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.” 

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“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.

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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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