Wednesday, December 4
Epic Brewing will offer side-by-side samplers starting today of its Hopulent IPA brewed with Lemondrop drops next to its regular Hopulent brewed with Columbus, Chinook, Centennial and Simcoe hops on the boil and Centennials win the hopback. The brewery also recently tapped this year's version of Elder Brett, a collaboration done with Crooked Stave. Brewed with brettanomyces yaast, this golden ale is 9.3 percent ABV.
December is "Candied Beers" Cask Month at Copper Kettle Brewing, which will tap a firkin of a beer made with a candy ingredient each Wednesday. Today's beer is Caramel Bock, made with homemade caramel. Ckrepes will be serving food at 4:30 p.m.
Big Choice Brewing in Broomfield will tap Maleus Malifcarum Belgian Quad in its taproom today. The brewery also recently released Hemlock Double IPA in 16-ounce tallboys. That one should be showing up in liquor stores soon.
Prost Brewing will release a new beer today, a big malty Dopplebock with a higher ABV level. Pride of Philly and Joe's Bistro will be serving food.
West Flanders Brewing in Boulder is teaming up with the Cured Cheese Shop tonight at 7 p.m. to offer an evening of elegant beer and cheese pairings at the brewery. Join brewmaster Brian Lutz and Cured co-owner Will Frischkorn, who will be on hand to explain the pairings and answer any questions. Tickets are $25. RSVP to 303-447-2739.
Thursday, December 5
Elevation Beer Company will take over the the taps at Barrels & Bottles in Golden today, featuring First Cast IPA, 8 Second Kölsch, Little Mo' Porter, Downpour Fresh Hop, Apis IV, Cabernet barrel-aged Apis IV, barrel-aged Fanboy double IPA. The Whiteout Tap Takeover runs from 4 to 10 p.m., and Barrels & Bottles will also be donating 15 percent of all sales from the day to Oskar Blues's CAN'd Aid flood-relief foundation.
TAG Burger Bar will host a beer-versus-wine dinner today at 6:30 p.m. featuring a five-course meal paired with both German-style lagers from Prost Brewing and local wines from Infinite Monkey Theorem. The menu includes grilled quail, warm duck salad and bison short rib. The cost is $65 per person and reservations are required.
Friday, December 6
Our Mutual Friend Malt & Brew will celebrate its first anniversary with two parties, one today and one tomorrow. Today's party begins at 7 p.m. when OMF will tap the second release of its Winter Warmer, a complex 10 percent AVB Old Ale. "This crowd favorite has notes of fruit, dark chocolate, roastiness, toffee and black currant," the brewery says. OMF will also be pouring Winter Warmer on oak and cherries and Winter Warmer aged on Madagascar Vanilla. There will be music from Flashbulb Fires, A Mouthful of Thunder, and Confluence, along with food from The Special, a vegan/vegetarian food truck. Tomorrow, the second party kicks off at 7 p.m., when OMF will tap seven different beers, each made by a different member of the brewery's staff. The list of ten-gallon batches includes a Black IPA, an all-Galaxy-hopped red ale, a Blood Orange Wheat ale, Dubbel, Hoppy Saison, Cream Ale, and a NY Maple Syrup Porter. Tasters and full pours will be available. Musical guests are the Pickers, Two Tone Wolf Pack, and Josh Dillard. The Baba's Falafel food truck will be serving Middle Eastern fare. OMF will have door prizes, raffles, and giveaways both nights as well as food/draught specials.
Big Choice Brewing in Broomfield will tap one keg of its Peppermint Stout served with crushed candy cane and a peppermint patty each Friday this month. Yes, please.
Colorado Plus Brewpub will host a Prost Brewing tap takeover tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. There will be five Prost beers on tap, along with shwag giveaways.
Copper Kettle Brewing will hold its 3rd Annual Winter Spice Challenge all day today at the brewery. Each year, the brewery makes a rich English old ale that it spices "to perfection," but with what? That's the challenge. If you can guess three of the four spices in the beer, you get a free growler. The Crazy Good food truck will be on hand.
For its monthly Firkin 1st Friday event, Hops & Pie will tap a cask of Elevation Beer Company's First Cast IPA that has been dry-hopped with Simcoe, Citra and Cascade hops. Nicknamed Hoppy Fishing, the beer will go on at 6 p.m.
Westminster Brewing will celebrate its grand opening all weekend, bringing out new beers, food trucks and live music on Saturday.
Oskar Blues will celebrate its 11th CANiversary today, and the Grand Re-Opening of Oskar Blues Grill & Brew in Lyons, which is the company's first location and the birthplace of craft beer in a can. The party starts at 7 p.m. and will feature live music by Rocktin Grove and the West Water Outlaws along with food specials and rare OB beers. It will also serve as a fundraiser for the CAN'd Aid Foundation, which Oskar Blues created to help raise money for people affected by the flooding, especially in Lyons. Tickets are $10 and available at eventbrite. Saturday, December 7
Our Mutual Friend continues its one-year anniversary celebration today; the party started yesterday. Look at December 6 for details.
