November is "Happy Thanksgiving" cask month at the Copper Kettle. Today's beer is Spiced Up Cranberry Sauce Golden Cask, a golden strong ale made with jalapeños and fresh cranberries.
Friday, November 7
Mockery Brewing will introduce itself as the newest brewery in River North with a grand opening party starting at 3 p.m. today. There will be nine beers on tap, including Black IPA, Vanilla Bourbon Porter, Blonde, Peach Blonde, Salted Scotch Ale, Red Session IPA, Southern Hemisphere Ale, Pumpkin Oktoberfest Ale and Rye Saison.
Upslope Brewing will kick off its sixth anniversary weekend at its Lee Hill location from 4 to 8 p.m. today with a celebration of the taproom's barrel-aged releases. Cured will provide cheese pairings at 4 p.m.; Heirloom food truck will offer farm-fresh eats from 5 to 8 p.m., and there will be music from The Longest Day of the Year Duo at 6 p.m.
Breckenridge Brewery and snowboard=maker Never Summer Industries have teamed up for the second year in row for "Opening Day," an event at Punch Bowl Social that celebrates opening days at ski resorts around Colorado and the rest of the country. The companies will also debut limited-edition snowboard artwork at the free parking-lot party, which starts at 5 p.m. (Breck and Never Summer will also host parties in seventeen other states.) Never Summer will screen its movie Dang Bud; there will also be Breckenridge beer, free ski and snowboard edgings and waxings from 7Twenty Boardshop, snowboard giveaways, and much more.
Saturday, November 8
Grist Brewing is celebrating its first anniversary all day today by releasing beers every hour on the hour, including its first barrel-aged brew. Churn and Burn BBQ & Ice Cream will also be in the house.
Avery Brewing will host its third annual Boulder IPA Fest beginning at 1 p.m. today at the brewery; this event will likely sell out far in advance. There will be more than 100 beers on tap. Tickets are $45 and include sixteen four-ounce pours and a commemorative glass; additional drink tickets will be available for sale. The beers include Hop Shovel from Bear Republic, Flower Child IPA from Cambridge Brewing, Hoperation Overload from DESTIHL and Elevated IPA from La Cumbre Brewing; find the full beer list at the Avery website or Facebook page. Get more info at eventbrite.com.
Upslope Brewing will celebrate its sixth anniversary today from 2 to 8 p.m. with a party at its Flatiron Park location. There will be new and vintage releases, plenty of food trucks, games and live music on the back dock.
Boulder Beer Company will release Scourge of the Dude -- a sequel to The Dude's Bane -- today at the taproom starting at noon. The second in the brewery's barrel-aged Dude Series, Scourge is a barleywine made on Boulder Beer's pilot system with a blend of caramel malts, toasted rye and a hint of smoked malt, then aged for eight months in first-use bourbon barrels. Scourge of the Dude will be sold in 22-ounce waxed bottles and initially available only at Boulder Beer; a handful of cases will begin shipping to select markets the following week for distribution.
Sunday, November 9
At 6 p.m. Hogshead Brewery will welcome beer historian, author and journalist Ron Pattinson, who is touring four North American Breweries. Pattinson will help Hogshead tap a wood firkin of 1845 Lovibond XX Yesteryear Mild, a 6.5 percent ABV English mild that was brewed with historic barley varietals, and chat about English beer history.
Tuesday, November 11
Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom locations in Colorado will tap Silver Ale, a collaboration between Odell Brewing in Fort Collins and Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City that was designed to mark the 25th anniversary of both businesses. In addition to the Silver Ale, Old Chicago will tap three other beers at each brewery as part of a two-week=long Old Chicago Explorer Series. In addition, Old Chicago will tap both breweries' eparate anniversary ales on their respective anniversaries: Boulevard's Harvest Dance on November 17 and Odell's 180 Shilling on November 18. Turn the page to see more events later in October and in November.> Wednesday, November 12
November is "Happy Thanksgiving" cask month at the Copper Kettle. Today's beer is Apple and Pear Tart Amber, a traditional amber lager with a sweet and tart finish.
Saturday, November 15
Locavore Beer Works will open for business today at 5950 South Platte Canyon Road in Littleton. Starting at noon, the new brewery will have eleven beers on tap, along with food from Rocky Mountain Catering.
