Brewery Preview | Burns Family Artisan Ales Set to Open in Denver on Saturday

Last Fall, the Denver beer scene saw two pioneers embark on a unique partnership, which left the brewery space at Wit’s End available for purchase. As Wit’s End was closing their doors, two industry veterans happened to be looking to begin a new path of their own. Taking over the space and equipment at Wit’s End gave Wayne Burns and Laura Worley just the opportunity they were looking for.

Wayne, brewing resume dates back to the early 90’s having spent time with Michigan staples such as Bell’s Beer and Kuhnhenn’s. And since moving to Denver, he’s spent time brewing with Vine Street Pub, Jagged Mountain, Wynkoop, and recently Holidaily. Burns’ wife Laura has also run the gamut of brewery experience, having spent time bartending or serving as General Manager as the likes of Tommyknocker, Lost Highway, and Woods Boss. Together this combined experience of front to back of house operations is something both Laura and Wayne believe will help them succeed with Burns Family Artisan Ales which opens tomorrow August 18th at 2:00 PM. Read More

Breaking Down the Newcomers & Breweries Missing from 2018 GABF

Each year one of the most exciting aspects of the Great American Beer Festival is the ability to explore and sample some of the country’s best new breweries that have emerged on the scene. Additionally, it can be equally as rewarding to revisit some familiar faces you may only get to try once each year at the country’s largest beer showcase. However with the growing nature of the festival, and the Brewer’s Association’s move to a lottery system, we also tend to lose some familiar friends. As we’ve done each year, we’ve broken down the new / returning breweries as well as those who sadly aren’t coming back for this year’s Great American Beer Festival.

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BREAKING | 2018 Great American Beer Festival Brewery List Announced

Over 800 Breweries. 4 Sessions. 3 Days. More than 4000 beers. 60,000 attendees. Spanning over 584,000 square feet (a 17% increase). This year’s Great American Beer Festival is back and primed for its 37th Anniversary. The field has finally been set, and we now know which breweries will be part of the world’s largest beer festival. It is time once again to begin planning your routes. Which breweries are your can’t miss? And which are your must tries?

Be sure to check back often as we’ll be bringing complete GABF coverage leading up to, during and after the festival.

As we do each year, we will also be breaking down the list breweries to showcase the newcomers who are joining the fest for the first time, as well as those breweries who are notably missing. Read More

Has Constellation Lost Their Minds? Church’s Beer to Benefit LGBTQ & More News

Often when we find an inordinate volume of random beer news happening all at once, we’ll try to round them up as quick hitters to make sure to keep everyone in the loop. So in today’s edition of the roundup, we’ll touch on some bizarre decisions by Goose Island and Constellation, some release info as well as a great story on inclusion from an unlikely source.

We’ll kick things off with four equally bizarre moves from Constellation Brands, the beer conglomerate that owns Corona, Modelo, Ballast Point Brewing, Funky Buddha Brewing and the recently acquired Four Corners Brewing.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | Great Divide Brewing – Yeti Imperial Stout

There’s a Talking Heads song you probably know if you were old enough to drink when Great Divide’s Yeti Imperial Stout was released. David Byrne’s songs weren’t always coherent, lyrically, but damn it if they weren’t cool. As I get older, this line often runs through my head: And you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?

How Great Divide got here was through the vision and hard work of founder Brian Dunn. In the ‘80s, while Talking Heads were writing songs about buildings and food, Dunn was overseas building farms in developing countries. When he returned to Colorado, he started homebrewing and went to grad school. When Great Divide officially launched in 1994, Dunn was the only full-time employee – brewing, bottling and selling the beer himself. After some fantastic initial success, Great Divide bought a building (an old dairy processing plant) in downtown Denver in 2001.

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | August 15, 2018

The Denver Beer Beat sheds light on news of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, etc.
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Brewery Showcase | Wiley Roots Brewing Co.

For the past five years, Kyle and Miranda Carbaugh have been operating Wiley Roots Brewing Company on a quiet dead-end street in Greeley, Colorado. They’ve run their small space with a friendly and humble mindset, believing that if the beer is good, then the rest will fall into place. The Carbaughs have even come to affectionately refer to themselves and their brewery as “the weird kid in class”.
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The OGs of Craft Beer | New Belgium Brewing – Fat Tire

Imagine, if you will, a bicycle trip through Belgium. That bike ride served as the catalyst for a butterfly effect that helped to change the face of beer in America and encouraged a new generation of brewers and beer drinkers to prize flavorful, full-bodied and well-balanced liquid.  This surge, partially powered by New Belgium Brewing, has swept us into a new world of craft beer. Had this journey not taken place, there would be no Fat Tire. Without Fat Tire, there would not be New Belgium Brewing Company, and, without them, we may not have access to such a bountiful cornucopia of craft beer. Read More

Event Preview | Cocktails: A Competition

Denver’s Avanti F&B (Food & Beverage), presented by Shinola, is throwing a New Belgium Brewing Beer Cocktail Party on Monday, August 13, from 6 pm to 9 pm, and you are invited. Guests receive a complimentary New Belgium Beer upon arrival, taste the 10 competitors cocktails and help select a winner.

