Beer Calendar: Oktoberfest Brings out Sausage, Steins, Lagers and Lederhosen

The NFL season kicked off last week, meaning that the mania of fantasy football leagues is in full swing. But football wasn't the only sport being debated in the fantasy realm. The porchdrinking.com blog also held its annual Fantasy GABF Brewery Draft on Sunday, in which a bunch of beer writers got together to make their picks for who they think will win the most medals at the Great American Beer Festival, which runs September 24 to 26. Participants included Kyle Clark of 9News, Tom Rotunno of CNBC, Mike Snider of USA Today, Eric Gorski, formerly of the Denver Post, and writers from the Roaming Pint, Focus on the Beer, the Full Pint, Denver Off the Wagon, the Beer Guy, Bitch Beer, Drink and Spoon, Brewtally Insane, and, of course, Westword. Wanna see who we all picked? Porchdrinking has all of our picks. And, yeah, I took the Sandlot with my first pick for the second year in a row. The place has won more than 45 medals over the years.

Wednesday, September 16
Copper Kettle will tap its traditional fresh hop beer made with hops grown by John, a brewery customer who is also Brew Club Member #9. Food Truck TBD.

Lost Highway Brewing celebrates the season by tapping its Pumpkin Ale today at 3 p.m.

Douglas County Libraries have teamed up with eight different breweries for a series of events and activities, as well as a passport program called the Great Douglas County Brew Tour. For the tour, participants can download a passport from the library district's website and then at least five of the participating breweries: 3 Freaks in Highlands Ranch, Barnett & Sons in Parker, Elk Mountain in Parker, Grist in Highlands Ranch, Hall Brewing in Parker, Living the Dream in Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree Brewing in Lone Tree, and Rockyard in Castle Rock. There, they can get their passport stamped; once they have five stamps, they can bring the passport to any DCL location to receive a limited-edition Brew Tour pint glass. In addition, six of the breweries will tap a special beer made just for the library and host a beer author or event the same night. Tonight, you'll find Ed Sealover, author of Mountain Brew: Colorado’s Colorful Craft Breweries at Barnett & Son. The library brew is a dunkelweizen. 

Thursday, September 17
The Brewtography Project will launch a Kickstarter campaign today at 4 p.m. at Baere Brewing with the goal of publishing Discovering Colorado Breweries, a coffee-table photography book dedicated to the Colorado craft brewing industry. Brewtography founder Dustin Hall will be on hand to talk about the project and to show off his excellent work capturing breweries and their environs for the past two-and-half years at locations all over Colorado. Hall's prints will be hanging throughout the brewery and available for sale. Baere will also tap a collaboration beer it made with Hall, The F/Stops Here, a stout aged in Laws Whiskey barrels. The brewery will donate $1 from the sale of each pint to the Kickstarter campaign.

Euclid Hall Bar & Kitchen is once again hosting a series of "intimate" craft-beer dinners leading up to the Great American Beer Festival in late September. Each dinner will have a menu crafted to pair with the particular brewery and a brewery expert will be on hand to discuss the beers. Each dinner begins at 7 p.m.; tickets are $55 per person and can be purchased at brownpapertickets.com. Tonight's dinner features beers from Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project in Denver.

Enjoy beer and cheese at Denver Bicycle Cafe today at 7 p.m. with an event featuring beers from some GABF winners. Pair five-ounce beer pours with Whole Foods cheese while discussing and learning from our cheese expert, Nate Cougill. Get tickets, $20, at Imbibe.

Friday, September 18
Bring your dirndl and lederhosen to the Copper Kettle tasting room for the brewery's annual party and tap release. They'll be releasing their Marienplatz Märzen, a traditional German festbier with rich and toasty character, starting at noon. 5280 Sliders will be on hand.

Caution Brewing has developed a new house beer for Ernie’s Bar & Pizza, "a crisp, easy drinking pale ale with hints of infused fresh Italian Basil that pairs wonderfully with the pastas and pizza sauce," according to the restaurant. Ernie's had a social media contest to name the beer, which will be tapped today at 6 p.m. Ernie’s will also host a partial tap takeover featuring ten of Caution’s beers. There will also be live music by Walker Shellist from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The Mighty Beer Run, described as "an interactive race that will challenge runners, walkers and crawlers to earn their beer from start to finish," takes place today in RiNo today. Beginning at Ratio Beerworks, each racer has two hours to complete the course, which includes four stops: Ratio, Stem Ciders, Zephyr Brewing and Beryl’s Beer Company. There will be a post-race party starting at 8 p.m. back at Ratio Beerworks with food trucks. Tickets range from $24 to $34. Get info at www.mightybeerrun.com.

