More than twenty beer makers in Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins (where Uber has services) will battle it out to see who can get the most Uber signups. To participate, people can go to Uber's website and click on the logo of their favorite brewery to sign up -- and get $25 bucks of their first ride (new users only).
Turn the page to see all of this week's events, which include some leading up to GABF. Or go to our full Great American Beer Festival 2014 calendar.
Wednesday, September 24
Odell Brewing officially releases its 25th anniversary beer, 180 Shilling, today with a party in the Fort Collins taproom. Jax Fish House will have its food truck out with guest chef Kevin Grossi from Lola in Denver. There will be live music from the Commoners. The 9.6 percent ABV beer is a play on Odell's flagship 90 Shilling. 180 is a double version of the recipe. It has a "hearty roasted malt base balanced by subtle earthy hops and aged on oak to create notes of toffee, plum, vanilla and dried cherry," Odell says.
Copper Kettle will tap a firkin today that was inspired by the Tequila Sunrise cocktail. They startd with their Imperial Pilsner and aged it in tequila barrels, then added fresh crushed oranges and maraschino cherries giving it a sweet twist with a hint of tequila. CKrêpes & CKatering will be serving food.
Friday, September 26
Copper Kettle will tap its malty Oktoberfest today. There will also be German-inspired food on hand and a local band.
The two-day Longmont Oktoberfest returns today to Roosevelt Park. In addition to sponsor, Left Hand Brewing, the event will feature five other Longmont breweries, Oskar Blues, Pumphouse, 300 Suns, Grossen Bart, and Long's Peak. Oktoberfest begins with a bike parard that will usher kegs from local breweries to the park, where the first one will be tapped at 6 p.m. by Longmont Mayor Dennis Coombs, who is also the co-owner of the Pumphouse. There will be a Stein Holding Contest and live music Last Men on Earth as well as German costumes, food and fun.
Photographer Patrick Andrade and RELIC studios will debut the photography show, Beer Boom, tonight at 5 p.m. with an opening reception in the newly renovated upstairs space at the Wynkoop Brewing Company. For the past several months, Andrade, a former war photographer, has been photographing Denver area brewers and breweries using the Wet Plate Collodion process - or Tintype - process that was introduced in 1850s and is familiar from historic photos of soldiers, presidents and outlaws of that era. The resulting works will be displayed on extra large, museum-quality canvas prints made from the Tintypes. Fourteen breweries participated in photo shoots, including Wit's End, Station 26, Renegade, Cerebral, Black Shirt, Grandma's House, Wynkoop, Great Divide, TRVE, Caution, Strange, Copper Kettle, Dry Dock and Former Future.
Ernie's Bar & Pizza will load up 27 of its taps from nine different breweries today starting at 11 a.m. for an event running into GABF week that is called the Grass Roots of Beer. Each of the breweries will bring one of the flagships that help get them started, as well as a few specialties. They include: Chocolate Stout, Red Banchie Ruby American Ale and Dobblebock from Boulder Beer; Escape to Colorado IPA, Blue Ski Lager and Big Bad Baptist from Epic Brewing; Little Mo Porter, First Cast IPA and Apis IV from Elevation Beer Company; West Coast IPA, Hop Head Red and Double Stout from California's Green Flash; Glyder Cider and Grass Hoppa from Colorado Cider Company; Redacted Rye IPA, Hypocrisy Pale Stout and Consilium Pale Ale from Renegade Brewing; Hoppy Boy, Raspberry Wheat and La Petite Saison from Twisted Pine; Amber, Scenic Kolsch, Peach IPA and Neomexicanus Pale Ale from Crazy Mountain; 3 Philosophers, Hennepin Belgian Style Saison and Hop House from Ommegang.
Thirsty Lion Gastropub & Grill will feature $10 flights of New Belgium beers today from 3 to 6 p.m. and give drinkers a chance to win tickets to the October 4 session of GABF. The beers include Snapshot, Trippel, Hop the Poind, Tour de Fall, Salted Chocolate and Fat Tire.
Verboten Brewing in Loveland will release two barrel-aged versions of its GABF Pro-Am beer, Crossroads Scottish Wee Heavy, at 3 p.m. today. The first was aged in a Blue Corn Bourbon Barrel, the second in a Rye Whiskey Barrel. Try tasters of the original and two barrel versions for $7 today through October 3, while supplies last.
Saturday, September 27
Fiction Beer Company will hold its grand opening today at 2 p.m. today, becoming one of the few breweries to find a spot on the city's east side.
