Beer Calendar: Spooky Brews and Other Fall Beer Releases

Some weeks are slow when it comes to beer releases, either because breweries are gearing up for the next big week, festival or event — or recovering from the last one. This week is a little slow as breweries transition out of pumpkin beers, Marzens and the Great American Beer Festival (such as it was) and into colder weather, bigger or darker beers and what could be a crucial winter season for many of them.

So although there aren't a lot of big timed releases, there are still a fair number of new beers that have quietly gone on tap. Want some examples? TRVE Brewing just tapped a brand-new festbier-style lager called Autumn Rust, brewed with local malts from Troubadour Maltings and Root Shoot Malting. Down the street, the good folks at Baere Brewing have just tapped this year's version of Autumnal IPA, a 5 percent ABV maltbier IPA that is darker in color, fruity and "hugs you on the inside," the brewery says.

Over in the River North Arts District, you can try Prickly Pear Golden Sour, a beer that 14er Brewing made with Blue Moon RiNo. It was aged for two years in red-wine puncheons with prickly pear, lemon and orange peel. And speaking of Blue Moon, the Coors-owned outpost still has Moon Haze on tap. This is the juicy/hazy IPA that just won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival.

Nearby, you can find two new brews at Odell's taproom on Larimer Street. Yuzu So Crazy Hazy IPA was made with Japanese yuzu fruit, Mosaic, Citra and Simcoe hops, while Flip Fantasia Cantaloupe IPA was brewed with freshly harvested Colorado Rocky Ford cantaloupe and dry-hopped with Azacca, Cashmere and Sabro. Looking for more GABF award winners? Ratio Beerworks just canned Dear You, its lovely French-style saison, while Our Mutual Friend has Inner Light on tap; this juicy pale ale is brewed with Mosaic and Galaxy hops.

Oh, and if you need a last blast of October before the lights go down after Halloween, head to the Bull & Bush Brewery for Ghoul Fuel, the brewery's annual treat of a pumpkin beer.

Keep reading to see this week's craft-beer tapping and events.

Wednesday, October 21
Cerebral Brewing releases two new beers on tap and in cans. Neural Glide is an IPA made with Mosaic, Simcoe and Strata hops. Vote Double IPA, meanwhile, was brewed with Citra, Amarillo and two experimental hop strains. "Colorado voter turnout in the 2016 Presidential Election was 72.1 percent, making us fourth highest in the nation...but we think you can do even better, Coloradoans," the brewery says. "We strongly believe in your Constitutional right to representation. Get out there and be heard."

Copper Kettle Brewing continues a month of pumpkin firkins by tapping Pumpkin Snowed In, a pumpkin-y version of the brewery's barrel-aged oatmeal stout.

Thursday, October 22
Comrade Brewing taps Koffee Kream Milk Stout. "We are the first Colorado brewery to use coffee from Kaladi Coffee Roasters custom-roasted just for Comrade," the brewery says. The beer pours "pitch black, but don’t let that fool you; this beer has a massive coffee aroma, yet is full-bodied and sweet."

Friday, October 23
Luki Brewery in Arvada taps Room 217 Blood Orange Double IPA. Brewed and dry-hopped with El Dorado, the 8.9 percent ABV beer was aged on blood-orange purée, "which kicks the citrus taste up to a maximum," Luki says. The beer is named, in the spirit of Halloween, for the haunted room at the Stanley Hotel.

Ratio Beerworks releases Darklands Dark Lager in cans and on draft. It is the third release in the brewery's Lager Series (after Cityscapes Mexican Lager and Stay Gold Oktoberfest Marzen Lager). Darklands "is a toasted, malt-forward lager with notes of cocoa bean," Ratio says. But it is also "an easy drinker and has a crisp, clean finish. Ratio now has two climate-controlled patios to drink on.