Loveland Oktoberfest returns to Grimm Brothers Brewhouse today, from 3 to 9 p.m., and tomorrow, from noon to 9 p.m. It will feature beer from seven Loveland craft breweries, including Verboten, Loveland Aleworks, Crow Hop, Big Beaver, Buckhorn, Big Thompson, and of course Grimm Brothers. There will also be food from Gunter’s Bavarian Grill, The Road Grill, Bottlecap BBQ, and Styria Bakery. Live local music will begin on Friday evening with a polka band from the CSU Music Department called Neue Polka Colorado. Saturday’s lineup will feature Denver polka band Steve Rock’s Tanzkapelle and local favorites Cable Ten and Harvestmen. "Wear your dirndl and lederhosen for the best dresses contest at 2 p.m. on Saturday and hold those steins high for the stein hoisting contest at 4:30," Grimm says. "Other games will be run by the Loveland, Big Thompson Kiwanis Club and include hammerschlagen, Loveland Mobile Mini Golf, corn hole, carpet ball, ladder ball, washer toss, and more. All money raised from playing games will go directly to Kiwanis Club.

Odell Brewing in Fort Collins will release Isolation Ale today in its taproom. This 6.1 percent ABV winter seasonal has a sweet, caramel-y note with a crisp hop finish. It will be available on store shelves through December.

Saturday, September 19
Zwanze Day returns to Denver today at Crooked Stave's original Barrel Cellar (not the location inside the Source). This is the day that Belgium's famed Cantillon brewery sends a special beer to only a few select locations around the world, who are all asked to tap it at roughly the same time. Crooked Stave is the only Denver outlet. This year's beer is a stout fermented with wild yeast. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m., with tickets sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Zwanze will be tapped at 1 p.m. and last call will be at 3 p.m. Only the first 150 people will get a pour. Tickets are $20 and include a glass of beer, a Zwanze glass and a pour of another Cantillon beer. Total attendance will be capped at 300 people, so the latecomers can get a glass and a pour of another Cantillon beer for $15.

Our Mutual Friend will thank its patrons today with Gratitude 2015, "a celebration of friendship and the beer made possible by it." All pours are $4, and there are plenty of beers on tap as well as a few new ones for sale in bottles (Gratitude 2 Blueberry Sour, 24FPS Golden Sour Ale, and American Wild Ale). The tap list includes the above three beers, as well as Bad Motorfinger Imperial Porter aged in a Laws Rye Barrel, Bad Motorfinger Imperial Porter aged in a Laws Bourbon Barrel, Bad Motorfinger Imperial Porter, Ellipsism, Strong Ale, Conjoined twins (50/50 Grady Twin Blend), Proletariat, Segale Rye Pale Ale, IPA, Cherry Gose, Colorado Pale PR3, Coffee Stout, and Dad's Smoking Brown. There will also be beer and merchandise giveaways, live music from Two Tone WolfPack, Hotel Bar, & Hello Mountain, and food from Patikim Filipino food truck and more.

Lone Tree Brewing will host its fourth annual Oktoberfest today (coinciding with Munich's world-famous events). It will include a traditional Fest Halle tent with added beer stations. Activities will include beer stein racing, stein hoisting, chicken dancing, live music, assorted German fare, more food, and of course, lots and lots of beer. One of those beers will be Lone Tree's Oktoberfest. "This event is open to all ages and well-behaved dogs. A barrel tapping will take place at 11 a.m. Once the barrel has been tapped there will be plenty of glass mass’s and beer for all. Watch for event updates on the band, food and contest times on Lone Tree’s Facebook page. Parking is limited and alternate modes of transportation are encouraged," the brewery says.

First Draft, the newly-opened pay-by-the-ounce beer bar and restaurant, will hold its own Oktoberfest today and tomorrow, from 10 a.m. to close, featuring more than thirty Oktoberfest beers. "We're bringing in every Oktoberfest we can find from US craft breweries, and giving you the opportunity to taste each one and find the one you like the best," the establishment says. "We'll even have rating cards so by the end of the weekend we'll know which Oktoberfest beer Denver likes the best." The kitchen will be cooking German sausages, pretzels, and more. The beer list includes: Odell Oktoberfest, Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest, Prost Marzen, Oskar Blues Oktoberfest, Boulder Beer Dragenhosen, Lagunitas DoppelAlt, Breckenridge Autumn Ale, AC Golden Oktoberfest, Goose Island Oktoberfest, Grimm Father's Daughter, Left Hand Oktoberfest and Victory Festbier.

Locavore Beer Works in Littleton will hold is first Oktoberfest celebration today and tomorrow. The brewery will have a five-beer lineup of German-style brews: Marzen, Schwarzbier, Dortmunder, Hefeweizen and Dunkleweizen. Rocky Mountain Catering will be serving bratwursts, knockwursts, potato salad, braised cabbage and apple strudel for $15.

