Beer Today

Everyone loves the Great American Beer Festival, and with good reason. But sometimes I find the sheer magnitude of that event overwhelming. Sure, I love watching people make fools of themselves during the Silent Disco, and you do learn a lot at some of those seminar sessions, but you know what? Occasionally I just want something simpler -- I mean, what’s wrong with spending a few hours just walking around and tasting a bunch of different beers?

Absolutely nothing, says the All Colorado Beer Festival’s Randy Dipner. “Our thought was that there just wasn’t a place for the smaller Colorado brewers to really get the visibility that they needed,” he adds. “And in Colorado Springs, we have the second-largest market in the state, so it’s a great way for them to show off and kind of get started in our marketplace.

“It’s more like a trade show, in a sense, for the brewers to show off their wares and for people in the public to sample those wares.”

Featuring more than 25 brewers -- including Arctic, Trinity, Blue Moon, Ska, Tommyknocker, Del Norte, Breckenridge, Lefthand, Oskar Blues, New Belgium, Rock Bottom and many more -- the festival includes three four-and-a-half-hour sessions wherein attendees will enjoy the sounds of live music and sample to their hearts content. The first session runs from 5:30 to 10 p.m. tonight; tomorrow’s sessions are from noon to 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 10 p.m. The All Colorado fest takes place at Mr. Biggs Event Center, 5825 Mark Dabling Boulevard in Colorado Springs, and tickets are $30, $25 in advance or with a military ID. Designated drivers will be admitted for $10 -- but no beer for them. No one under the age of 21 will be admitted. To get your tickets and more information, visit www.allcoloradobeerfestival.org or call 1-719-262-3232.
Fri., Nov. 7, 5:30-10 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 8, 12-4:30 & 5:30-10 p.m., 2008