This month, you'll be able to find just about any beer style you want at hundreds of creative breweries. Among the best are anniversary parties at Odd13 Brewing, Liquid Mechanics, Denver Beer Co., Avery and Resolute Brewing, as well as some collaborations and a few stellar festivals. Find dozens of events in our weekly Beer Calendar, which goes online on Wednesdays, and look below for the ten can't-miss events over the next month.
Wednesday, August 2-Saturday, August 5
Odd13 Brewing Anniversary Celebration
Odd13 Brewing, Lafayette
Lafayette's Odd13 Brewing will host three events to celebrate its fourth anniversary. The first, on Wednesday, August 2, is Barrel Day, where three newly packaged barrel-aged beers will be unveiled. They are: Sheriff Shane the Solera Cyborg, "a very rustic and oaky foeder-aged sour blonde"; a blend of a saison and a red sour that was aged in both bourbon and red-wine barrels with cherries; and Rum Barrel Aged Saint Newcole, a lower-ABV version of Saint Nicole Imperial Stout. On Friday, August 4, Odd13 releases two fresh IPAs in cans and on draft. The first is Alpha Twins Juicy DIPA, brewed with Citra and Azacca hops and lactose. The second is QDH Superfan. And on Saturday, August 4, the brewery hosts the Main Event, an in-house beer fest featuring a huge lineup of new releases and re-releases. There are two ticketed sessions, at noon and at 5 p.m., to help control the madness (with only 100 tickets, $50 each, per session). Each ticket includes ten drink coupons (more drink coupons can be purchased there), custom glass, a Lyft discount and a charity donation. Food will be available for purchase. Go to eventbrite for more information.
Saturday, August 5
Avery Brewing 24th Anniversary Party
Avery Brewing, Boulder
Come celebrate 24 years of great beers with Avery Brewing in Boulder, starting at 3 p.m. The anniversary party will include dozens of cellared and classic beer offerings, as well as all of their core beers, food from the restaurant and "family fun." Live music starts at 3:30 p.m. and features the Hop Pickers until 4:30, Head for the Hills from 5 to 6 p.m, and Monophonics at 6:30 p.m. As with many beer festivals this season, there are three ticket tiers. Food and beer can be purchased à la carte throughout the event. The $15 Music Lover ticket includes entry to the festival to enjoy the music. The $30 Base Layer ticket includes live music, a custom glass, a welcome beer and two drink tickets. The $55 Aficionado ticket is the Base Layer ticket plus four additional beer tickets and a food voucher. Proceeds will go to American Rivers, a nonprofit that protects wild rivers, restores damaged rivers and conserves clean water for people and nature. Buy tickets at twoparts.com.
Saturday, August 5
Sesh Fest
Highland Masonic Center
More than fifty breweries will be pouring session beers (5 percent ABV or less) as part of the fourth annual Sesh Fest, which starts at 3 p.m. at the Highland Masonic Center. Tickets are $30, though there are a variety of packages and discounts for groups. There will be live music and yard games. Sesh Fest benefits the Colorado Brewers Guild. Get tickets and more informationat seshfest.com.
Friday, August 11-Sunday, August 13
Liquid Mechanics Third Anniversary Party
Liquid Mechanics Brewing, Lafayette
To kick off its three-day-long third-anniversary shindig, Liquid Mechanics is releasing Batch 3 of its Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Porter in 22-ounce bombers. There will only be 180 bottles available. Then on Saturday, August 12, the brewery hosts an outdoor music fest with five bands that will be playing all day long. Headliners include Judge Roughneck, playing ska and reggae, and Last Men on Earth, a ’70s/’80s/’90s tribute band. Inside the brewery, there will be sixteen beers on tap, including the brand-new Imperial Hop Nectar and Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Porter Batch 3. There will also be food trucks. Entry is free. And finally, on Sunday, August 13, Liquid Mechanics will release Imperial Hop Nectar in cans. It's an amped-up version of the brewery's 5.3 percent ABV hazy Hop Nectar IPA. The brewery will open a little late today, at 2 p.m.
Saturday, August 12
Peace & Assist IV
Cellar West Artisan Ales, Boulder
Every year, Call to Arms Brewing and Cannonball Creek Brewing join forces to support a young, up-and-coming Colorado brewery and celebrate the spirit of collaboration and camaraderie. While some breweries "send cease-and-desist letters, we aim to bring peace while assisting our brothers and sisters in arms," the two breweries say. This year's partner for Peace & Assist IV is Cellar West Artisan Ales, which opened last December 1001 Lee Hill Drive in Boulder. Founded by Zach Nichols, formerly of Sanitas Brewing, Cellar West specializes in "distinctive, barrel-fermented beers that celebrate people, place, and purpose." The event runs from 1 to 9 p.m. and includes three versions of Peace & Assist No. 4: the base version, brewed with raw and malted rye and fermented in oak with the Cellar West wild yeast culture; a variant made with fresh cucumbers and cardamom; and a dry-hopped version (Amarillo and Hallertau Blanc) that will be available in bottles as well. There will also be other beers from Cellar West, along with offerings from Call to Arms and Cannonball Creek. Boulder's Stone Lotus food truck will be on hand, and there will be live music from Chunky Whiskey.
