Food and Drink Festivals

Photos: Prohibition Party and Brew Fest celebrates the end of the booze ban

Eighty years have passed since Prohibition ended -- and booze returned -- and that's certainly something to celebrate. On Sunday, the Oriental Theater hosted a Prohibition Party and Brew Fest to do just that, with guests dressed in '20s costumes sipping from more than 150 Colorado craft beers. Conti ... More >>

Odell Brewing will make Tree Shaker from Colorado peaches

Odell Brewing has been shaking peaches from trees for a while now, having made a couple of beers from the Western Slope's signature pit fruit. But the Fort Collins brewery will turn out its latest peach beer in March when it bottles its latest Cellar Reserve series beer, Tree Shaker. See also: - Od ... More >>

Third Shift lager, a new MillerCoors beer, got its medal-winning start at Denver's Sandlot

Tom Hail loves beer. He loves lagers especially, which is why he stays very late on a lot of nights to work on his passion projects. One of these is a traditional German-style marzen -- a recipe that he's been tinkering with on and off for eighteen years. It's a tasty beer -- so tasty that Hail, on ... More >>

Reader: GABF should get rid of Ticketmaster instead of BudMillerCoors

Is that beer craft or "crafty"? Last week the Boulder-based Brewers Association -- which puts on the Great American Beer Festival -- blasted the nation's two largest beer makers for not labeling some of their smaller brands with the names "MillerCoors" or "Anheuser-Busch." But the big boys have take ... More >>

Plenty of beer and wine will be flowing this evening

The Rocky Mountain French American Chamber of Commerce will host the fourteenth annual Beaujolais and Beyond Food & Wine Festival at Infinity Park Event Center, 4400 East Kentucky Avenue, tonight from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The fundraiser features more than twenty local restaurants, and participating che ... More >>

Beaujolais and Beyond, beer pairings and more on the calendar this week

The Rocky Mountain French American Chamber of Commerce will host the 14th annual Beaujolais and Beyond Food & Wine Festival at Infinity Park Event Center this Thursday, November 15. The fundraiser features more than twenty local restaurants, and participating chefs will take part in a culinary chall ... More >>

Strange Brewing faces a trademark threat from a Massachusetts homebrew shop

Something strange is going on. In September, as Denver's Strange Brewing was gearing up for a small expansion as well as the Great American Beer Festival, owners John Fletcher and Tim Myers got a letter from a lawyer demanding that they change their name. See also: - De Steeg Brewing will open on ... More >>

All Colorado Beer Festival in Colorado Springs Saturday

Denver is still recovering from the Great American Beer Festival, but for those who're thirsty again -- and willing to take a road trip -- the sixth annual All Colorado Beer Festival gets tapped tomorrow at Freedom Financial Expo Center, 3650 North Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs. The festival fea ... More >>

The Swarm Before the Storm

Arvada Beer turns one; Boulder Beer, Funkwerks party in our beer calendar

Lost amid the avalanche of beer tappings during the Great American Beer Festival was a pumpkin beer that Longmont's Left Hand Brewing made just for Old Chicago restaurants as part of its Halloween Mini Tour. The beer, 4 Foodies Ale (see the video above), was brewed in collaboration with Guerrilla Fa ... More >>

Twenty best costumes of Great American Beer Festival 2012

Beer lovers aren't exactly known for their high fashion, but they do know how to stagger in style, and thousands of people showed off just how crazy they could look last week during the three-day Great American Beer Festival. From Viking horns to Waldo costumes, this year's hops lovers were dressed ... More >>

Photos: The best beer swag of Great American Beer Festival 2012

Sure, you like beer -- but have you ever worn it? Wrapped your entire being in it and then spent three days at a convention devoted to it? That's what the country's most dedicated boze enthusiasts (enbooziasts?) did at the Great American Beer Festival, held at the Colorado Convention Center last wee ... More >>