Join Verboten Brewing in Loveland for the release of its newest barrel-aged imperial stout, Not a Speck of Light, along with two variants. The 13.5 percent ABV beer was brewed with Golden Promise, caramel and chocolate malts and Belgian candi sugar, then boiled for six hours. After that, it sat for more than a year in bourbon barrels, giving notes of molasses, marshmallow, coconut and dark fruits, the brewery says. The first variant had both Tahitian and Ugandan vanilla beans added, while the second, Not a Speck of Light German Chocolate, has toasted coconut flakes, Ghanaian cocoa husks and pecan. All three beers will be available on tap and in two-pack cans to go. Verboten has been making award-winning barrel-aged beers since 2013.

Saturday, October 24
Denver Beer Co. brings back its 2017 GABF gold-medal winner, Just Another Pretty Face Bourbon Barrel-Aged Barleywine, to its taprooms. "Clocking in at 13.5 percent ABV, this big, malty English-style barleywine is loaded with layers of complex flavors. Rich caramel and toffee notes dominate, with vanilla, oak and bourbon flavors all blending together for a full-flavored, multi-layered sensory experience," the brewery says.

Nightmare Fuel, a barrel-aged coffee imperial stout, returns to River North Brewery’s taprooms in bottles and on tap. "Nightmare Fuel is a big, boozy, caffeine-loaded stout," the brewery says.

Sunday, October 25
Join Spice Trade Brewing for the release of its Vietnamese Coffee Porter. It's a brown porter brewed with coffee and vanilla and served on nitro. "Creamy and coffee-forward with a slight sweetness," the brewery says.

Wednesday, October 28
The Hop Wars saga continues at 2 Penguins Tap & Grille in Centennial — with a pumpkin twist. The beer bar will tap hazy IPAs from five of the state's best: 4 Noses Brewing, Woods Boss Brewing, Rock Cut Brewing, Outer Range Brewing and Knotted Root Brewing. Cast your vote once you’ve tried the flight blind. In addition, there will be three pumpkin beers going at it: 4 Noses Brewing Pump Action Imperial Pumpkin, Upslope Brewing Pumpkin Ale, and Southern Tier Brewing (out of New York) Pumking Imperial Pumpkin. "Your vote is also an entry to win awesome Colorado craft beer swag. If you’re extra adventurous, try to guess all five (IPA), or all eight breweries correctly for a special bonus prize," 2 Penguins says.

Thursday, October 29
Max Taps beer bar in Highlands Ranch gives up its taps to Frisco's Outer Range Brewing, which will be pouring a variety of beers all day long. Selections include: Solo Series Azacca NEIPA, Heightened State BA Stout (6-8 p.m.), Blocks of Light NEIPA, Tippy Top West Coast IPA, Gaper Gap Pilsner, Kinfolk Porter, Heebeegeebees IPA and In the Steep double-dry-hopped NEIPA with Nelson hops.

Friday, October 30
Luki Brewery in Arvada taps Potion 7B Blueberry Mango Sour. Fermented with WildBrew Philly Sour, "a new yeast...strain that has the ability to produce both lactic acid and ethanol," the beer also has blueberry and mango puree," Luki says. "What’s spooky about the WildBrew Philly Sour is that it was discovered by wild-yeast hunters at the University of Sciences in Philadelphia in a tree at a graveyard."

Saturday, October 31
You'll have a devil of a time when Black Sky Brewery taps a beer made in collaboration with the Satanic Temple of Colorado. Satanic Panic is "the caramel apple ale of your spooky adult dreams," says the organization, which made Ale Satan with the brewery last year. Satanic Panic is available on tap and in Crowlers to go.

Burns Family Artisan Ales celebrates All Hallow's Eve with a sit-down, $100-per-table (meant for four)  masquerade party starting at 7 p.m. The brewery is releasing Squash Killer, a sessionable, 5.5 percent ABV beer made with butternut squash, lactose, vanilla, coconut, cinnamon and maple. Tickets include eight sixteen-ounce pours of Squash Killer (or cans to go), eight bags of assorted candy, a small pumpkin to decorate and eight small squashes and hammers for smashing. Halloween music will be provided.
 
It'll be Halloween all day long at Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery, which will have five Halloween-themed beers on tap and is hosting a costume contest. There will also be a food truck outside, "and candy candy candy," the brewery says. Because of social distancing, the brewery has a limited capacity; face masks required.