The Wynkoop Brewing Company brings back its annual holiday fest, Parade of Darks, today starting at 1 p.m. The event is a showcase of more than eighty beers in the amber to opaque categories coming from 35-plus breweries. It is also a fundraiser for Metro CareRing, and raised $14,000 last year. Tickets, $35, get you a commemorative glass and unlimited sampling.
The Copper Kettle will release the first 22-ounce bomber bottle in its four-part barrel-aged seasonal series today. Snowed In (previously known as High Country Breakfast Stout) is an Imperial Oatmeal Stout made with locally-roasted Pablo's Coffee and chocolate, and aged in Breckenridge Distillery bourbon barrels for months. There is a limited quantity, so get there early. Copper Kettle opens at noon.
Diebolt Brewing is throwing its first annual Swanky Seasonal Party today from 6 to 10 p.m., featuring a special tapping of C'est la Saison, its 9 percent ABV holiday beer. And if you dress up, pints are $1 off. There will be live music from Minor Note Orchestra at 7:30, and food from CKrepes.
Lone Tree Brewing is celebrating its second anniversary at a party from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. today with food from WongWayVeg and Brava Pizzeria, a live noon-2 p.m. broadcast of the Colorado Craft Beer Show with John Turk, music from the McKenzie Bros at 6 p.m. and special tappings every two hours, including new and one-time-only beers.
In Boston, the founders of the Beer Advocate magazine and web site have hosted an annual pub crawl each December to "drink hardcore beers, get the blood warm and meet up with real beer drinkers." This year, since co-founder Todd Alstrom is now living in Denver, Beer Advocate will continue this tradition here. Things kick off at Lucky Pie LoDo at 11 a.m. before moving to Great Divide at 1 p.m., Star Bar at 3 p.m., Jagged Mountain at 5 p.m., and finally to Falling Rock, at 6 p.m.
Strange Brewing will host its annual holiday party today from 7 to 11 p.m. with a variety of beers on tap, including its holiday brews: Gingerbread Man and Pumpkin Saison. There will also be a pig roast, so bring a favorite holiday side dish or dessert to share. Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas and More!
River North Brewery will release this year's vintage of Whiskey Barrel-Aged Avarice today at 1 p.m. To make it, the brewers blended several barrels together, including some that have held the Belgian-style imperial stout for fourteen months. "The result is a decadent and opaque brew which melds the robust dryness of the base beer with smooth, sweet notes of whiskey and oak," the brewery says. River North will have a total of 105 cases of the beer, which is sold in 22-ounce bomber bottles. As usual, the lowest numbered bottles will be sold in the taproom, with the beer on tap for the release party as well. More cases will land on store shelves around Colorado the following week.
Hops & Pie will tap several beers from trendy St. Louis brewery Perennial Artisan Ales today at noon for its monthly Littlest Big Beer Fest. The beers include Aria, Saison de Lis, Peach Berliner Weisse, Heart of Gold, Hereafter, Peace Offering, Hommelbier, Barry Rye, and La Boheme Kriek.
Monday, December 9Colorado's ladies of craft beer will be featured in a new calendar from Denver's Copper Penny Photography -- a calendar that makes its debut tonight from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the First Annual Women of Colorado Craft Breweries Pin-up Calendar Release Party at Breckenridge Brewery's Colorado Craft location in LoDo. The models come from Left Hand, Oskar Blues, Twisted Pine, Denver Beer Co, Strange Brewing, Dry Dock, Caution, Boulder Beer, Odd 13, Big Choice, Bootstrap, Wynkoop and TommyKnocker. Come down early to grab a calendar, meet the girls and enjoy a beer in vintage style.
In celebration of the holidays, Crafting a Nation will be hosting an intimate screening of its craft beer documentary at Crooked Stave's Source Taproom tonight at 7 p.m. There will be a Q&A session with key players in the craft beer industry immediately following the screening. Tickets are $10.
Tuesday, December 10
Black Shirt Brewing will host a December beer and cheese pairing today at 7 p.m. with four hand-crafted Red Ales and four hand-selected cheeses from Amy at Marczyk's Fine Foods. Tickets are $18 each and available at bsbcheeseandbeer.eventbrite.com.
Backcountry Pizza & Taphouse will host the first tappings from two new out-of-state-breweries that are trying their hand in Colorado, Kentucky's Against the Grain and Chicago's Local Option. There will be twelve beers on tap beginning at 6 p.m.
It's back. The amazing Christmas Beer Tasting at the Bull & Bush returns from 6 to 10 p.m. today, featuring more than 100 different Christmas/Holiday/Winter/Vintage beers from around the world that the brewery/pub has been saving. It costs $20 for twenty tickets at the door, and each sample costs one-to-four tickets, depending on the age and rarity of the particular beer. Go to the Bull & Bush web site to see the list of merry brews.
Great Divide Brewing will host its first-ever beer dinner inside the brewery today at 7 p.m. in conjunction with Mikes 2 Kitchen. The four-course, five-beer meal includes dishes like Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque with herb goat cheese croquette and toasted pepitas paired with Claymore Scotch Ale; crispy seared chicken with root vegetable hash and lemon thyme au jus paired with Peach Grand Cru; and Chocolate Espresso Torte paired with Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti. Tickets are $55.