Fifteen best beards of the Great American Beer Festival

The Great American Beer Festival is a mecca for beer afficianados--but curiously, it seems to be home to something else, as well: The Great American Beard. Continue reading for photos of our favorite chin-growers from the three-day booze-a-palooza. See also: - Great American Beer Festival 2012: ... More >>

Beer debate: Colorado versus Oregon at the Great American Beer Festival

The debate between the beer scenes in Oregon and Colorado has overflowed for years, and word of mouth continues to fall short of an explanation as to which one is the best. That's because an open-minded alcoholic craves more than just hearsay, which may be why the Great American Beer Festival has be ... More >>

Contest alert: Win two seats to Central's GABF dinner with Christian DeBenedetti, author of the Great American Ale Trail

Announcement: We have a winner. Congrats to annaortlieb8, who guessed 6,000. The actual number of books sold is 10,027. _____________________________________________________________________ For beer geeks, the Great American Beer Festival is arguably the best week of the year, with restaurants and ... More >>

Photos: Food scenes from GABF's farm-to-table pavilion

For an additional fee on top of the price of a Great American Beer Festival ticket, attendees at last night's opening beer bonanza earned access to the annual festival's farm-to-table pavilion, where chefs, local and national, along with independent brewers offered samples from restaurants and brewe ... More >>

Wahl's 'Man of the Year' facial hair contest is coming to Denver

Beer and beards. It's one of the greatest combinations in the history of the world. And luckily for guys with facial hair who like drinking beer, Wahl Home Products will be passing through Denver during the Great American Beer Festival, handing out $500 to the man with the best beery beard -- with a ... More >>

Great American Beer Festival week: Here's how to get a Monday head start

Every November, I cook a turkey. Not on Thanksgiving, but a couple of weeks early. This way, I can get a taste of Turkey-Day excitement early and not have to stuff myself on the actual day, ending up in a tryptophan-induced coma. The same plan also helps you survive Great American Beer Festival week ... More >>

Fifteen non-Colorado breweries to try at GABF

Colorado represents a huge part of the festivities inside the Great American Beer Festival, both because of the depth and breath of our state's brewing prowess and because we are the host state, so it is fitting - and easy - for our beer makers to represent. As a result, many Colorado residents who ... More >>

Twelve beers to track down in Denver outside the Great American Beer Festival

There will be thousands of beers to sample inside the Colorado Convention Center during the Great American Beer Festival, which starts on October 11, but there will also be some very special beers served at bars, breweries and restaurants during the week before GABF. Some of these were brewed espec ... More >>

Debate the debate -- and hops -- at Star Bar in this week's beer calendar

Denver is in a frenzy over both tonight's debate and next week's beer-soaked Great American Beer Festival . And sometimes the two obsessions even come together! To check out all the GABF-inspired events, go to our Great American Beer Festival 2012 Calendar of Awesome, which we're updating regularly ... More >>

Does the Wynkoop's Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout have enough balls to win at GABF?

Malt, water, hops, yeast...and bull testicles. That's the recipe for the ballsiest beer that Denver's Wynkoop Brewing Company has made in its 24-year history, and one that it will start serving on October 8 during Great American Beer Festival week. Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout, which started off as ... More >>

The hoppiest beers in the world: the annual contest during #GABF switches locations

The Alpha King Challenge, a low-key hoppy-beer contest that takes place every year during the Great American Beer Festival, will move this October from the Falling Rock Taphouse, which has hosted it for thirteen years, to the Rock Bottom Restaurant. The move seems like a strange one for Hopunion, t ... More >>

The 2012 #GABF will have a stunning 114 more breweries than last year

You can't drink them all. Don't even try. The Great American Beer Festival, which runs October 11-13, will feature more breweries this year than ever before, and not just by one or two. See also -Great American Beer Festival scalpers drive us to drink -A GABF ticket for $50,000? The guy behind the ... More >>

Upslope will release #GABF award-winning Pumpkin Ale in tallboys

Upslope Brewing will release two more Limited Edition beers this year in cans, following up on its Foreign Style Stout, which debuted in a can in January, and Belgian Style Pale Ale, which came out in June. But both beers, Pumpkin Ale and Christmas Ale, will be in sixteen-ounce tallboys rather than ... More >>

Denver's toughest tickets: Did Mumford, Book of Mormon or GABF make the list?

