Beer Calendar: Colorado Pint Day, Comedy and New Kids on the Block

Paul Vismara has a lot of talents. He's the co-author of  Italy: Beer Country The Story of Italian Craft Beer, an expert beer slinger at Falling Rock Tap House and an artist: Vismara painted the beer logo murals that grace Falling Rock. And at 1 p.m., on Saturday, March 26, he'll unveil his latest work, a mural on the back wall at Spangalang Brewery in Five Points. It features, Colorado wildlife, jazz instruments (which honor the neighborhood's history), a nod to old Blue Note album covers, and beer. The artwork has been kept under wraps — even the owners of Spangalang haven't yet seen most of it.

The unveiling is part of Colorado Craft Beer Week, which kicked off last weekend at Collaboration Fest and continues through next week with a variety of tappings and other events at breweries and beer-centric bars and restaurants. To help support the Colorado Brewers Guild, which organizes Colorado Craft Beer Week, participating breweries are donating $1 of certain pints sold today to the organization as part of Colorado Pint Day (Epic Brewing and Call to Arms are two of the breweries that are participating). Some breweries are also giving away Guild glassware with pint purchases. For more information on Colorado Pint Day and other Colorado Craft Beer Week events, go to the CBG's web page.

Wednesday, March 23
Copper Kettle will tap a firkin of European Potato Ale today at 2 p.m. as part of its Saint Patrick's Day firkin month. This one was inspired by classic Irish cuisine. The Farm to Truck mobile kitchen will be on hand.

Black Shirt Brewing will tap Chai Dawn today at 11 a.m. as part of its weekly One-Keg Wednesday series. The beer is Black Shirt's Milk Chocolate Oatmeal Red Porter on Nitro, infused with their house-roasted Chai spices. The tapping coincides with the brewery's monthly Pie & Beer Pairing with The Long I Pie Shop. Get details on that on Black Shirt's Facebook page.

Thursday, March 24
"New Kids on the Block, the radtacular part '80s Dance Party and part New Breweries Festival, is back for a fourth year," say hosts PorchDrinking.com, Two Parts and The Lobby, where it takes place. A celebration of Colorado breweries that are less than three years old, NKOTB is part of Colorado Craft Beer Week and features a DJ spinning '80s jams and unlimited pours from twenty up-and-coming beer makers. Tickets are $30, or $45 for VIP. The party starts at 7 p.m.

Freshcraft will welcome La Cumbre Brewing to Colorado today at 7 p.m. Brewery representation will be on hand. The tap list is TBA, but Freshcraft says to "expect some heavy hitters."

Cider is not beer, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy both at the Rackhouse Pub tonight when C Squared Ciders, which is located in the same building, hosts Vinyl Night. "Bring your favorite vinyl albums down to the pub and we will give them a spin on our tasty sound system while you receive $1 off all ciders at the pub and 20 percent off all cider to go," the Rackhouse says.

Friday, March 25
"When Breweries that start with P and end with OST get together and make beer, good things happen," say the organizers of the Prost to Post Baltic Porter Release and Throwdown, which takes place tonight from 4 to 7 p.m. at Prost Brewing in Denver. Prost collaborated with The Post Brewing in Lafayette on this beer, which was featured at Collaboration Fest last Saturday. Today, the will tap it again. Various brewers and chefs from both establishments will be on  hand, and they'll be serving fried chicken from GoodBird Kitchen, a fast-casual spinoff of the Post. There will also be live music and stein-hoisting. 

Love beer and food? So does the Denver Museum of Nature and Science's Dr. Nicole Garneau, who is leading a pilot taste test tonight with her research partners from the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC), the Brewer’s Association, and Cicerone. They'll be looking for the science behind "why we find certain pairings so satisfying," the museum says. "You and your fellow beer nerds, citizen scientists, and foodies participate in tastings designed by the Museum’s culinary team, who will also give feedback on your experience. Learn about tickets and info for two different sessions, Option 1 and Option 2, on the museum's web page.

