Colorado gubernatorial ball will have a beer list that’s a mile higher than any other state

Of all the inaugural balls taking place next month around the country, Colorado’s has to have the best beer list.

And why not? The new governor, John Hickenlooper, is a brewer and the co-founder of the iconic Wynkoop Brewing Company.

In addition to Hickenlooper’s InaugurAle — which is being brewed by the Wynkoop in honor of hizzoner — party-goers who show up on January 11 (tickets are $100 a pop) will find beer from sixteen other breweries.

And that’s just the beginning. The list is “likely to change as we are still working to feature a few more breweries,” says Hickenlooper staffer Amber Miller, adding that the only reason some breweries declined was because they aren’t bottling or canning their products. “The catering for the dinner and the concert cannot accommodate numerous kegs.”

And although Hickenlooper is no longer involved in the beer business, having divested his shares of the Wynkoop in 2007, the beer business is certainly going to be involved with him in 2011: Liquor stores and craft breweries will once again lobby to keep supermarkets and convenience stores from gaining the right to sell full-strength beer.

But that battle can wait until after the inauguration. In the meantime, here’s the full list of breweries that will be pouring suds at that event:

1. Odell
2. Avery
3. Breckenridge Brewery
4. Great Divide
5. Oskar Blues
6. Boulder Beer
7. Left Hand
8. Ska Brewing
9. Wynkoop
10. New Belgium
11. Silverton Brewery
12. Pug Ryan’s
13. Bristol Brewery
14. Trinity
15. Steamworks
16. Del Norte Brewing Company
17. Coors

Follow Westword‘s Beer Man on Twitter at @ColoBeerMan.