The grand prize winning bartender receives a spectacular Shinola watch. But the night is more than about winning and losing: “This contest was designed to be low impact for contestants, and a fun celebration of our community,” notes Avanti.

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Two Iconic GABF Week Events Won’t Be Returning This Year

As the Great American Beer Festival continues to grow in size, and popularity throughout the years, so has the week surrounding it. For those familiar to the country’s largest beer festival, often times the external events happening outside of the festival have drawn equal, if not greater interest, due to the quality of breweries lined up, and/or the unique approaches taken by organizers.

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Soulcraft Aims For A Greater Audience By Transitioning to Cans

CAN YOU?  What single element can turn previously laid-back fun-loving brewers into nose-to-the-grindstone workers? Oh, that could only be…success. CEO and Head Brewer Mike LaCroix of Soulcraft Brewery in Salida, CO and his team are transitioning from very limited bottling to full-out canning.

On his first day off in three weeks, he takes some time to breathe and reflect on this next transition: The “big spark” he believes will revolutionize this small brewery into a nationally recognized brand.

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | August 8, 2018

The Denver Beer Beat sheds light on news of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, etc.
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Event Preview | Save the Ales Beer Festival

In a landlocked state like Colorado, the late summer arrives with mounting temperatures and sporadic afternoon thunderstorms. Even in this land of indecisive weather, we’ve been noticing drier, hotter conditions more than ever before—which places more stress on our natural resources, like water. Climate change, it seems, is getting ready to claim another victim: our beer!

Conservation Colorado’s Save the Ales Beer Festival on August 9 aims to quash this nightmare before it morphs into reality. Both reliant on water, the environmental sector and beer industry embrace the overlap between conservation and craft beer at the nonprofit’s annual beer festival. With 40+ craft breweries and Colorado-grown companies expected, Save the Ales combines the power of Colorado’s booming craft beer industry with our citizen’s passion for our water, public lands, and natural resources. Read More

Behind the Label | A Closer Look at 4 Noses Brewing’s New Can Label Designs

In just over four years of operation, Broomfield’s 4 Noses Brewing has grown to become one of Colorado’s fastest rising young breweries, and last year announced full distribution throughout the state through distributor Elite Brands. The family-run brewery has already undergone a series of more subtle branding updates, but are now embarking on their most significant brand refresh to-date. We caught up with Marketing Manager Stacey McMahan to discuss what went into the updated can label designs.

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Rockyard Brewing Co. | Hopalypto Tropical IPA

Rockyard Brewing Company embarked on a complete overhaul and rebrand earlier this year, an endeavor that has seen these Castle Rock beerslingers bring about not only a new image, but an entirely new slate of beers to accompany it. As I was searching one of the local liquor stores in Fort Collins, I came across the can for Hopalypto. The can was unique, different and striking, which was all it took to convince me to pick it up.

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Crooked Stave Bringing Experimental Brewery & Taproom to Fort Collins

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project is returning to their roots in Fort Collins.

Chad Yakobson, founder of Crooked Stave, graduated from Colorado State University in Fort Collins in 2006 and wrote his Master’s thesis, The Brettanomyces Project, while at CSU. Additionally, when the sour and wild focused brewery first launched, Yakobson initially turned to Funkwerks to brew their base wort. Now he seeks to bring the Crooked Stave experience back to its roots in Fort Collins.

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | August 1, 2018

The Denver Beer Beat sheds light on news of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, etc.
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Save the Ales Beer Festival Preview | The All-Colorado Cherry Dubbel

Colorado’s craft beer scene embraces many different philanthropies, including the conservation community. It’s not surprising as they have many things in common. After all, the environmental sector and beer industry are both dependent on water, a vital—and increasingly scarce—resource in the drought-stricken west.

This past Saturday, conservationists, brewers and beer lovers gathered at Goldspot Brewing Company, located in the Berkeley neighborhood of Denver, and sampled a beer made with all-Colorado ingredients created in honor of Conservation Colorado’s annual Save the Ales Beer Festival.

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Denver’s Dos Luces Brewery Opens Today Reviving Chicha and Pulque Beers

In a time when much of the industry seems so narrowly focused on chasing the hottest new trend, the most innovative new style, the brightest and shinest new gimmick in beer, Denver’s newest brewery is actually looking backward, way back in time, to focus on historic styles.

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | July 25, 2018

The Denver Beer Beat sheds light on news of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, etc.

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