Wednesday, December 11
December is "Candied Beers" Cask Month at Copper Kettle Brewing, which will tap a firkin of a beer made with a candy ingredient each Wednesday. Today's beer is Fudge Stout, made with cocoa powder and fudge. Ckrepes will be serving food at 4:30 p.m.
Nope. It's still not winter, somehow. But it will be here soon enough, and Stapleton Tap House is counting down the remaining days by tapping a different winter or holiday or barre-aged beer each night until December 21. Tonight's beer is scheduled to be Diebolt Brewing's C'est la Saison, followed by Crabtree Brewing Barrel Monkey Brown on Thursday, and High Hops Brewing's Plum Dubb on Friday. Keep an eye on Stapleton Tap House's Facebook page for the rest and for daily updates because some may disappear faster than others and there may some last-minute adjustments.
For more events later in December, turn the page. Friday, December 13
Avery Brewing will hold a party in its Boulder taproom at 5 p.m. today to celebrate the seasonal return of Mephistopheles, a 15 percent ABV imperial stout. The beer, which is part of Avery's Demon series will be available on draft and in twelve-ounce bottles to take home. Avery is also releasing its 2013 batch of the Maharaja Imperial IPA this month, sometime in mid-December.
No ugly sweater? No good beer. No excuses. That's the tagline for an ugly sweater party that Parry Parry's Pizzeria is throwing today starting a 6 p.m. at its Highlands Ranch location. To get access to the rare barrel-aged beers on tap, you'll need to be dressed in your worst Christmas sweater. Beers on tap include: Big Bad Baptist by Epic Brewing, Bourbon County Stout by Goose Island, Seventeen by Firestone Walker, Santa's Little Helper by Port Brewing, Ten Fidy (aged in Wild Turkey barrels) by Oskar Blues, and Well Built ESB by Breckenridge Brewery.
Golden's Barrels & Bottles will host an Ugly Sweater Party and Samuel Adams tap takeover today from 5 to 10 p.m., featuring Boston Lager, Winter Lager, Merry Maker White Xmas, Old Fezziwig, Golden Yuzu, Juniper IPA, Cherry Chocolate Bock Black and Brew Grumpy Monk IPA. Wear your ugliest sweater and bring in four cans of food for the Golden food bank, and you'll get a free ten-ounce pour of Boston Lager.
Saturday, December 14
The Copper Kettle will release the second 22-ounce bomber bottle in its four-part barrel-aged seasonal series today. Well Bred (previously known as 2013 Bourbon Barrel Barleywine) is an English-style barleywine packed with malt, caramel undertones and hints of vanilla, and aged for months in Breckenridge Distillery bourbon barrels. There is a limited quantity (480 available), so get there early. Copper Kettle opens at noon. Next year, Copper Kettle plans to make this beer a fall seasonal.
SOLD OUT: The second annual Denver Beer Festivus takes place at the McNichols Building in Civic Center Park, featuring 20-25 Denver breweries. Running from 2 to 6 p.m., the tickets were $40-$65. There will be music and food.
Sunday, December 15
Nope. It's still not winter, somehow. But it will be here soon enough, and Stapleton Tap House is counting down the remaining days by tapping a different winter or holiday or barre-aged beer each night until December 21. Tonight's beer is scheduled to be Trinity Brewing's Merle and Saison Nocturnum, followed by Twisted Pine's Noel Tripel on Monday, River North Brewery's Rum Barrel Aged Quandary on Tuesday and the Epic/Strange collaboration, Epically Strange, on Wednesday. Keep an eye on Stapleton Tap House's Facebook page for the rest and for daily updates because some may disappear faster than others and there may some last-minute adjustments.
Renegade Publik House will host a beer dinner tonight at 5:30 p.m. with Wit's End Brewing, featuring five of the nano's brews paired with a menu created by Renegade chef Tim Hefty. Some of the courses include: charred butternut squash bisque topped with a caramelized onion and raisin compote paired with Wit's End Ugly Sweater; and baked cod pave over roasted fennel and sweet potatoes paired with Jean Claude Van Blonde. Tickets are $49 per person and must be purchased in advance at rphbeerdinner.bpt.me.
Wednesday, December 18
December is "Candied Beers" Cask Month at Copper Kettle Brewing, which will tap a firkin of a beer made with a candy ingredient each Wednesday. Today's beer is Chocolate Peanut Butter Old Ale, made with chocolate peanut brittle flakes. Ckrepes will be serving food at 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, December 19
Nope. It's still not winter, somehow. But it will be here soon enough, and Stapleton Tap House is counting down the remaining days by tapping a different winter or holiday or barre-aged beer each night until December 21. Tonight's beer is scheduled to be Wynkoop Brewing's Gingerbread Stout, followed by Renegade's Radiator Winter Warmer on Friday and Pike's Peak Brewing's AdAmAn Ale on Saturday. Keep an eye on Stapleton Tap House's Facebook page for the rest and for daily updates because some may disappear faster than others and there may some last-minute adjustments.
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