We have a winner of our Denver Beerathon contest, in which we asked Cafe Society readers to answer this question: How many glasses of Empire Brewing pumpkin ale were poured during the 2012 New York Beerathon? Congratulations to Leah McCracken, who guessed 715; the actual answer is 727. Leah, we'll send you an e-mail with info about how to claim your prize.
Original post: If you've ever run a marathon, then the inaugural Denver Beerathon, a liver-saturating, craft-beer palooza that blows into town on Saturday, September 14, should be a cakewalk. After all, Sam Gelin, who's the brains behind the nationwide brew crawl, insists that "It's only like a marathon with respect to the fact that there are the same number of miles in a marathon as there are brews and venues in the Denver Beerathon." In other words, the goal is to get to the finish line still standing. Easy, right?
The all-day suds fest includes one twelve-ounce pour from each participating establishment: 1515 Lounge, 16Mix Cocktail Lounge, Appaloosa Grill, the Celtic Tavern, Central Bistro & Bar, Churchill's Public House, Delaney's Cigar Bar & Lounge, the Drink, Euclid Hall, Fado Irish Pub, Giggling Grizzly, Howl at the Moon, Ignite, My Brother's Bar, LoDo's Bar & Grill, Lola, Matchbox, Paramount Café, Rialto Café, Rio Grande, Rock Bottom Brewery, T|ACO, Tony P's, Uber Sausage Highland, ViewHouse and The Walnut Room.
And while tickets are $55 each (VIP tickets are $70 each and include a private reception at Fado Irish Pub), we're giving one Cafe Society commenter the chance to win FOUR VIP tickets. All you have to do is answer this question: How many glasses of Empire Brewing pumpkin ale were poured during the 2012 New York Beerathon?
To enter our contest, please submit your best guess, along with your name and a valid e-mail address (if you're already registered with MyVoiceNation, then we have your e-mail; if you're not, then we don't, and without an e-mail address, you can't win) in the comments section below. The person who comes the closest to the actual number without going over, will win.
Gelin, who calls Denver the "heart of craft-beer country," admits that the Beerathon, which started in New York City, isn't for the faint of heart, but if your plan is to guzzle 312 ounces of suds, Gelin says think again: "That would be a superhuman feat, and I don't think anyone at a Beerathon has ever accomplished that feat." Then again, this is Denver, where we drink beer like the rest of the country downs soda.
If you don't win our contest, you can purchase tickets in advance at denverbeerathon.com. A portion of the proceeds benefits Excelsior Youth Center, a local nonprofit, and the ticket price also includes an Uber Car Service pass; in addition, the Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel is offering $99 room rates.
We'll announce the winner on Thursday, September 12 by 5 p.m.