Falling Rock Tap House will host its Night of the Barrels tonight for Colorado Craft Beer Week, featuring a multitude of beers aged in barrels. "These can be light in color to dark, in tequila, wine or whiskey and vary in ABV but are mostly higher in alcohol, so be forewarned," Falling Rock says. It starts at 5:30 p.m.

Four beers from Good River Beer Company will be featured today from 5 to 9 p.m. at Revival Brews, a bar in Evergreen. Good River is searching for a location in the Denver area, but contract brews in the meantime at Prost in Denver and Odyssey Beerwerks in Arvada. The company donates 2 percent of its profits to river conservation efforts. Revival will also donate a percentage from tonight's sales. 

Copper Kettle will tap its Copper Lager today at noon. "This German-style lager is a more malty version of our Helles, very sessionable with a gorgeous copper hue," the brewery says. Smoke: Colorado Craft Barbecue will be on hand.

Call to Arms Brewing hosts a beer-and-comedy pairing tonight. The headliner is Andy Haynes. Before that, though, you can try three sample beers and a pint. "On tap for the show: Amigos Borrachos (paired with James Draper), Clintonian Pale Ale (paired with Bobby Crane), and Freedom Fries Saison (paired with Rubi Nicholas). "Each beer has its own 'Drunk History' we'll be screening at the show," states the brewery. Limited tickets are $20 and available at this web site.
Saturday, March 26
TRVE Brewing brings back Melissa, its sour petite saison, today at noon when it releases bottles. "This year we blended Melissa from our barrel stock of mixed culture beer from The Acid Temple," the brewery says. The beer is described as "bright citrus and some funk on the nose, temperate bitterness and acidity, all clocking in at a crushable 4.7% ABV." There is a limit of six bottles per person.

Alpine Dog Brewing is releasing a mocha version of its Dyatlov Pass Russian Imperial Stout that has been aged on Coda Coffee Company beans and cacao nibs. The very limited beer will be tapped around 6 p.m., and El Toro The Tot will be onsite with food.

Dry Dock Brewing is celebrating Colorado Craft Beer Week by tapping some firkins filled with beer created by using ingredients from Colorado companies. Today, they will tap a firkin of beer in honor of Sam's No. 3 in Aurora. "Sam's fire-roasted the hatch green chiles that add serious kick to our Double IPA. Don't miss it," the brewery says. The tapping takes place at noon at Dry Dock's North Dock location on Tower Road.
Sunday, March 27
Come help Black Sky Brewery celebrate the release of its first-ever bomber bottle today at 2 p.m. The beer is Imperial Petal to the Metal, aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels. Quantities are limited.

In celebration of Colorado Craft Beer Week, Falling Rock Tap House will host Sour Sunday starting at 2 p.m. This "Day of the Bugs" features sour and wild beers "made with Brett, Pedio and Lacto. These are the beers that are funky, tart, sour, infected on purpose with our little friends that make us pucker and wonder. Not all of the beers are sour, as Brett does not always a sour beer make, but we do have plenty of variety," Falling Rock says.

Monday, March 28
Did you miss out on Collaboration Fest? Then head to First Draft Kitchen & Taproom starting today at 4 p.m., where they'll have a good number of the collaborations on in their pay-by-the-ounce taps — and add more as some of them kick over the next three days. Some of the breweries collabs include Station 26 and Indeed, TRVE and Prairie, Funkwerks and Wicked Weed, and Liquid Mechanics and Bagby Brewing. Head to First Draft's Facebook page to see the full list.

Saturday, April 2
Ursula Brewing, formerly known as Coda Brewing, in Aurora will tap Crustless today at noon. Formerly known as PB&J Porter, Ursula says it has been the brewery's "most requested re-brew ... ever since this beer won a gold medal at the Colorado State Fair." Also, it is National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day. Ursula recently changed its name after a split between its owners, so it is rebranding. As a result, the brewery says "our new bottle labels aren't finished yet so we'll only be selling growlers of Crustless to go. Look for bottles as soon as we can complete our newly branded labels."

