Mountain
Sacred Waters Brewing Co. | Guts ‘N Grit
September 1, 2020 | Katie Kalk
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.
Former WeldWerks Brewer Launches Peculier Ales in Windsor, CO
August 28, 2020 | Tristan Chan
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
August 24, 2020 | Korey David
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.
Molly’s Spirits Collaboration Program Elevates Colorado Craft Beer
August 20, 2020 | Scott Grossman 1
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
August 20, 2020 | Nathan Jahns
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
August 18, 2020 | Karen Mills
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.
WeldWerks Brewing Company | Pilsner UrqWeld
August 18, 2020 | Jaclyn Menendez
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.
Capitol Creek Brewery is Colorado’s Best Kept Mountain Town Secret
August 13, 2020 | Tristan Chan
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.
Left Hand and Liberati Locked in Lease Dispute Over Curtis Park Location
August 11, 2020 | Tristan Chan
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
August 9, 2020 | Scott Grossman
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.
Purpose Brewing Safely Celebrates Anniversary Amid COVID-19 Restrictions
August 5, 2020 | Scott Grossman
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.
Vail Craft Beer Classic Is This Summer’s In-Person Beer Fest
July 31, 2020 | Katie Coakley
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.
Green Mountain Beer Company | Barrel Aged Grand Cru
July 31, 2020 | Andrew Holcombe
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.
Rotating Tap Brings Socially Distanced Comedy to Denver Breweries
July 28, 2020 | Korey David
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.
Sanitas Brewing Opens Boulder’s Largest Outdoor Patio
July 27, 2020 | Zoe Lanterman
Sanitas Brewing Company may not be a flashy new name in the Boulder, Colorado, brewing scene, but the brewery’s palpable excitement and energy come through when talking to co-founders Chris Coyne and Michael Memsic. They have every reason to be excited because they recently opened the largest outdoor patio in Boulder. This new patio adds another component to the brewery, especially during the pandemic, offering room for live music, games, movie nights, running and bike clubs, and plenty of socially distant seating.
Amalgam + Westbound & Down | Meta Coconut Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
July 27, 2020 | Tristan Chan
In the current landscape of craft beer, brewery collaborations have become relatively commonplace. However, Meta Coconut, a barrel-aged Imperial Stout blend aged on a ridiculous amount of coconut and released as part of the separate membership programs a both Amalgam Brewing and Westbound & Down Brewing, is unique in that it’s essentially a collaboration between two breweries that share the same brewer. And while on the surface, two of Colorado’s most well-regarded breweries may appear as unlikely partners, they’re now intertwined in more ways that one.
Beers to Enjoy While Playing Animal Crossing
July 24, 2020 | Karen Mills
In the midst of quarantining, Nintendo released their newest version of Animal Crossing for the Switch. If you’re like me, this may be a nostalgic release, having played an older version of the game back when the DS was at its peak. Without further ado, we’ve rounded up a few beers to enjoy while playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons (hopefully with friends, while practicing social distancing).
Rally King Brewing | Lemon Tee Imperial Sour
July 23, 2020 | Bryan Oldham
Much has changed since March of 2020. Summer plans were quickly put on hold, our jobs had to adapt to Zoom calls instead of conference room meetings, and breweries were, for a long time, open for to go-only. With these changes came limited tap lists, a fear of can shortages, and ambiguous timelines for reopenings. Suffice to say, there’s no such thing as normal these days.
Strange Craft Beer Company | Happy Hour Czech Session Lager
July 22, 2020 | Scott Grossman
In the mid-summer heat a cold, crisp lager hits the spot and Strange Craft Beer Company’s Happy Hour lager is no exception. The Czech session beer has just enough complexity to keep things interesting but doesn’t overdo it and make you overexert yourself on a hot summer afternoon.
Cerveza Zólupez Beer Company | Zólupez Lager Mexicano
July 21, 2020 | Tim Haran
In some ways, Javier Chávez Jr. founded Cerveza Zólupez Beer Company specifically so he could brew Zólupez Lager Mexicano.
Chávez, the son of Mexican immigrants, wanted a beer that paired well with the food served at his parents’ restaurants. Even more, he sought to infuse his beers with Mexican culture and tradition while honoring his heritage.
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