Black Shirt Brewing
Red Evelyn Release Party
Black Shirt Brewing
Black Shirt Brewing makes many special beers, but there is one that stands out every year because of its special meaning to brothers and brewery co-owners Chad and Branden Miller. Red Evelyn Imperial Red Rye IPA is typically brewed in the early spring and released in August to honor the Millers' grandmother Evie, who helped raise the boys in the town of Westcliffe. (Last year's version came out in December because the first batch didn't come out right). But the beer is also special because it is one of the best, most underrated double IPAs in the state. Brewed with wildflower honey, Belgian candi sugar and five kinds of hops, Red Evelyn takes five months to make because of the specialized processes that the Millers use. Uncannily balanced for such a big beer — 9.6 percent ABV — it offers flavors and aromas of pine, caramel, grapefruit, spice and flowers. This year, the party will run from 11 a.m. to midnight and feature live music from 1 to 9 p.m. from Silver and Smoke, Dayton Stone & The Undertones and Tyler Imbrey & The Ghost Review. Red Evelyn will be pouring on draft and in limited quantities of 32-ounce Crowlers to go.
Resolute Brewing
First Anniversary Parking Lot Party
Resolute Brewing, Centennial
Resolute Brewing in Centennial wants to party, so the brewery is shutting down the parking lot next to its building for a first-anniversary bash starting at noon. Resolute will kick things off an hour earlier, at 11 a.m., with its first ever (taproom-only) bomber release — a Belgian dark strong ale with peaches. This anniversary ale is limited, but there is no bottle limit — and while you can drink it fresh, Resolute says it was designed to age well, too. For the party, there will be a Big Wheel racing course that allows up to six trikes at a time. There will also be a beer tent overlooking the track — where Resolute will have other special releases on tap — as well as music, life-sized games, and a pig roast from Ol' Skool Que. At 5:30 p.m, the party moves indoors, with live music from Timber and more beer. Other details are TBA.
Saturday, August 19
Second Annual Parker Brewfest
O'Brien Park, Parker
Beer festivals are a great way to get a taste of a wide variety of breweries without having to go to each one, and the Parker Brewfest, running from 2 to 5 p.m. in the gazebo area at Parker's O'Brien Park, will deliver this year with 39 breweries (and one cider house), nearly half of which hail from Parker, Littleton, Centennial, Aurora, Highlands Ranch and other south Denver suburbs. Some of the remaining breweries are from the northern suburbs or from beer companies that are making beer at other breweries but don't have locations yet. Hosted by the Cherry Creek Valley Rotary Club of Parker, the festival raises money for charities — 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit various groups, including Parker Task Force for Human Services; Douglas County Student Support Center; Crisis Center; Project Sanctuary; End Polio Now; ShelterBox; Rotary Water Project; and Project C.U.R.E. Tickets for the fest are $40 in advance from parkerbrewfest.com or $55 for VIP tickets, which get you in one hour early, at 1 p.m. In addition to beer, there will be food from Cheffin's Cheesesteak's, Sokare and Golden Toad, as well as music from the Dollhouse Thieves.
Saturday, August 26
Reflection Garden on Tap: 5K and Beerfest
City of Aurora Municipal Building
Resolute Brewing, which was founded by a group of Columbine High School grads, has put together the Reflection Garden on Tap Beerfest and 5K as a way to have a blast in Aurora. But proceeds will be used to construct a memorial in honor of the "victims, survivors, and heroes" of the 2012 Aurora theater shooting. The memorial will become a part of the Reflection Memorial Garden inside the ten-acre Aurora Municipal Water-wise Garden at the northwest corner of Alameda Parkway and Chambers Road. The 5K course takes runners on a scenic stroll through nearby parks and neighborhoods, finishing in the Water-wise Garden, where celebrations kick off with the beer fest. There will be fifteen breweries on hand, along with two food trucks, live music from Brushfire, life-sized games, sidewalk chalk artists and more. For details and registration, go to evenbrite.com.
The 2016 Chef and Brew was the best yet.
Danielle Lirette
Chef and Brew Festival
Exdo Event Center
Chef and Brew, one of the best and oldest beer-and-food pairing competitions and festivals in Denver, returns to Exdo from 6 to 10 p.m. with thirty dishes, forty beers and lots of fun. Each chef creates two small dishes to pair with two beers from a matched brewery, and the event really lets these chefs get creative as they play with everything from sour and wild ales to chocolate stouts to the hoppiest IPAs. Attendees can learn about beer flavors from their own reactions to the combinations. Tickets, $49 to $69 (though they will go up), include a logo glass, unlimited samplings of all the pairings (while they last) and a chance to vote for the coveted People’s Choice Award. For a full list of participants, go to chefandbrew.com.
