Op-Ed from Breckenridge Brewery & Anheuser Busch’s The High End

If the results of last week’s shakeup involving the Colorado Brewers Guild, and the newly formed Craft Beer Colorado were any indication, the craft beer industry has fallen on confusing time. While the rift between the two groups derived from a number of varying factors, one of the key points of contention involved the fact that Anheuser-Busch owned, Breckenridge Brewery’s, Todd Usry still remains a CBG board member. Read More

Bear Pounds 36 Cans of Beer, Ignores the Busch

Editor’s note: This absolutely real story took place in 2004. Due to Rainier’s release of Pale Mountain Ale, we figured we’d give you a heads up just to make sure you don’t leave any of the good stuff laying around your campsite.

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Ode to the Shower Beer

Scenario 1

It’s a hot summer Saturday evening and you just got home from that co-ed softball tournament that you’re way too into. You’re covered in dried sweat and dirt from your unnecessary slide into second base, and you need to clean up.

Scenario 2

You sit in traffic for an hour and a half after a long day at work where you endured constant yelling from both your clients and your boss. The worst part of all? It’s only Tuesday.

Scenario 3

You’ve just finished moving into the house that’s made you a first time home owner. Your hands are blistered and exhausted from hauling sharp-edged furniture and slippery boxes all day. To go to sleep victoriously in your new bedroom right away would be nice, but it’s not what you need.

The solution to all these scenarios and more? Shower beer.

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Boulder’s Under the Sun Eatery Couples Great Beer & Cuisine

Under the Sun Eatery and Pizzeria opened in South Boulder in 2013 as the first of two non-brewing eateries in the Mountain Sun family of pubs. Its sibling brewpubs – Mountain Sun and Southern Sun in Boulder, and Vine Street in Denver – have thrived with a polished formula incorporating a laid-back vibe, exemplary service, an extensive selection of house beers and a menu of well-prepared affordable pub fare.

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“Hamilton” Beer & “Hamilton” Trivia with Gun Hill Brewing’s Dave Lopez

Every sentient being on the planet says it: If you’re in New York, you just HAVE to go see “Hamilton,” the musical currently taking Broadway by storm. (And it’s ridiculously difficult to see if you don’t purchase tickets way in advance.) It’s life-changing, they claim. It manages to make Americans talk enthusiastically about two things that have NEVER been so universally beloved: history and musical theater.

I did see “Hamilton” last month in New York, and all the hype is true. It’s fantastic. Lin-Manuel Miranda (the star/writer/composer) and the cast are extraordinary performers, and the way the show is staged tells a story worth hearing in a bold way unlike anything I’d seen before. I’m one of those people now. “Hamilton” is like veganism – you’ll know a friend of yours has seen it because they insist on telling you all about it. After seeing the show, I immediately followed some of the cast on Twitter, including Miranda’s alternate Javier Muñoz, who played Alexander Hamilton on the night on which I saw the show. And I was intrigued to see Muñoz talk about his involvement in a group creating a craft brew based on the show.

That’s right. There’s “Hamilton” beer.

Gun Hill Brewing in The Bronx has created “Rise Up Rye,” a limited rye beer (4.8% ABV) inspired by “Hamilton.” And just like I immediately went on the hunt for “Hamilton” tickets when I first heard the soundtrack, the revelation that a “Hamilton” beer existed sent me on a quest. And while “Rise Up Rye” isn’t available to me in LA (yet), I wanted to know more. This is where Dave Lopez enters.

Lopez is a co-managing partner at Gun Hill Brewing Co, which has had a Colonial-America look and feel about it since it opened in February 2014. Everything from the website layout to the labeling on their bottles looks like what you would’ve seen in the 1700s. And when you consider that the biggest thing in pop culture right now is the story of young, scrappy, and hungry New York revolutionaries with a vision, it’s easy to see how Rise Up Rye was a natural fit for Gun Hill.

Lopez generously agreed to talk to me about how Rise Up Rye came to be. And then… I put him to the test with a pop (culture) quiz to find out just how well he knows “Hamilton.”

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Women in Beer | Hopped Up on Jewelry

Photo Courtesy of Hopped Up Jewelry

One day while perusing social media, I came across a post by Deschutes Brewery promoting beer-themed jewelry for women. It’s the first time I had ever come across anything beer related that was exclusively made for women (how many ‘unisex’ beer shirts are in your drawer)? I immediately went to the website for Hopped Up on Jewelry and made my first purchase, a pair of steel hop earrings with my birthstone.

A few months later Kimberly Markley, the creative genius behind the unique business, happened to be passing through Austin and reached out to me about delivering a necklace that I purchased in person. After an engaging meeting at a local coffee shop, I knew that her story needed to be told. Read More

Denver Passport Program On-Sale and PD Giveaway

The Denver Passport Program is BACK!  For those who aren’t familiar with The Passport, it’s a physical book that houses a host of slammin BoGo (buy one get one) deals for … Read More

The Australian Drinking Guide

The northern hemisphere tends to think of Australians as a rambunctious bunch, pounding Fosters and surfing daily amongst massive crocodiles and sneaky jelly fish with one hand flipping shrimp on the barbie. Allow me to squash some of these misconceptions. Firstly, no one drinks Fosters here, and secondly, they’re prawns, not shrimp, and they’re more likely to be in some sort of Asian noodle dish than on a barbie. But you’ll love it here nonetheless. The people, the critters, and the pure vastness of untouched wilderness could keep any wandering soul endlessly entertained. When you do ultimately venture down here, there are a few things you should know about the how, where, when, and what of Aussie drinking culture. We break it all down with the Australian drinking guide.