Bruce Springsteen tickets go on sale Monday, August 13 at 10 a.m. They'll be gone within minutes, if not seconds -- only to reappear shortly thereafter on eBay, StubHub and other aftermarket ticket sites for two, three or even four times their original cost. It's nothing new. But it sure gets old. ... More >>

Avery turns nineteen, GABF tix go on sale, and Dank IPA debuts in cans

Ticketing for the Great American Beer Festival, run through Ticketmaster, got off to a rocky start yesterday during a pre-sale for Brewers Association and American Homebrewers Association members -- many of whom were shut out from a Saturday afternoon session that is designed just for them. Sales to ... More >>

Twelve new breweries and 87 total will represent Colorado at GABF

There will be 87 Colorado breweries pouring their stuff at the Great American Beer Festival this year, according to a full list of attending breweries released today by the Boulder-based Brewers Association. Amazingly, that roster includes a dozen brand-new breweries that either didn't exist at this ... More >>

Denver Beer Fest will return in October with the Great American Beer Festival

Denver Beer Fest, the nine-day celebration of suds that surrounds the annual Great American Beer Festival, will return this fall from October 5 to 13. The fourth annual fest, loosely coordinated by Visit Denver, consists of a series of beer-pairing dinners, tap takeovers, brewery tours, special prom ... More >>

A celebration of seafood, beer and tea festivals and more on the calendar this week

The Tour de Jax, a traveling dinner series hosted by each of the three Jax Fish House locations, begins today. Chefs Sheila Lucero, Amos Watts, Kevin Grossi and Adam Watts -- along with special guest (and James Beard Award nominee) Lance Hanson of Jack Rabbit Hill Estates Winery -- have teamed up t ... More >>

Uncork some fun at one of these wine events

Unwined -- a two-day alternative wine-tasting geared towards a younger scene -- begins tonight at the EXDO Event Center, 1399 35th Street. In addition to unlimited samples of wine, there will be a variety of food trucks and DJs spinning tunes. The party starts at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $60; purchas ... More >>

Wynkoop Brewing celebrates Belgium; Denver gets ready for GABF

The Great American Beer Festival is coming a little late this year, October 11-13, but tickets go on sale August 2, and the GABF buzz is already beginning as breweries in Colorado and around the country get ready to wow the crowds -- the big crowds. As usual, Westword will be fully loaded immersed, ... More >>

Governor Hickenlooper will judge the Fight Fire with Beer Festival this fall

Colorado Firefighter Appreciation Week begins September 8 and will culminate with the first annual Fight Fire With Beer Festival on Saturday, September 15 at the Twenty Ninth Street Mall, 1710 29th Street in Boulder. The week will honor firefighters currently risking their lives battling the High Pa ... More >>

Winter Brew Fest at Mile High Station is sold out tonight, but don't cry in your beer...

The Great American Beer Festival won't hit town again until September, but beer-lovers can get a taste of their favorite brews tonight at the Winter Brew Fest at Mile High Station, 2027 West Colfax Avenue. More than 45 craft breweries will be pouring more than 125 brews, plus hard cider. It starts a ... More >>

Beer calendar: Oskar Blues HGH and Caution Brewing's Toaster Bat Black roll out tonight

Lone Tree Brewing​Lone Tree is a long bike ride away from City Park, which makes it tough on the typical inner-city cyclist to try the beers at Lone Tree Brewing. So Lone Tree Brewing, which opened just six weeks ago, has teamed up with the Denver Bicycle Cafe, another brand new business, whic ... More >>

Colorado beer calendar: International Stout Day, porters and more stouts

​The Mountain Sun string of brewpubs hopes to have its flagship operation at the Vine Street Pub and Denver up and running by February, which is also when Mountain Sun celebrates Stout Month -- one of the most anticipated beer fests of the year. In the meantime, however, you can celebrate Int ... More >>