Longmont Oktoberfest continues today at noon in Roosevelt Park with the town's six breweries on hand and various family-friendly activities. There will be a kids zone, local vendors, and live music featuring THUNK. At 3 p.m., fest organizers will begin to build the world's longest bratwurst in attempt to beat their 2013 record. Then they will grill the two hundred-foot-long bratwurst, made by Boulder Sausage, on site. Longmont Oktoberfest benefits the Left Hand Brewing Foundation, Safe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley, and A Precious Child.
The Falling Rock Taphouse will kick off GABF week a little early this year with a Fresh Hop Festival co-hosted by the Colorado Brewers Guild and Imbibe Denver. Running from noon to 4 p.m., the fest will feature more than 25 fresh- or wet-hopped beers from Colorado and elsewhere. Fresh-hopped beers are made by adding hop cones that have been harvested in the previous 24 hours, giving them a slightly different, more earthy flavor. Falling Rock used to host a fresh-hop festival in late October in conjunction with Oregon's Deschutes Brewing, but that changed last year when Deschutes moved its fest elsewhere and the Guild stepped in. Some of the participants include Black Bottle, Black Sky, Boulder Beer, Breckenridge, Copper Kettle, Crazy Mountain, Dad & Dude's, Elevation, Fate, Great Divide, Grist, Kannah Creek, Our Mutual Friend, Pateros Creek, Station 26, Strange Craft, Telluride Brewing, The Old Mine, Tommyknocker, West Flanders and Wynkoop. Tickets are $40 when purchased in advance at imbibe-events.com/fresh-hop. A portion of proceeds benefits the Guild.
Hops & Pie will celebrate its fourth anniversary today beginning at noon with a tap takeover by Avery Brewing that features Pumpkyn, Uncle Jacob's, Bad Apple, Beast, Chai Brown, Kaiser, Gorde, Lilikoi, 5 Monks, Rufus Corvus, Obscuro, Uberschwein.
River North Brewery will introduce J. Maria (Tequila Barrel Aged) in the taphouse and for sale in bottles today at 1 p.m. It's the brewery's signature farmhouse ale aged in artisan tequila barrels. "Notes of pepper, citrus and cinnamon balance the malty backbone of classic J. Marie, creating the perfect mix of sweet and spicy," the brewery says about the 10.2 percent ABV beer. "No lime or salt required." River North bottled 135 cases; they cost $15 with a limit of three.
Green. Beer. Fest. takes place from 2 to 10 p.m. today in the Boulder Bandshell, at 1212 Canyon Boulevard in Boulder. Formerly known as the Frack Free Brew Festival, the event mixes politics and beer and features live music and living exhibits that highlight ways to save the world. Admission is free, but it's $30 in advance for a beer pass and $40 at the door.
Odell Brewing in Fort Collins continues its week-long 25th anniversary celebration today with several beer tappings and food truck pairings from Jax Fish House, Common Link, and Taco Stop. Featured beers include 90 Shilling, IPA, Gramps and Mountain Standard.
The culinary team at newly-revamped Boone's Tavern have teamed up with Boulder Beer for a four-course collaborative beer brunch with Boulder Beer at Boone's Tavern today at 11 a.m. The menu includes: Chorizo jalapeño puff roll with arugula salad, paired with Buffalo Gold Golden Ale; poached egg, grilled artisanal bread, bacon fig jam, and pico de gallo with Sweaty Betty Blonde; frog in a pond, crispy pancetta, sweet tomato chutney, and pesto powder with Dragonhosen Märzen; white chocolate mousse, fresh berry compote, and sponge cake with Shake Chocolate Porter. Tickets are $35 per person. Call 720-961-0320 t reserve a spot.
Sunday, September 28
Avery Brewing will release Rumpkin today at 1 p.m. at its Boulder taproom. This monstrous pumpkin ale was aged in rum barrels and weighs in at 16 percent ABV. The taproom will open at 11 a.m. and be pouring rare beers for people in line. Twelve-ounce bottles of this annual release are $12 each.
Odell Brewing continues its 25th anniversary celebration today with an Oktoberfest party in the Fort Collins taproom. In addition to the release of its Oktoberfest beer, there will be a pig roast (free with purchase of Oktoberfest beer for first 100 people), Common Link selling Oktoberfest-themed foods and live music from The Constant Tourists.
Bristol Brewing in Colorado Springs will host a pre-sale for its ever-popular Venetucci Pumpkin Ale today from noon to 6 p.m. "Each year both the pre-sale and the release party have a cult following, resulting in lines from the Bristol Pub clear out the door to the street. This year, fans will be allowed to reserve four bottles of the ale, one more than in years preceding," the brewery says.
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