Barrels & Bottles in Golden will celebrate its second anniversary today from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a bunch of special tappings, including Gin Barrel-Age Juniperus 2014 & 2015, Hypnos Stout - 2014 & 2015, Hypnos Stout w/Raspberries - 2014, Tequlia Barrel-Aged Surething IPA, Gin Barrel-Aged Surething IPA, Tequlia Barrel-Aged Serendip Saison, and Hot Lips Sour Kettle Beer Slushies. The guest beer lineup will include: Russian River Consecration, Deschutes - The Abyss 2014 & Not Stoic 2015, Great Divide - 21st Anniversary Ale, 
The Bruery - Tart of Darkness & Sour in the Rye, and Sun King - Tin Star Barleywine. There will be free food from the Tin Star Smokehouse from 11 a.m. until it's gone. Live music all day from Erik Stuckey, Reuben Gonzales & Tim Stiles. Giveaways all day.

South Park Brewing in Fairplay will celebrate its first anniversary today and tomorrow with an Oktoberfest party. Tents will be set up in the parking lot in front of the building at noon both days. They will feature outdoor beer garden pouring three limited-release German-style lagers. A limited number of half-liter German steins commemorating the first anniversary will be available. German style food including beer brats, sausages and all the fixings. A DJ will be playing a variety of German style music Saturday and all day Sunday. There will be live music by the Denver based band Rock Ridge Ramblers Saturday evening. A bounce castle will be available both days for the kiddos. 

Sunday, September 20
Avery Brewing will hold a bottle release for No. 30 in its acclaimed Barrel-Aged Series. Vallum was brewed with Cabernet Franc grape must and allowed to age in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels. The wild yeasts that were already living on the grape skins then fermented most of the beer, meaning this wild ale was 100 percent spontaneously fermented. Bottles go on sale at 11 a.m.; $12 per bottle.

Fiction Beer Company is celebrating its anniversary this week with several tappings and events. Today, the brewery will tap Sunny Boy Saison: Brett Saison brewed with rosehips for the Beer Made by Walking event taking place this week. Inspired by their walk in Paonia and named after local author Mark Stevens book, Trapline, the beer will begin pouring at 6 p.m. Stevens will be at Fiction signing books and hanging out. There will also be a cellar tapping of Ultimate Simpatico.

Monday, September 21 to Sunday, September 27
Please see our separate Great American Beer Festival Week Calendar.

Wednesday, September 23
Douglas County Libraries have teamed up with eight different breweries for a series of events and activities, as well as a passport program called the Great Douglas County Brew Tour. For the tour, participants can download a passport from the library district's website and then at least five of the participating breweries: 3 Freaks in Highlands Ranch, Barnett & Sons in Parker, Elk Mountain in Parker, Grist in Highlands Ranch, Hall Brewing in Parker, Living the Dream in Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree Brewing in Lone Tree, and Rockyard in Castle Rock. There, they can get their passport stamped; once they have five stamps, they can bring the passport to any DCL location to receive a limited-edition Brew Tour pint glass. In addition, six of the breweries will tap a special beer made just for the library and host a beer author or event the same night. Tonight, you'll find Randy Mosher, author of Tasting Beer, at Grist. The library brew is a Southern English Brown Ale.

Wednesday, September 30
Copper Kettle Brewing will tap its traditional German Märzen, "donned with pumpkin pie spices for a yummy pumpkin lager," the brewery says. Pavy's Food Truck out with gourmet sandwiches.

Douglas County Libraries have teamed up with eight different breweries for a series of events and activities, as well as a passport program called the Great Douglas County Brew Tour. For the tour, participants can download a passport from the library district's website and then at least five of the participating breweries: 3 Freaks in Highlands Ranch, Barnett & Sons in Parker, Elk Mountain in Parker, Grist in Highlands Ranch, Hall Brewing in Parker, Living the Dream in Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree Brewing in Lone Tree, and Rockyard in Castle Rock. There, they can get their passport stamped; once they have five stamps, they can bring the passport to any DCL location to receive a limited-edition Brew Tour pint glass. In addition, six of the breweries will tap a special beer made just for the library and host a beer author or event the same night. Tonight, you'll find Dan Rabin, author of Notes from the Tap Room at Lone Tree Brewing. The library brew is a Pumpkin Ale.

Saturday, October 3
Falling Rock will host its tenth annual Fresh Hop Festival today from noon to 4 p.m., featuring numerous fresh-hopped or wet-hopped beers from both Colorado and out-of-state breweries. 

Thursday, October 8
Odell Brewing will partner with The Farmhouse at Jessup Farm to host a vertical tasting and beer pairing dinner tonight at 6 p.m. Doug Odell and Chef Joel Navejas will guide guests through eight carefully selected courses paired with all eight of Odell's Woodcut releases. Tickets to the event, which takes place at Odell in Fort Collins, can be purchased for $100. Only 75 are available.