In honor of its 21st birthday, Left Hand Brewing will introduce an unusual new festival today called Nitro Fest, the first event dedicated exclusively to nitrogenated beer. Taking place from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Longmont brewery, the fest will feature beers from 21 breweries across the country. Some are rare beers that are being nitrogenated for the first time for the fest. Tickets are $50 for four hours of all-you-can-drink nitro craft beers. Event proceeds will benefit the Left Hand Brewing Foundation; Left Hand helped popularize the nitro style over the past few years by introducing three different nitrogenated beers in bottles. Breweries at the fest include Founders, Cigar City, Dogfish Head, Firestone Walker, Victory, Green Flash, Oskar Blues, Breckenridge, New Belgium and Odell. In addition, there will be performance art including fire dancers, stilt walkers and aerial artists.
River North Brewery will bring back its first barrel-aged beer, Whiskey Barrel J. Marie, today with a release party starting at 1 p.m. "Shortly after we opened in 2012, we got our hands on some freshly emptied whiskey barrels, and loaded them with our farmhouse ale," head brewer Matt Hess says in a statement. "The result not only tasted amazing, but ignited my passion for barrel-aging, and now I look forward to this beer every year." The 10.2 percent ABV beer's "esters of apricot and peach are complimented by toasted coconut and vanilla notes from the barrels." Draft pours and bomber bottles ($15 each; limit of three) to-go will be available.
In advance of tomorrow's Denver Bacon and Beer Festival (see November 16), organizers Denver Off the Wagon and EatBoston are hosting the second annual Bacon and Beer Chef and Brewer Dinner at The Lobby. The event, from 6 to 9 p.m., will feature five courses prepared by five local chefs, paired with beer from five Denver-area breweries (plus a welcome beer, Breckenridge Brewery's 72 Imperial Chocolate Cream Stout). Pairings include Squash and Baking Spiced Surette from Harman's John Little paired with Crooked Stave Autumn Surette; Celery Root Purée with Pork Belly, Fig and Frisee from Drew Watson of Hops & Pie, paired with Copper Kettle's French Saison; and Bacon Wrapped Pork Belly Meatloaf served over Parsnip Puree with Caramelized Wort Catsup and Crispy Sprout Leaves from The Lobby's Brandon Muncy, paired with TRVE Brewing's Dunwich Robust Porter. Tickets, $65, and full details are available at wheretoeat.in/2014-denver-bacon-and-beer-festival/. A portion of proceeds from tickets sales benefit Project Angel Heart and Metro CareRing.
Sunday, November 16
The third annual Denver Bacon and Beer Festival runs from 2:30 to 5 p.m. today at the Curtis Hotel. This year's event will feature eighteen breweries and more than 25 restaurants; one beer-bacon team will be crowned Best in Show and win $750 to donate to the local charity of its choice. Presented by EatBoston and Denver Off The Wagon, the fest has raised almost $40,000 for Project Angel Heart and Metro CareRing in the past. For tickets, $46.50, more info and a list of participants, go to the Denver Bacon and Beer Festival's website.
Avery Brewing will debut a brand-new beer in its Annual Barrel Series today at 1 p.m. when it starts selling bottles of Tweak, a stout aged for four months with Orzo coffee in bourbon barrels. The beer, formerly known as Meph Addict, was a version of Avery's Mephistopheles Stout, and has only been on tap in the past. Weighing in at 17.81 percent AVB, Tweak will join Uncle Jacob's and Rumpkin as part of the annual series.
Thursday, November 20
The annual Chef & Brew Festival, which brings some of Denver's best chefs together with some top breweries, returns today to the at EXDO Event Center from 7 to 10 p.m. Attendees get access to unlimited appetizers and craft-beer samples from at least eighteen restaurants and eighteen breweries. The apps and beers are paired, and the best combo -- as voted on by guests -- will win the competition. Tickets are $49 (or $80 for VIP, which gets you in an hour earlier, at 6 p.m.). Some of the chefs include Jensen Cummings of the BSide, John Chad Little of Harman's, Argyll's John Broening and Panzano's Elise Wiggins. Breweries include Crooked Stave, Funkwerks, TRVE, Epic and Great Divide. Find the full list, info and tickets at chefnbrewfestival.com.
Saturday, November 22
Oskar Blues Brewery will celebrate twelve years of canning beers at its original location in Lyons today at Oskar Blues Grill & Brew. Although more than 425 craft breweries are canning their beers today, OB was the first to do it in 2002. The 12th CANiversary party will kick off with a buffet dinner from 6 to 9 p.m., along with its GABF-famous Silent Disco from 7:30 till 9 p.m. in the new expansion space on the north side of the building. Special beers available in cans include Chaka, Velvet Elvis, Station 3, Home Skillet, Pollen Buzz and Pinner Throwback IPA. Live music starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and available at eventbrite.com/e/12th-annual-oskar-blues-caniversary-tickets-13878475895.
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