Beer Calendar: Crack a Bottle at Tivoli, Mockery, River North, Call to Arms

After six years of serving Odell Brewing's Levity Amber Ale as its "house" beer, Highland Tap & Burger has switched to a new brew. The popular burger joint will now be serving the amber ale from Diebolt Brewing, which is only one neighborhood away, as its house beer. Highland Tap & Burger formally made the switch last night and will be serving the Diebolt beer for $3 a pint all the time.

Odell Brewing, in the meantime, has developed a house beer for Blue Sushi Sake Grill, which is owned by the Flagship Restaurant Group. The 5.7 percent ABV beer, called Mosaic Hop Shop, is a single-hop pale ale
with "dank aromas and flavors" and "citrus-like flavors of lemon and grapefruit."

Here are this week's craft-beer events.

Wednesday, July 13
It's Fresh Fruit Cask Month at Copper Kettle Brewing, which will tap a different firkin of beer made from fresh fruit each Wednesday in July. Today's is Guava Grapefruit IPA, a 7.2 percent ABV beer "made with fresh guava and grapefruit, giving it a tropical, citrus flair, and garnished with fresh fruit," the brewery says. Big Time Flavor will be out front serving tacos.

Dunbar Kitchen & Taphouse debuts its Summer BBQ series in its brand-new beer garden today, starting at 7 p.m. with beers from Dad & Dude's Breweria. Tickets are $20 and include a plate of homemade BBQ and two full pours of beer. Dad & Dude's owners Mason and Jessica will be on hand with Dank IPA, Pineapple Express, a Honey Blonde with Pineapple Puree, and an as-yet-unnamed special beer.

Head to Falling Rock tonight at 5:30 p.m. for an early taste of El Gose, the new year-round six-pack from Boulder's Avery Brewing. The Avery crew will be on hand to unveil this sour brew spiked with lime and sea salt.

Thursday, July 14
Call to Arms Brewing will introduce a new bottled-release series today at 3 p.m. called the Carriage House Series — in honor of the brewery's first anniversary. "The Carriage House was the original name of Call to Arms, and as carriage houses themselves are offshoots of one's residence, the Carriage House Series acts as CTA's wild, sour and barrel-aged offshoot project," the brewery says. "The first release will be a Wild Saison blended with yuzu and raspberries that we've named 'Yu Zu Yu.' Bravo, Hull Melon and Nelson Sauvin hops were used along with pilsner, white wheat and acidulated grains. Brett Claussenii was added along with Japanese yuzu and red raspberries as the beer was aged in chardonnay barrels." There are only fifty 375-milliliter bottles available, with a two-per-customer max. There will also be a limited amount of Yu Zu Yu available on tap for this event.

Friday, July 15
Celebrate the discovery of gold in Colorado and the launch of our Tivoli Helles bottles at Tivoli Brewing starting today at noon. There will be live music and games all day. Enter to win Tivoli Beer for life.

Something Brewery in Brighton will tap a new beer today when it opens at 3 p.m. Cookie Monster is an Oreo vanilla milk stout.


Saturday, July 16
Joyride Brewing will celebrate its second anniversary with a street party today starting at 11 a.m. There will be live music from FU^K, K-Law, Johnny Tarr, Muriel and the Deano's and Whillis. There will also be special beer tappings, food trucks, Dunk the Brewer, bouncy castles, face painting and more.

River North Brewery will release its 2016 Whiskey Barrel Quandary today on tap and in bottles. The beer is River North's flagship quadrupel aged in a blend of whiskey barrels for a year and a half. 

Alpine Dog Brewery is tapping a new beer today. The coffee pale ale, Java McHoppyFace!, has light roast and coffee notes, the brewery says. You can also get an Alpine Dog-branded coffee mug for $1 when you buy a pint of the beer. The Spudz Food Truck will be on site.

