For all this week's beery goodness and events, look below.
Wednesday, February 15Sherpa Prima returns to Yak & Yeti today at 4 p.m. The beer is a house-brewed robust porter aged in Leopold Brothers rye whiskey barrels.
Steve's Snappin' Ale, the house brew made by the Bull & Bush specifically for Steve's Snappin' Dogs, went on tap at the hot dog haven earlier this week. And there's a secret ingredient that the brewer at the Bull & Bush added to the amber ale. Westword is holding a contest to see if you can guess what it is; we'll roll out clues all week. Go to this Cafe Society post (linked) and post your answer. The first person to guess correctly -- by noon on Friday -- wins a $25 gift certificate to Steve's and the Bull & Bush.
Thursday, February 16
Highland Tap & Burger will tap a keg of Oskar Blues Deviant Dale's IPA today at 6 p.m. to help the Longmont brewery gear up for the release of the beer in sixteen-ounce cans; several brewery reps will be on hand. The 8 percent ABV beer, which won a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2011, should be on liquor store shelves on March 1.
John McClure, brewmaster of Rock Bottom's downtown Denver location, will host a beer and cheese pairing today from 5 to 7 p.m. at the restaurant. The even is free, but Rock Bottom is asking for a suggested donation of $5 to go to Denver's Road Home and the city's programs to end homelessness.
Friday, February 17
Fado Irish Pub & Restaurant will host The Great Guinness Toast tonight at 9 p.m., an annual tradition since 1993 in which Guinness drinkers around the world will try to break the record for the largest simultaneous toast; it's the kickoff to the one-month run-up to St. Patrick's Day on March 17. There will be shot specials, giveaways and live music.
Funkwerks Brewing in Fort Collins will take over the taps at Star Bar tonight, pouring a host of their saison-style beers. Details TBA.
Saturday, February 18
Feeling a little sluggish? Wake up with Denver Beer Co's Coffee Beer Fest, which kicks things up a notch this morning from 9 a.m. to noon. For $25, you can get unlimited mugs of five different coffee beers (and keep the mug), each made with beans roasted by Denver Beer Co's neighbor, Paris on the Platte. Also included is a breakfast burrito from Chile Billy and all you can eat bacon. Oh, yeah, bacon. Call the brewery at 303-433-2739 to buy a ticket, or pick one up at the bar. The beer list includes: Stormy Winter Stout, a barrel-aged American stout made with roasted coffee beans; Espresso Milk Stout, a cask-conditioned version of Denver Beer Co's Milk Stout with beans roasted by Paris on the Platte; Swineheitsgebot, a smoked lager aged with coffee and pounds of bacon; and Neighborhood Roast Coffee Stout, a Paris collaboration.
River North Brewery, Denver's latest neighborhood beer maker, expects to open this weekend in a part of the former Flying Dog Brewing building at 2401 Blake Street. Owner Matthew Hess plans to have four or five beers on tap beginning at 3 p.m. each day. The brewery will specialize in Belgian-style ales.
Hops & Pie will celebrate the grand opening of its expanded space today with a party featuring an amazing lineup of Dogfish Head beers. The pizza joint will also air Beer Culture: The Movie on a continuous loop all day long. Hops & Pie opens at noon and will have the following brews on hand: Bitch's Brew, Hellhound, Burton Baton, Raison d'Etra, Pangea, Olde School, 120 Minute, Fort, Chicory Stout, Midas Touch, Immort Ale and Faithfull Ale.
The Cheeky Monk on Colfax in Westminster will celebrate National Drink Wine Night "the Cheeky Way" by tapping a Sierra Nevada's ultra-limited collaboration beer, Birra Vina, which was made with 300 pounds of crushed Petite Sirah & Tempranillo wine grapes. The tappings take place at 7 p.m.
Oskar Blues Homemade Liquids and Solids will tap Pliny the Younger today. Fifty tickets (one per person) will go on sale at 10 a.m. The Younger will be poured at 1 p.m. You can show up anytime between 1 and 6 p.m. for your pour, but if you don't arrive by 6, your Pliny will be sold to someone else. Tickets are $12 for a ten-ounce pour.
Falling Rock will also tap some Younger. The beer mecca opens at 11 a.m., and employees will issue tickets to people who pay in advance; everyone who gets a ticket will get a pour. The tapping is at 1 p.m. Last year, it cost $8 for a ten-ounce pour.
Bristol Brewing Company in Colorado will roll out the city's eighth annual Firkin Rendezvous today beginning at 2 p.m. (general admission) and 1 p.m. (VIP). The fest celebrates beers that have been cask-conditioned, often with added ingredients and are served without the help of CO2 carbonation. At least 25 breweries from all over Colorado will be on hand with a firkin or two. Tickets are $35 or $50 for a VIP pass, and includes beer, food and a souvenir tasting glass.
Adam Draegar, the head brewer at Yak & Yeti, will be a gust on American Craft Beer Radio, the recently revamped AM 760 show hosted by John Turk and Chris Katechis. It airs at noon.
Meanwhile, American Craft Beer Radio, the new Gary Valiere-hosted show on FM 102.3, will highlight women in brewing, including Bridgett Geiger from Lone Tree Brewing and Jess Steinitz from Avery's Sisterhood of the Hop. Deb Carey, the founder of New Glarus Brewing in Wisconsin, and Denise Jones, head brewer for Moylan's in California, will join the show via phone. The show also airs at noon.
Sunday, February 19
Hops & Pie, which is getting ready to greatly expand its size, will host its second Littlest Big Beer Fests this month today, beginning at 2 p.m. Flights and single pours of several Odell Brewing beers will be available, including several that are usually only offered in the brewery's Fort Collins taproom. You'll find: Captivity Ale, a 6.8 percent ABV barrel-aged white lager blended with Odell Red; Sodak Ale, a 9.2 percent ABV barley wine-style ale; Mountain Standard, a 9.5 percent ABV double black IPA; Alpha Doug IPA, at 6.5 percent; and the Deal Breaker, a 6.9 percent ABV pale ale.
Monday, February 20
The Cedar Creek Pub in Aurora will submit to a New Belgium tap takeover this week when the Fort Collins brewery brings in as many beers as it can from February 20-24. A ranger from New Belgium Brewery will be at the pub on Wednesday February 22 from 3 to 6 p.m. with shwag.
Euclid Hall breaks out its Beer Bites program, a weekly series running through January, today from 3 p.m. to close. Beer Bites includes three two-ounce pours of selected beers paired with three bite-sized snacks for $12.50 in the bar; today's lineup involves chocolatey, fruity and infused beers.
