To help out, here's a list of six beers that you should buy right now -- because they all will be gone soon. Tomorrow, I'll give you a list of ten beers that are just hitting the scene and could be worth a little of your hard-earned cash.
See also: - Novo Coffee teams up with New Belgium for a Colorado nod to coffee cherries - River North Brewery celebrates a year on Saturday, plans to can beer in 2013 - Odell's upcoming seasonal, Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout, dedicated to local cows
Vielle Artisanal Saison Crooked Stave Crooked Stave makes four basic beers that it bottles for liquor stores, but each one changes slightly each time as brewery owner Chad Yakobson adds or subtracts ingredients and tinkers with the recipe. The latest version of Vieille (which was formerly known simply as Saison) "finishes with a little more of a floral/citrus hop character," he explains on Facebook. "It's all about the evolution of the beers." Anniversary Ale #1 River North Brewery River North brewed this massive, complex Imperial Stout to celebrate its first anniversary in mid-February. And although the brewery just released its latest barrel-aged beer, Barre Reserve 2013, you can still find 12.5 percent ABV Anniversary Ale in a few liquor stores. But it is going fast.Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout Odell Brewing This beer is wweet and satisfying, but with a lighter body and mouth feel, so it's possible to drink three or four of these chocolately pudding treats before you realize that the four-pack is gone and you need to send someone to the store for another round. Maybe it's not fair to compare a beer made with rich chocolate and milky lactose to other beers, but if you get addicted you won't care about being fair.
Sadly, this decadent treat isn't part of Odell's year-round lineup (at least not yet), so stock up because Lugene is supposed to melt away at the end of March. Foreign Style Stout Upslope Brewing Boulder's Upslope Brewing first made this beer in 2009 for its one-year anniversary and then feted it again in 2012 by making it the brewery's first canned seasonal release. The smooth 6.9 percent ABV beer returned again in January, helping Coloradans warm up with its roasty, toasty notes. Cascara Quad New Belgium One of the first two Lips of Faith series beers that New Belgium released in 2013, Cascara Quad was made in conjunction with Denver's Novo Coffee using 700 pounds of cascara -- the dried husks of the fruit (called coffee cherries) that produce coffee beans. The is a lighter quad, but with rich notes of tobacco and leather. Apricot AC Golden Brewing As an incubator for MillerCoors beers, AC Golden Brewing is primarily known for its Colorado Native -- 100 percent made with Colorado ingredients -- but the brewers know how to push the envelope as well, having released a rich, barrel-aged imperial stout and a couple of sours. This is the third version of their Apricot (there are 100 cases this time) and it will cost you a pretty penny. But previous versions have shown that the sour ale, made with handpicked apricots from Palisade, is worth it.Follow Westword's Beer Man on Twitter at @ColoBeerMan and on Facebook at Colo BeerMan