Mockery Brewing will release bottles of a Scotch-barrel-aged version of Double Scotch on the Rockies today, a beer that it made in collaboration with Colorado Let's Talk Craft Beer, a Facebook group focused on craft brewing. There will also be a small amount (five gallons) of the beer available on draft. "This Barrel Aged version of Double Scotch on the Rockies recipe grew from a taproom favorite, our Salted Scotch. It's malty, earthy, with hints of peat smoke and sea salt," Mockery says. "We guarantee you’ve never had anything like it. Last year we reached out to CLTCB to collaborate on brewing a very special beer. After a vote on the beer style and name, we invited group members to join us on brew day. We were lucky to have the best beer geeks in the nation to collaborate with on this beer. The CLTCB is a great example of the positive and supportive craft beer community within Colorado. Thank you to CLTCB for your input and hard work. We cannot wait to enjoy this beer with you and the other local craft beer lovers."

Call to Arms Brewing will celebrate its first birthday today with its First Ever Super Awesome Anniversary Fun Fest, where you will find fifteen beers on tap, carnival games and prizes, food from Baby E's BBQ, live music by Sixty Minute Men, local vendors, the tapping of First Anniversary IPA and other special releases.

Sunday, July 17
Avery Brewing will release its latest year-round beer in six-pack form today at 11 a.m. when it debuts El Gose, a "timeless, traditional tart gose (goes-uh) with its zesty and salty disposition brightened by a tangy citrus twist," the Boulder brewery says. Head to the tap room for giveaways and a "unique Spanish-German dining menu" that includes Das Chorizo Pretzel Dog; Ein Jalapeño Pretzel; Los Bratwurst Tacos with drunken sausage, green chile kraut pico, Ellie's Brown Ale mustard crema, flour tortillas, avocado and tres frijoles; Steak Schnitzel Torta; Carne Sauerbraten; Paprikash Enchiladas with kraut pico; and German Chocolate Cake with red-chile mole.

Cerebral Brewing debuts a new program called Sunday Sessions today with food and music. "This session, Jeff Cramer will be rockin' the house while Baby E's BBQ will be posted up outside serving up their delicious smoked BBQ. Admission is free," the brewery says.

The fifth annual A Night to Remember Beer Festival takes place today from 3 to 7 p.m. at Four Mile Historic Park in Glendale, honoring the twelve people who died and the seventy who were injured in the Aurora theater shootings on July 20, 2012. One of those who died was Alex Teves, "a friend, loyal customer and brew club member" at Copper Kettle Brewing, which helps host the fest. Breweries include: Barrels and Bottles Brewery, Boggy Draw Brewery, CAUTION: Brewing Co., Cerebral Brewing, Chain Reaction, City Star Brewing, Colorado Cider Company, Copper Kettle, Comrade Brewing, Dad & Dude's Breweria, Dry Dock, Epic, Fiction Beer Company, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, Horse & Dragon Brewing, Launch Pad Brewery, Little Machine Beer, Locavore Beer Works, Mockery Brewing, Mu Brewery, Odell Brewing, Ratio Beerworks, Renegade, River North Brewery, Station 26, Stem Ciders, Strange Craft Beer, Trinity Brewing, TRVE Brewing, Two22 Brew, Ursula Brewery, WeldWerks and Wit's End. Food trucks include: The Cluck Truck, Tony Guacamole and the Savory Life. Live music provided by the Dollhouse Thieves. There will also be a dunk tank, a silent auction, free prize giveaways and custom t-shirts. One hundred percent of the proceeds are donated to the Alexander C Teves Foundation, providing funds and opportunities to students with unique needs at the Humanex Academy. Pre-sale tickets are $35 for four hours of unlimited sampling ($25 designated driver ticket) and $40 at the door the day of.

Tuesday, July 19
Root Down will host a beer dinner tonight at 7 p.m. with Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project. "Together, the Root Down culinary team and Chad Yakobsen have dreamed up a four-course dinner complemented by barrel-aged pairings from Crooked Stave," Root Down says. Tickets are $75 per person; seating is limited, and reservations can be made by calling 303-993-4200.

