writing a craft beer guide to the freshly canceled SXSW Festival. The weeks continued to roll on and, like the majority of urban apartment dwellers, my partner and I felt cooped up with nothing but canceled plans to keep us company. At the end of May, after hearing that my husband and I would both be working remotely at least until the end of the year, we packed up the pup and left Austin, TX.

It had been a long time since my last road trip and much had changed. We headed north to escape the Texas heat and barren landscape. On this trip, masks and hand sanitizer were our new road trip essentials; we stayed at AirBnBs whenever we could and restricted our indoor activities to buying groceries. And after two months on the road, our trip took us to Glacier National Park and Kalispell, MT, a little town with some sizeable beers, like at Sacred Waters Brewing Co.  

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Former WeldWerks Brewer Launches Peculier Ales in Windsor, CO

In the grand scheme of beer’s role throughout human history, American craft beer is still in its early stages of influence. However, even during this fleeting period, the amount of … Read More

Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales | Raven Rock

While styles like lambic and gueuze might conjure images of a farmhouse in the rolling countryside,  some of the best sour and funky beers in America are made by Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales right on South Broadway in Denver, CO. Their collab with Falling Rock Tap House, called Raven Rock, is no exception. While Raven Rock might not technically be a lambic, it’s about as damn close as you can get. 

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Molly’s Spirits Collaboration Program Elevates Colorado Craft Beer

In a world where brewery collaborations are commonplace, Denver-area liquor store Molly’s Spirits has pioneered a new form of collaboration between their store and local craft breweries. The program helps raise the profile of newer, smaller local breweries while offering Molly’s customers a pipeline of unique and interesting beers.

Pairing Molly’s knowledge of consumer trends with local breweries’ expertise in crafting flavorful, enticing beers is a boon for the industry as a whole. Every couple of months, Molly’s connects with a Colorado brewery to develop a beer that is then packaged. Molly’s handles the exclusive distribution of the co-branded beer. Read More

Spice Trade Brewing | Sun Temple IPA

Spice Trade Brewing has undergone an incredible transformation since its unexpected beginnings as Yak and Yeti Brewpub, which grew as an extension of a Nepalese restaurant in Arvada, Colorado. The beer program, which opened in 2008, six years after the restaurant side, likely convinced many who came seeking authentic Nepalese fare to try a few delicious beers as well. This past spring the brewery opened its own location in the DTC, bringing much-needed variety to the area—and the tech nerds rejoiced! Read More

Distanced Yet Together: 12th Annual Denver Rare Beer Tasting Goes Virtual

While many beer festivals have been canceled due to the pandemic, the 12th annual Denver Rare Beer Tasting is taking a page out of Great American Beer Festival’s book and will be taking place virtually the weekend of September 25-27. It will feature a live, online event portion, remote brewery releases, and an auction to raise funds for the Pints for Prostates campaign. Over 70 leading craft breweries have already committed to participating in the event.

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WeldWerks Brewing Company | Pilsner UrqWeld

The progression of becoming a true craft beer snob is a subtle one but the path is marked by some key moments. You generally begin dabbling in IPAs, starting with a gateway local pale ale into becoming an expert on all things dank and/or hazy. Then you move onto Stouts—a bigger flavor profile, a bigger ABV and a bigger blow to your wallet. Most craft beer nerds will live in this Stout phase for a long time, perhaps expanding into Barley wines, maybe diverting over to Sours, but generally content to chase the whales and tip the scales between what is beer and what is actually just brownie batter. The mark of a true snob, though, is when you loop back around into the lightest and most overlooked styles that the industry has to offer: Pilsners.

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Capitol Creek Brewery is Colorado’s Best Kept Mountain Town Secret

Part of what makes the state of Colorado so special is that a short drive outside of the city can lead you on an adventure through altitude defying mountain ranges, desert-like sand dunes, lush rolling green plains, and arid rocky traverses. Such is the case with Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley, where a drive through its snaking canyons that have been carved out over time by a swift and serpentine river that shares the name, has created one of the state’s most picturesque regions.

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Left Hand and Liberati Locked in Lease Dispute Over Curtis Park Location

For the past five months, Curtis Park residents have likely seen changes taking place around the building that formerly housed Liberati Restaurant & Brewery. Most notable were the recent additions … Read More

BREAKING | Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Announces 2021 Cancellation

There will be no joy in Breckenridge this January as Laura and Bill Lodge, organizers of Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines, have announced the cancellation of the 2021 event. The festival was planned for January 7-9, 2021 in Breckenridge, CO. The cancellation follows similar moves by virtually every onsite beer festival in 2020 and represents one of the first 2021 events to be canceled. It would have marked the 21st annual event.

Organizers attributed the cancellation to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions on gatherings.

“Our Big Beers board has met and discussed the pandemic situation. We are very clear that our first priority as a Big Beers community needs to be supporting our sponsors and brewers throughout this bizarre and difficult time as they work hard to adapt business as necessary – and not by asking you to travel and/or otherwise support us in January of 2021,” said organizer Laura Lodge.

Lodge went on to explain that they’ve decided not to move forward with a virtual version of the event, but that they are still exploring the possibility of some scaled-down homage via newsletter or social media that would take place on the originally proposed January 2021 date.

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Purpose Brewing Safely Celebrates Anniversary Amid COVID-19 Restrictions

As beer-drinkers increasingly long for festivals and celebrations to return, Purpose Brewing and Cellars seems to have found a way to throw a great party that’s both fun and safe. Purpose, located in Fort Collins, CO. celebrated their third anniversary on Aug. 1 with many of the usual features including music, special releases and an outdoor beer garden, along with pandemic-inspired additions like masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing.

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Vail Craft Beer Classic Is This Summer’s In-Person Beer Fest

There’s nothing that epitomizes summer like a beer festival: Standing under the hot sun with a diminutive glass, waiting in snake-like lines to score the rare — or new-to-you — brew. However, with COVID-19 lurking like a skunky beer in the six-pack, in-person beer festivals have been canceled left and right. Except, it seems, for one.

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Green Mountain Beer Company | Barrel Aged Grand Cru

Green Mountain Beer Company approaches traditional beer styles with a little creativity and flair. As their motto says, they focus on “Old World Brews with Colorado Soul.” While Green Mountain offers newer styles of beer, including their very popular Kama Citra IPA, the focus on traditional German and Belgian styles like Hefeweizen, Pilsner, Tripel and Saison is where Brian Milhaupt and Cassidy Hill, co-founders of Green Mountain Beer Company, find their passion and vision.

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Rotating Tap Brings Socially Distanced Comedy to Denver Breweries

COVID has derailed everyone’s way of life. In addition to your personal plans being put on hold, small and large brewers alike have been forced to make tough decisions to adapt to the current climate. While most live entertainment and nightlife is far from being back to normal, some breweries are taking creative approaches to attract drinkers to their taprooms like hosting stand up comedy to coincide with their craft beer. Let’s be real, a good laugh and a beer might be more important now than ever.

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