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The Brewtography Project Launches Kickstarter for Discovering Colorado Breweries

I still remember the first time I met up with Dustin & Marcia Hall to enjoy a beer. I had only seen Dustin’s work on Instagram via his Brewtography Project account, but … Read More

Event Recap | Tip Top Tours Visits South Slope Breweries

Craft beer is all about new experiences. The craft beer industry has taken a goods / commodities based enterprise and evolved it into an experience based business model. This is evident in brewery hosted events, taprooms/bier gardens and beers unbound by categories. This influence has extended past the brewers and imbibers to the retailers who are dreaming up new and innovative ideas to draw their customers into the door and encourage them to return many times thereafter.  Read More

Crafting Beer Labels | Schlafly Brewing Walking Tree Wheat

It’s the age old question – “which came first the beer or the label?”

The mystery that is this question takes a turn when it comes to Schlafly’s newest twist … Read More

8 Georgia Beers to Drink This Spring

Georgia in spring is both a blessing and a curse. The drenching humidity is still a few weeks away, so for now you can still enjoy your drinks on the patio — that is, if you can tolerate patios, window sills, cars, running shoes, and everything else being covered with a fuzzy blanket of yellow pollen.

Whether your spring drinking spot is outdoors or cozied up to a bar — safe from allergies and early spring sunburn — these are the eight Georgia beers to try right now.
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Craft Beer, The Planet & What You Can Do On This Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! We are very lucky to live on the only known planet (to us at least) with beer. To make beer, significant resources are required. After consumption, significant … Read More

Breweries in Walking Distance of Denver’s RTD A-Line

This post was composed due to the efforts of Stephen Adams on Data, Desiree Duzich on Graphics, Brady Akers and Tristan Chan in Brewery Descriptions, Dustin Hall  and Holly Gerard on Photos.

Denver’s Light Rail system is making it easier to safely expand your reach of local breweries while also preventing drinking and driving. With the A Line opening tomorrow,  traveling through the River North (RiNo) District, even more breweries will be accessible through this convenient form of public transportation. This concept sparked the interest of Colorado Beer Geek, Stephen Adams to compile a list of all the breweries within a mile of a Light Rail station along RTD’s A-Line.

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Where to Find the Best Beer in Busch Stadium

Every major league baseball stadium across America serves beer. No other city has formed a stronger bond between that stadium’s team, its fans and the beer they drink than St. … Read More

Atlanta’s 16 Best Places to Drink Craft Beer

Georgia’s beer laws are undoubtedly among the worst in the U.S., but that doesn’t mean the beer scene is dead. Far from it.

While breweries continue to fight to legalize … Read More

GIVEAWAY | Brewed Food Revolution Embarks on National Tour

A food and beer revolution is primed to sweep the nation. No I’m not talking about food and beer pairing dinners, nor am I referencing cooking with beer. This runs … Read More

Ultimate 6er | Bud Light A-Rita Series

Are you able to use “bro” at least four times in every sentence? Do you consider articles from The Chive “classic literature”? If so, I’m sure you remember the classic Bud Light slogan “The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night”, but did you know that Bud Light’s Rita series can make saying ‘no’ even easier?

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BREAKING | Scientists Discover World’s Oldest Barrel-Aged Beer

Archaeologists in the Saqqarah necropolis of Egypt have just made a discovery of a lifetime. While excavating an newly unearthed cavern, within the Pyramid of Djoser, Dr. Benjamin Gates and his … Read More

Beer Trading 101 | The Ins and Outs of Beer Trading

So you’ve moved on from macro to craft, and maybe you’ve dabbled in attending some local small batch releases. You’ve also joined some local Facebook groups and started perusing beer forums on sites like Beer Advocate, but you’re noticing more and more that you don’t recognize the beers that are being posted, or breweries being discussed. Your curiosity is piqued, so you head to your favorite bottle shop and start scavenging the walk-in coolers in search of these cryptic hidden treasures, but to no avail, they aren’t there. You finally reach the tipping point in your frustration and fall to your knees crying to the beer gods “why oh why can’t I find any of these beers?” But then suddenly the clouds part and the answer is clear, it’s time to dive deep into the throes of Beer Trading.

Due in large part to the vast connectivity of the world we live in, beer trading has reached new heights and continues to serve as a great way to discover new breweries from out of state that are otherwise unobtainable.  But if you’re just getting into the game, the world of craft beer trading can be a daunting task that produces many questions. How do I initiate a trade? Is there trading etiquette? How do I engage in the community? Is it legal? Well, I have compiled 11 tips to help ease your transition into this exciting segment of the Craft Beer universe, so pay close attention. Read More