Beer Calendar: Anniversary Parties and Beer Tappings This Month

Two local breweries upped their environmental stewardship cred recently by making some major moves.

Denver Beer Co. announced in early June that it had partnered with Independent Power Systems to convert its production brewery in the Sunnyside neighborhood to 100 percent solar power. "That means each and every can of Denver Beer Co. beer will be produced" by clean energy from the sun, the company says.

Upslope Brewing in Boulder, meanwhile, achieved its standing as a certified B Corporation by being "voluntarily committed to meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency," it says. "Upslope joins a powerful force of more than 2,100 companies across fifty countries and 130 industries that have also reached Certified B Corp certification in an effort to redefine success in business by solving social and environmental problems."

Since its founding in 2008, Upslope has reduced its energy and water use, greenhouse gas emissions and waste created and sent to the landfill. "In accordance with Boulder’s Zero Waste Ordinance, Upslope has built a robust compost and recycling program. As a participant in the Brewers’ Association’s Sustainability Benchmarking program, the brewery shares all of its utility data in order to get performance feedback and to help establish industry-wide metrics and best practices," it says.

Keep reading for craft-beer events into early July.

Thursday, June 21
Some times you need a Work From Home day — and Freshcraft is here to help with its Breakfast for Dinner beer pairing featuring Cerebral Brewing. Tickets are $50, and there are two seatings, one at 6:30 p.m. and one at 7:30 p.m. Whichever time you choose, you will be welcomed with a pour of Bird of Paradise Smoothie Style Sour, then taken through "a luxurious pairing menu designed to get you ready for relaxation." Ticket holders will be guaranteed a pour of the very rare Double Maple Barrel Aged Work From Home with the second full course. Guests will also be able to get a Crowler of Work From Home for half price in the Cerebral Brewing taproom that weekend. The main courses will be Lonza Benedict with sauce Maltaise paired with Tandem Jetpack Double India Pale Ale, and blueberry breakfast sausage bread pudding with maple crème fraîche and green chile coulis paired with Double Maple Barrel Aged Work from Home. For tickets and all of the details on the beers and the pairings, go to the Facebook event page.

Call to Arms Brewing will tap Centennial Hop Oil CTA as part of its McLovin Month, which celebrates hoppy beers. This one is dank, citrusy and super-floral.

Cedar Creek Pub in Aurora hosts its Summer Solstice Rare Beer Tapping, when it will pour Upland Brewing Revive Pineapple Sour and Prim Plum Sour; Pure Project Sensei Kolsch and Papillion Grisette; Propolis Melissa Saison; Dogfish Head 120 Minute; Ommegang Saison Rose; and Stone/Societe Skedaddler IPA.

Funkwerks Brewing in Fort Collins is staying open late to party in the sunshine on the longest day of the year. At the Summer Solstice Patio Party, guest will find buckets of Provincial (five for $19), music from the Dollhouse Thieves from 7 to 9 p.m. and cupcakes from Johnny Cupcakes.

Friday, June 22
TRVE Brewing will celebrate its sixth anniversary with a two-day Bacchanal at the hi-dive, during which customers will be bombarded with tasty beer and brutal music. Friday's lineup includes the bands Krallice, Wayfarer, FÓRN and Many Blessings. On Saturday, it will be Fister, Nothing Positive Only Negative, Worry and Voideater. Shows start at 8 p.m. Find tickets at ticketfly.com.

Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project will tap its new Apricot-&-Date Hefeweizen. The inspiration for this 4.9 percent ABV beer comes "from a summer picking apricots off trees in a field in Turkey, which complement the banana and clove flavors natural to the yeast of the pale, hazy Bavarian wheat beer. Add some Medjool dates, native to Morocco, into the mix, and the beer becomes much smoother," the brewery says. Saba's Ethiopian food truck will be there.

Saturday, June 23
A variety of breweries, bars and restaurants across the state are encouraged to donate funds from pint sales today to Save the San Juans, a statewide initiative organized by Ska Brewing and Oskar Blues Brewery that was created in response to the 416 fire burning 13 miles north of Durango. Among them is Parry’s Pizzeria & Bar; all of its locations across the Front Range will donate 100 percent of profits from Ska’s Mexican Logger and Dogfish Head’s Flesh & Blood IPA sold from 11 a.m. to close to the cause. Save the San Juans has raised more than $80,000 for fire relief, and hopes to raise $500,000.