Friday, April 8
One of my favorite packaged beers from 2015 will make its triumphant return to Denver Beer Co today at noon when the brewery hosts a release party for Cocoa Cream Graham Cracker Porter, on tap and in 22-ounce bomber bottles. The beer is an imperial version of Denver Beer Co's award-winning Graham Cracker Porter that was then aged American oak with vanilla and cacoa nibs. It tastes and feels like a s'mores milkshake. The first 100 people to buy a bomber can then hang out at the brewery's campfire on the patio and make their own s'more. Oh, and it's Rockies opening day, too.

Known primarily for its big, hoppy ales, Oskar Blues will go the other direction this month when it releases Beerito, a 4 percent ABV Mexican-style lager made with several kinds of malt, including one grown in Colorado. "The hallmark of this beer is the complexity of its deeply developed malt bill, which includes Weyermann Barke Vienna, Carabelge, Melanoidin, and Colorado's own Troubadour Blue Ballad malt," the brewery says.  A Beerito launch party takes place to day at the Tasty Weasel taproom in Longmont. After that, the beer will be available nationwide in six-packs and twelve-packs.

Saturday, April 9
Black Sky Brewery will host its second annual Rye Fest today from noon to 4 p.m., featuring rye-based beers from several local breweries, including Strange Craft, Chain Reaction, the Brew on Broadway and Black Sky (you can buy tickets, $35 each, at any of those four breweries as well, or online for $40). There will also be live music from the The Rye Pushers. Proceeds to benefit Community Sailing of Colorado.

"Ever wonder how individual breweries can each make IPAs that you love, but are all so different from each other? Well now is your chance to find out," say the organizers of Possible Worlds, a tasting and celebration of beer theory taking place today at 2 p.m. at Cannonball Creek Brewing in Golden. Join Cannonball, Call to Arms, TRVE, Ratio and Station 26 "to learn more about the the decision-making process that brewers face while creating unique IPAs that please our palates." To do this, each brewery made the same IPA with Amarillo, Centennial and Citra hops while using their own techniques. "The beers will be analyzed for their color and IBUs at Avery Brewing Company, and we will host a discussion on the intricacies of hop utilization and how incredibly different beers can taste when brewed in different facilities. A flight of five-ounce pours of each beer will be available for purchase at 2 p.m. when the discussion begins. The beers will be poured blindly, as Possible Worlds is less about whose beer is best, and more-so a conversation in beer theory and dynamics."

Saturday, April 16
The Bacon and Beer Classic returns to Mile High Stadium today from 1 to 4 p.m. and again from 7 to 10 p.m., featuring 100-plus craft beer samples, forty-plus bacon-infused dishes from local chefs, plus music, games and more. General admission tickets are $59; VIP tickets are $99 and get you in an hour early to either session. Find all the details at or more baconandbeerclassic.com.

Sunday, April 17
The Black Project will host a dual bottle release today from noon to 2 p.m. at its home at Former Future Brewing. The first is the dry-hopped wild ale, Jumpseat Batch 2, which has Citra, Mosaic, Equinox and Mandarina Bavaria hops. It boasts "increased complexity, same delicious citrus fruit hops playing with our house wild-yeast derived peach/apricot character," the  brewery says. Each 750-ml bottle costs $24, and supply is very limited, so bottle limits will be in effect. The second beer is Ejector, a double dry-hopped wild ale (and Jumpseat's big brother). "This beer receives a second dry hopping just a couple of days prior to packaging. The second charge contains more Citra along with New Zealand Kohatu," the brewery says. "In case you aren't familiar, Kohatu is an interesting new hop out of New Zealand that is known for creating dry hop flavors ranging from funky pineapple to 'Hawaiian Punch." The 750-ml bottles of this beer will be $28 and are also very limited.