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Westbound & Down Membership Program Opens for Next Level Beer Geeks
August 27, 2018 | Tristan Chan
In any casual beer consumer’s journey, there are many inevitable “firsts” that can occur before finally culminating with unbridled beer obsession. From the first time one crosses into the refreshing bitter blast of a hop-forward IPA, to the first time you become infatuated with beautiful rich boozy bourbon barrel-aged stouts; the first time one travels to a destination beer fest, to pulling the trigger on a first successful beer trade, these milestones mark one step deeper into true beer geekdom.
Brewery Resources | Join Tomorrow’s Free Webinar on Brand & Label Registrations
August 22, 2018 | Tristan Chan
Running a brewery is difficult. Aside from just producing great beer, once you decide to take the leap and begin packaging that beer, navigating the path toward getting your brand and packaging ready, can be even more daunting.
Chicago Quick Sips | A Roundup of Chicago Events & Beer News – August 20th
August 20, 2018 | Mike Zoller
Quick Sips is our way of highlighting beer events, tap takeovers and other notable beer news around the city of Chicago. If you’d like to submit something to be included in the next Quick Sips, please email us at [email protected].
New Belgium Partners with The Source Hotel on The Woods Rooftop Bar
August 20, 2018 | Zoe Lanterman
The long-awaited project pairing a budding local mixed-use development empire in Zeppelin Places, with one of craft beer’s most storied pioneers, New Belgium Brewing, has finally opened to the public.
The Source Hotel, the fourth major mixed-use space in Denver’s River North Art District from the Zeppelin team following Taxi, The Source and Zeppelin Station, has been a long time coming. In fact, New Belgium Brewing and Kyle Zeppelin’s team had been collaborating on this project since 2014. Normal construction delays and accidents made opening a practice of patience for everyone involved, but the excitement was palpable as Kyle Zepplin (developer), Stephen Dynia (architect) David Stutz (The Source Hotel GM) and Kim Jordan (New Belgium) addressed the crowd at the soft-opening this past Thursday.
Alamo Drafthouse Announces Upcoming Westminster, CO Location
August 20, 2018 | Tristan Chan
For the past 21 years, Alamo Drafthouse has served as a pioneer in the cinema industry, pairing classic, contemporary and cult-following movie screenings, with sing-a-longs, themed event spectacles, a killer culinary program and elite level craft beer. Alamo Drafthouse has announced that it will open its third Colorado location in downtown Westminster, just 10 miles north of Denver.
The OGs of Craft Beer | Surly Brewing – Surly Furious IPA
August 20, 2018 | Hannah Carlson
Similar to the rest of the country, my home state of Minnesota has seen an explosion within the craft beer scene. According to one article, thirty breweries opened up in Minnesota in 2017 alone – which was nearly double the openings that the state saw in 2016. Needless to say, the scene is not showing any signs of slowing down. So what initiated this domino effect? One might argue that Surly Brewing – Minneapolis’ 12-year-old craft beer darling – is partially to thank for the recent surge. And if we’re going to give thanks Surly, we have to look back to the beer that first helped put Surly on the map: Surly Furious, the IPA that makes you question what an IPA should be.
Brewery Preview | Burns Family Artisan Ales Set to Open in Denver on Saturday
August 17, 2018 | Tristan Chan
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
August 17, 2018 | Tristan Chan
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 evolving landscape of craft beer, and varying priorities, 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.
BREAKING | 2018 Great American Beer Festival Brewery List Announced
August 16, 2018 | Tristan Chan
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
August 16, 2018 | Tristan Chan
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.
The OGs of Craft Beer | Great Divide Brewing – Yeti Imperial Stout
August 16, 2018 | Seth Garland
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.
PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | August 15, 2018
August 15, 2018 | Jeremiah Cornelius
The Denver Beer Beat sheds light on news of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, etc.
Read More
Brewery Showcase | Wiley Roots Brewing Co.
August 13, 2018 | Jaclyn Menendez
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”.
Read More
The OGs of Craft Beer | New Belgium Brewing – Fat Tire
August 13, 2018 | Chea Franz
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
August 10, 2018 | Mathew Powers
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.
Two Iconic GABF Week Events Won’t Be Returning This Year
August 10, 2018 | Tristan Chan
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.
Soulcraft Aims For A Greater Audience By Transitioning to Cans
August 9, 2018 | Sue Bjorkman
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.
PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | August 8, 2018
August 8, 2018 | Jeremiah Cornelius
The Denver Beer Beat sheds light on news of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, etc.
Read More
Event Preview | Save the Ales Beer Festival
August 8, 2018 | Camila Navarrette
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
August 3, 2018 | Tristan Chan
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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