5 Questions With… Odell Brewing Co.’s Agronomist, Scott Dorsch

How do you stand out in the ultra-competitive IPA market? Maybe you go the hazy route; maybe you go with something double or triple-hopped, or maybe you just make a damn good single-hop IPA. That’s the inspiration behind Odell Brewing Company’s Wolf Picker IPA series, which shines a light on a new hop in each iteration.

The 2019 Wolf Picker features the new Oregon-grown Strata hop and is the first of the series to debut in cans. Sourcing unique hops that stand out amongst the competition is a tough job, but it’s one that Odell’s agronomist Scott Dorsch relishes. A typical agronomist role requires the person to be an expert in the science of soil management and crop production, but it takes on a bit of a new meaning when you work at a craft brewery. We asked Dorsch five questions about his career in agronomy, why he chose Strata for the latest Wolf Picker and what excites him about the hop marketplace in 2019.

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2019 Collaboration Fest Announces List of Collaborating Breweries

Over the past six years, Denver’ Collaboration Fest has grown to represent the foundation of which this industry was built upon. Fostering a deep sense of community, pairing neighbors, friends from across the country, entire geographical regions, and even breweries from across … Read More

5030 Local | Beer and Pizza Redefined

The stretch of Highway 34 from Namaqua Road out to Estes Park is known for, well, not much. That was until a few months ago, when the owners of Berthoud Brewing Company and Peel Handcrafted Pizza decided to make this stretch of road one of Northern Colorado’s premier food and drink destinations.  

5030 Local is a joint venture between Berthoud’s namesake brewery and a mainstay in the Frederick food game. The owners have been friends for years, and general manager Vanessa told us that they had discussed a joint venture going back a long while. They finally pulled the trigger and brought their offerings North.

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | February 13, 2019

The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More

Lost In The Woods 2019 | New Belgium Gets Lei’d

New Belgium Brewing is famous for a lot of things, but here in their hometown of Fort Collins, their parties are what most people will have a story about. The sprawling, beautiful brewery space just beyond Old Town has opened its doors to countless soirees over the years. But none is so popular or memorable as their annual Lost in the Woods. Read More

Wynkoop’s Beer Drinker of the Year to Win Free Beer for Life

It’s the ultimate test of endurance, fortitude, knowledge and charisma, we’re not talking about the Jeopardy, this isn’t Ultimate Ninja Warrior, and it certainly isn’t the Olympics, but combine all three and add a whole lot more beer and you just might be onto something. Tomorrow, Denver’s most historic craft brewery, Wynkoop Brewing, will once again crown one knowledgeable beer fan the title of Beer Drinker of the Year.

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An Interactive Map Of All 67 Colorado Brewery Openings In 2018

In 2018, Colorado craft beer consumers had its demand for more met with more supply as the state saw 67 new brewery openings or additions. Astonishingly, this is the most since 2014 when 68 brewery openings occurred.

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Stem Ciders Acquires North Carolina’s Black Twig Cider House

Just weeks after Stem Ciders celebrated their 5th Anniversary, they’re about to embark on another major milestone. The Denver-based cidery announced yesterday that they have acquired Black Twig Cider House in Durham, N.C and will be re-branding the location as The Northern Spy, named after an apple varietal often used in Stem’s line of ciders.

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | February 6, 2019

The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More

Where to Find 2019 Pliny the Younger in Colorado

In an age when names like Assassin, CBS, Duck Duck Gooze, Hunahpu and Medianoche are uttered with extreme reverence among craft beer fanatics, Russian River Brewing‘s Pliny the Younger still manages to carry the same clout and cult following well over … Read More

New Belgium La Folie Grand Reserve: PX Just Changed the Sour Game

For the past two decades, La Folie has transformed the country’s understanding of American Sour beers and inspired innumerable breweries to embark on their own quest for acidity. But like all truly great innovators, the best are not satisfied resting on their laurels. Two years ago, New Belgium introduced the next extension of La Folie with the use of Geisha coffee. And now, we have it’s latest entry, La Folie Grand Reserve: PX, available beginning February 9th.

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Denver’s FERMÆNTRA Brewery Announces Upcoming Closure

2019 has already been an ugly year for craft breweries in Colorado. While we’re just over a month into the new year, four Colorado breweries have already announced their closure including Woodland Park’s Ute Pass Brewing, Lost Highway Brewing in … Read More

New Belgium at The Source | A Community Based Brewery Experience

As the fourth-largest craft brewery in the country, New Belgium Brewing has the reputation of doing big things in the industry. However, their newest project at the just-opened Source Hotel seems to be in stark contrast to this model. The 10-barrel brewing system, run by brewer Geoff Wenzel, plans to focus on small-batch, artisanal creations with an emphasis on the Source community.

The Source, a former iron factory, was one of the first buildings in the country to put together the concept of a multi-use, multi-vendor space for patrons to explore and enjoy. Taking the idea of craft and re-imagining it through the lens of food and drink, The Source has created a hub of very talented and imaginative artisans. Seeing this concept come to life, New Belgium approached the Zeppelin team to become a part of this collaborative culture in 2014 and has been a critical part of making this vision become a reality ever since. Read More

Brewery Locks Arms with Denver Teachers During Strike

Denver’s teachers voted last week to strike after negotiations between Denver Public Schools (DPS) and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) fell though. At the center of the strike is a disagreement over teacher’s pay, including a pay-for-performance system called ProComp. During negotiations, DPS offered teachers a 10% pay raise and offered some concessions on ProComp. DCTA rejected the offer, seeking a 12.5% increase in pay and the streamlining or elimination of several ProComp incentives. Read More

PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | January 30, 2019

The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More

5 Questions with New Belgium’s R&D Brewer, Ross Koenigs

Colorado’s New Belgium Brewing Company has been around for a long time (more than 25 years) and its beer portfolio has changed and adapted as the craft beer market grew up. While their excellent sour beer program and iconic Fat Tire Amber Ale remain staples of their lineup, New Belgium has made some interesting shifts in their IPA portfolio over the past few years to appeal to a younger, more adventurous and IPA-crazed beer drinking demographic. New Belgium retired their Ranger IPA in 2017 but the ethos of that brand now lives on in their popular Voodoo Ranger IPA lineup.

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February’s Looking Stout, Here’s the 2019 Mountain Sun Stout Month Lineup

Ok, so 2019 didn’t exactly start off on the best note, with the government shut down, dumb people BirdBoxing the internet, more Kanye tweets, the whole Covington Catholic thing and another Patriots Super Bowl appearance, I think most of America is ready to move on to February.

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Maxline Brewing | Rummy in My Tummy & Mean Heat Wheat

If you’re in a part of the country without snow on the ground right now, you might not fully appreciate the solace that lies within winter beers. You may have already read that it’s a primal instinct for humans to party.  But taking it a step further, there’s something much more instinctively satisfying about getting together with your fellow primates; braving the cold and celebrating the very fact that you’ve braved the cold. Being out in a public gathering area during cold weather somehow amplifies the sense of community. Maxline Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado is exactly the kind of place you’d want to go and brave the cold weather.

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Lafayette’s Uturn BBQ is Colorado’s Second Brewery to Close in 2019

In another casualty of Colorado’s immensely competitive craft beer landscape, Uturn BBQ and Brewery in Lafayette, Colorado announced Monday via Facebook, that they would be closing their doors to be replaced by a Larkburger. Uturn BBQ opened two years … Read More

PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | January 23, 2019

The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More