As part of its sixth-anniversary celebration, Hogshead Brewing will host a cask ale festival and crawfish boil. For $45, you get all the crawfish you can eat and cask ale from some of Hogshead's favorite breweries, including Westbound & Down, Comrade and Bierstadt Lagerhaus. "This is your only chance to drink the best of the best, all on cask and hand-pulled direct from the engines," Hogshead says.

Frontmaniac Double IPA, Black Shirt Brewing's 7.5 percent ABV "recklessly double dry-hopped DIPA,' returns to the taproom at 11 a.m. "Aromas of freshly sliced pineapple, ripe mango and peeled mandarin orange meet subtle undertones of spring strawberries, sap and field grass," the brewery says. "Tropical and lush, with a soft, restrained bitterness rounding things out, Frontmaniac has a recklessly hop-hazed spotlight shining on it." The Delta Sonics Blues Band will be playing from 2 to 5 p.m.

Chain Reaction Brewing is hosting a fourth-anniversary party by releasing Slaughter Melon, its watermelon ginger wheat. "It's one of our favorite beers to brew every year, and we know you like to drain those kegs, so let's do this," the brewery says. The Stella Blue Food Truck will be cooking two special menu items using Chain Reaction's brews. Humble Monster Screen Printed Goods will also be in the house printing shirts.

Ratio Beerworks unveils No Shade Pilsner, a light, dry, traditional German-style lager featuring Pilsner malts from local Root Shoot Malting and traditional Hallertau Mittelfrüh German hops for a crisp, clean, finish.

In honor of Epic Brewing's fifth anniversary in Denver, the brewery will host a ’90s party, with games, a firkin competition, raffles, DJs and lots of delicious beer. A portion of proceeds from this event will go to benefit The House That Beer Built by Habitat for Humanity.

Launch Pad Brewing in Aurora will release its limited French Toast Russian Imperial Stout at noon. There are only 100 bottles and one keg available. The Wing Wagon Food Truck will be at the brewery.

Call to Arms continues its series of Rumpus Events with a new one called Rumpus & Chill. The brewery will tap  a version of its World Beer Cup gold-medal-winning beer, More Like Bore-O-Phyll Whole Cone Hopped IPA, as well as other special thirst-quenching beers as you "kick it Denver summer-style with an island twist." Lemon Mint Berkeley Blonde and Cherry Lime Wheasy Wheat. There will be music on the patio from Sun-Dried Nanners from 4 to 7 p.m., and food from the Ohana Grille Hawaiian Fusion Eatery Food Truck.

Landlocked Ales in Lakewood is celebrating its first anniversary with beer releases, cornhole tournaments, food from Woodhill Small Batch BBQ, and live music throughout the day.

The Rocky Mountain Beer Festival is back for its fourth year at the Louisville Community Park, a few blocks from historic downtown Louisville. Starting at 1 p.m., there will be beer from more than thirty Colorado breweries, like 14er Brewing, Asher Brewing, Beer by Design, Cerberus Brewing, Declaration Brewing, Elevation, Endo, Fate Brewing, Front Range Brewing and many more. There will also be ciders, mead, gluten-free beers and ice tea hybrids. In addition, guests will find lawn games and live music (The Sweet Lillies, FolkStrange Americans, and the Michael Hornbuckle Band. Tickets range from $20 to $45 and can be purchased at eventbrite.com. Some proceeds will go to benefit the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center.

Don't miss Boulder Beer Company's biggest party of the year, when the oldest craft brewery in Colorado celebrates its 39th anniversary. Festivities kick off at noon in the beer garden, which will be pouring a dozen experimental pilot brews. There will be live music all day from the Roots & Rhythm Band, Tangled Senses, and the Gasoline Lollipops. There will also be a tie-dye station.