Ten ways to be a beer geek this week, even if you don't have GABF tickets

​The Great American Beer Festival is the biggest, most well-known beer festival in the world. But there are only about 55,000 tickets issued for the three-day event, which starts Thursday -- and they sold out in a record seven days this year. Still, sometimes the best parts of the GABF aren't ... More >>

Reader: Great American Beer Festival volunteers are trained to pour suds, not info

​The gang's all beer, now that the town is filling up with hops-heavy events in honor of the Great American Beer Festival, just a week away. But while the GABF is popular, does it need a makeover? That's what Jonathan Shikes suggests in "Five ways to freshen up the Great American Beer Festiva ... More >>

The Great COntenders at the Wynkoop will give Colorado's GABF beers a frothy sendoff

​The Great American Beer Festival, coming to town September 29 through October 1, is sold out -- completely. But that doesn't mean you can't find plenty of beer geekery all over town. One of the first big warm-ups will be the Great COntenders, taking place from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Septemb ... More >>

Five ways to freshen up the Great American Beer Festival

​What's that you say? How can you mess with perfection? Easily. The Great American Beer Festival, which takes place September 29 to October 1, is the biggest consumer beerstravaganza in the world. It's on the life to-do list for beer lovers all over the globe, and it brings more cachet to Colo ... More >>

Uptown Brothers Brewing shuts the doors, puts the business up for sale

​Uptown Brothers Brewing, a restaurant and craft beer bar that opened in May 2010, closed its doors for good right after midnight this morning, a victim of the difficult economy. "We came close to making it; we were at about 80 percent of our break-even number, but we have no more resources t ... More >>

The Great American Beer Festival sells out in record time

​The Great American Beer Festival sold out -- all 55,000 or so tickets -- in an amazing seven days this year, or roughly twelve weeks before the world's biggest beerapalooza begins on September 29. Last year's fest sold out about five weeks before the event, while the 2009 festival didn't fill ... More >>

Great American Beer Festival tickets on sale now

​Great American Beer Festival tickets went on sale today (here), and although they are $5 more this year, $60 is still worth the price of admission. After all, there will be 450 breweries serving 2,200 different beers at the fest, which runs September 29 through October 1. What else is new at ... More >>

Three unusual beers from AC Golden Brewing go on tap tonight only at Star Bar

​AC Golden, the tiny MillerCoors-owned brewery located deep inside the hidden corridors of the mega-brewer's Golden plant, will put three unusual beers on tap tonight only at Star Bar, the tiny Larimer Street watering hole known for its craft beer selections. The beers are all ales, which mar ... More >>

Colorado Winefest, Music and Martinis, Taste of the Nation all tonight

​There's an embarrassment of riches at tonight's booze-and-food-filled events: Colorado Winefest, a sister event of the Colorado Mountain Winefest, lands at Northfield Stapleton today and continues through Saturday, June 11, with tastes from Colorado wineries and local restaurants, plus wine ... More >>

Culinary calendar for the week ahead: Patio wine parties, Dueling Cuisine and more

​There is culinary life after Mother's Day, starting with tonight's Lamb Jam and continuing the seasonal launch of the Colorado Wine Train, the Swallow Hill Music Winefest and much, much more -- with or without fermented grapes. Here's a taste of what's ahead:

Reader: Tourism official thinks maybe people at casinos should take a break from drinking 24/7

Bill Ritter.​Patricia Calhoun's top 7 ways of improving Colorado tourism post mentions ex-guv Bill Ritter and a tourism official who suggested that Colorado is the "new Scotland" because of all the distilleries here. Said official responded in our comments section to defend this tag, but not t ... More >>

The week in Cafe Society bloggery: James Rugile joins Frank Bonanno, octopus lovers unite and Alex Seidel cuts the cheese (and comes out smelling like roses in Zagat's America's Top Restaurants guide)

​Our favorite table scraps of the week from the Cafe Society blog:

Check, Please!

Readers give our food critic something to chew on.