Buoyed by its growing national reputation, its awards and its great beer, Weldwerks will host its inaugural Invitational in Greeley at the Greeley DoubleTree Hotel, 919 7th Street. There will be two different festival sessions — one from noon to 3 p.m. and one from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets are a whopping $100, but that's because 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit local Weld County nonprofits, including the Immigrant and Refugee Center of Northern Colorado. The price also includes access to nearly 100 beers from more than forty of the best breweries in the country: Amalgam, American Solera, Angry Chair, Atom, Avery, Barrel Culture, Bearded Iris, Black Project, Bottle Logic, Boulevard, Brew Gentlemen, Casa Agria, Casey, Cerebral, Crooked Stave, Destihl, Firestone Walker, Fremont, Funky Buddha, Great Notion, Hop Butcher, Horus, J. Wakefield, Jester King, Kane, Liquid Mechanics, Lost Abbey, Mikerphone, Modern Times, More, New Image, Odd13, Our Mutual Friend, Perennial, Rare Barrel, River North, Scofflaw, The Answer, The Bruery, The Veil, Toppling Goliath, Trve, Voodoo, Wiley Roots. In addition to the beer, there will be food trucks on site. Weldwerks strongly recommends that festival-goers stay the night in one of Greeley's hotels, including the DoubleTree, the Homewood Suites and Candlewood Suites, which are all offering discounted lodging to attendees. Find tickets and more information at eventbrite.com.

The 29th edition of the Colorado Brewers' Festival — which kicked off Colorado craft-beer culture so many years ago — returns to Washington Park in downtown Fort Collins today and tomorrow, with more than 150 beers from more than forty Colorado breweries. There will also be food vendors, artisan exhibitors and hours and hours of live music. This year, the festival will introduce a new Collaboration Beer Pavilion featuring six beers made exclusively for the festival by more than twenty Fort Collins breweries. Additional Brewers' Festival weekend programming includes the Summit at Colorado Brewers' Festival and Breakfast & Brews. Get all the details on those events, plus hours, prices and tickets, at coloradobrewfest.com.

Thursday, June 28
Renegade Brewing holds its second monthly Beers + Banned Books event from 6 to 10 p.m., this time featuring the novel Catcher in the Rye. The series pairs books from the banned-book list with a new beer created in a Squarrel Barrel; this time around, it is Redacted Rye IPA aged with Scotch-soaked American oak staves and flavored with bitters and actual cherries.

Join Finn's Manor for the tapping of Fremont's 2017 and 2018 vintages of Rusty Nail from Seattle's Fremont Brewing. Finn's will also tap Head Full of Dynamite, Lush and Summer Ale.

Friday, June 29
It's last call at Caution Brewing, which is closing its doors after a six-year run in both Denver and Lakewood. For this blowout, which starts at noon and lasts through today and tomorrow, drink up all your favorite beers and see all your favorite faces. A very limited commemorative Caution: Last Call glass will available during these two days. The brewery will be doing kill-the-keg challenges, giveaways and lots of other fun stuff.

Cerebral Brewing ups its game with a quadruple can release starting at noon. The first beer is Bird of Paradise Smoothie Style Sour, a 5.2 percent ABV beer that was soured with Lactobacillus and fermented with a clean American strain, then conditioned on lactose, mango, coconut and lime. The second is Double Dry Hopped Strange Claw IPA, at 6.2 percent ABV, which was brewed with a blend of pale, pilsner and wheat malt with a touch of crystal malt and hopped with an immense amount of Citra and Columbus. Then there's Tangerine Stuff, also at 6.2 percent, an IPA brewed with oats and a touch of lactose and then hopped exclusively in the whirlpool with Mosaic; it was also dry-hopped with Mosaic, Wakatu and Citra, and then conditioned on tangerine.
And finally, Controlled Chaos is a 6.8 percent IPA brewed in celebration of the owner's daughter's second birthday; hopped at a near-destructive rate with Citra, African Queen and Ella. Radical Sasquatch will be out front starting at 4 p.m. with dumplings and more.

The three-day Rapids & Grass Beer Festival, co-hosted by the Jailhouse Craft Beer Bar in Buena Vista, is quickly becoming one of the more talked-about beer fests in the state. Spend your weekend along the Arkansas River sampling beers from some of the best breweries in the country, jamming to an incredible lineup of bluegrass music and taking in the sweeping mountain views. With the purchase of a festival ticket, you will enjoy unlimited tastings from 48 breweries and access to all music at the Beach stage. Food from local food trucks will be available for purchase throughout the beer tasting. Upgrade your experience by adding the Freedom Float on Sunday, a seven-mile raft trip through a section of Class 3 whitewater.

Saturday, June 30
Join Renegade Brewing for its first Hop Head Festival, where hopheads will unite at the brewery's production facility in the Yard on Santa Fe, 918 West First Avenue, for a celebration of "everything great about the little flower that could." There will be live music, food trucks, games, an "interactive hops buffet," merchandise and lots of beer, including some special-release beers and a new canned offering. There are three ticket types available, ranging from $5 to $35. Get tickets and more information about the festival at eventbrite.com.

It's hot, and you need a piña colada. So says Station 26 Brewing, which will tap Pina Colada Milkshake IPA at 1 p.m. and release 300 Crowlers of the beer. This hazy IPA is loaded with pineapple, coconut, lactose and vanilla. "Umbrella straw not included," they say.

Great Divide Brewing has commissioned a new piece of artwork for the labels of its revamped Denver Pale Ale for the past two years, and will unveil the third one at 6 p.m. at Helikon Gallery & Studios, 3675 Wynkoop Street, during the  Denver Pale Ale Artist Series No. 3 Launch Party. There will be a food truck, free Denver Pale Ale, games, and a chance to meet artist Rachel Jablonski, who did this year's artwork. Alongside Jablonski's current work, the gallery will also showcase the past two Denver Pale Ale artists, Josh Holland and John Vogl. You must RSVP at eventbrite.com to reserve a spot.

Locavore Beer Works in Littleton hosts its fourth annual Freedom Fest from noon to 10 p.m. to celebrate great beers, awesome food, amazing music and extraordinary friendships. There will be live music from Strings and the Box, Rock Doctors and the Eric Dorn Trio. And, yes, Jolly Farmer Watermelon Wheat will make its return on draft and in bottles. Ticket packages are available.

The Hop Wars saga continues at 2 Penguins Tap & Grill in Centennial. Once again, the beer bar will have five of Colorado’s best hazy NEIPAs on tap, each battling for supremacy by your tastebuds. Cast your vote once you’ve tried a flight of all five. If you’re extra adventurous, try to guess all five breweries of your flight correctly for a special bonus prize. Juicy Bits by Weldwerks Brewing is the returning champion; they will be up against Outer Range Brewing, New Image Brewing, Cerebral Brewing and Odd13 Brewing. Flights begin pouring at 3 p.m.

Wednesday, July 4
Strange Craft Beer Company will tap its fifth annual batch of Watermelon Hefe at noon during the brewery's July 4 celebration (BYO barbecue to grill and have a picnic). Watermelon Hefe will be served in pints at the bar and in Crowlers to go, while supplies last, but won't be sold in bomber bottles this year. "This bright and crisp German-style wheat beer is one of the brewery’s most sought-after creations, a refreshing summer delicacy adored for its 5.5 percent ABV drinkability and healthy but not overpowering dose of real watermelon — more than 660 pounds of organic, hand-cut fruit per ten-barrel batch," the brewery says. Strange only made enough to get through July. The beer garden will be open late that evening for fireworks viewing.

Friday, July 6
Join Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery for the second installment of IPA Wars, a friendly competition among its employees. "Using our Rocky Mountain Chowda Hazy Session IPA and our Sawatch American IPA as a base, employees blend and infuse all sorts of cool ingredients in to make these one-off concoctions," Jagged Mountain says. The beers tap promptly at 5 p.m. and there are only five gallons of each one. You'll find Carrot Cake Milkshake Session IPA, Guava Coconut Hazy Session IPA, Orange Creamsicle American IPA, and at least three others. The first 100 people get a limited-edition glass. First keg to kick wins.

Saturday, July 7
In honor of National Chocolate Day, Oskar Blues Brewery will release a very limited amount of Bourbon Barrel-Aged Mocha Ten FIDY Imperial Stout at its locations in Longmont and Boulder. "Doused" with unsweetened pure liquid cacao from Cholaca, then "dosed" with Hotbox Roasters’ cold brew from Mexican coffee beans, the beer will be sold in 19.2-ounce cans. As with other Oskar Blues releases, numbered wristbands will be handed out at 9:30 a.m., but a line may begin to form much earlier. Each person may purchase up to five cases of BA Mocha Ten FIDY. For details and instructions, go the Oskar Blues Facebook page.