Thursday, July 21
The Oskar Blues Tasty Weasel tap room in Longmont will host a tap takeover by two of the breweries that Oskar Blues has purchased, Cigar City from Florida and Michigan's Perrin. The Fuster Cluck tap takeover starts at 4:30 p.m. and will feature a surprise tapping every hour. 

Friday, July 22
Grimm Brothers Brewhouse in Loveland will celebrate its sixth anniversary today and tomorrow with a German-style party in its taproom. Tonight, there will be a ticketed, VIP pig roast. Attendees get a commemorative glass and beer (specialty releases included). There will be live music. 

Grimm Brothers Brewhouse in Loveland continues its German-style sixth anniversary party today at noon by closing down the parking lot for live music and biergarden games like Hammerschlagen, corn hole, polish horseshoes and washers. They will also have a variety of specialty beers on tap. In addition, the Kiwanis Club will be grilling burgers and brats from Bull and Boar along with homemade sides.

Saturday, July 23
Help Station 26 Brewing celebrate its half birthday (it's turning 2.5, and partying in July is more fun than in December) today with a party starting at 1 p.m. There will be live music on stage out back all day by Thunder and Rain, Delta Sonics Blues Band and Guerrilla Fanfare, along with food from Basic Kneads Pizza, Rolling Smoke BBQ, and AikoPops a Unique Eatery, and two outside bars in addition to the tap-room bar. Advance VIP tix are $10 in advance and get you access to shaded table seating, a prime view of the stage, a private bar and bathroom, tacos and chips and salsa by Dos Santos, three beer tickets, and access to Station 26's fruited Juicy Banger IPA variations. No dogs or kids will be allowed.

Denver Beer Co gets into the summer spirit today with a Shandy and Ice Cream Social from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The brewery teamed up with Little Man Ice Cream and Rocky Mountain Soda Company for this event, which features five delicious shandies with five different Rocky Mountain Soda flavors, along with five unique ice cream flavors paired with the shandies. They include: Orange Cream Soda and Incredible Pedal IPA Shandy paired with Blackberry Honey Goat Cheese Ice Cream (A blackberry and goat cheese ice cream sweetened with honey); Smitten, a Belgian Golden Ale with Black Cherry Soda Shandy paired with Raspberry Love (A raspberry ice cream with dark chocolate chips); Walt Weiss German Hefeweizen with Strawberry Rhubarb Soda Shandy paired with Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream; Princess Yum Yum Raspberry Kolsch with Ginger Ale Shandy paired with Toasted Coconut Lime Sorbet; and Graham Cracker Porter and Horchata Soda Shandy paired with Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream. Tickets to the social are $15 and include five four-ounce shandies and five mini ice cream scoops.

Sunday, July 24
Odd 13 Brewing in Lafayette showcases its latest tap-room-only can release today with Fairy Hopmother, an IPA, featuring hops from three different continents. "New Zealand's Nelson Sauvin adds flavors reminiscent of white wine grapes and gooseberries. Notes of honeydew and strawberry come from German Huell Melon. Amerian Mosaic rounds out the hop bill kicking in notes of blueberry. A full body with slight caramel sweetness balances the rich fruity flavors from the hops," the brewery says. Cans will only be available in the tap room, and there will be no growler fills.

Sunday, July 31
Ratio Beerworks and Church of Cupcakes host a cupcake pairing today from 2 to 5 p.m. Enjoy pairings of lavender honey-lemon with a Dear You French Saison, or fleur-de-sel caramel chocolate cupcake paired with the robust chocolate flavors of a Hold Steady Scotch Ale. $15 gets you a flight of three cupcakes and three tasters of Ratio Beers.

Wednesday, August 3
Tickets for the 35th annual Great American Beer Festival, which takes place October 6-8 in Denver, go on sale to the general public today at 10 a.m. (Tickets went on sale for members of the Brewers Association (BA) and American Homebrewers Association (AHA) yesterday). They will sell out in seconds.

Friday, August 5
The 4th Annual Women of Colorado Craft Breweries Pinup Calendar, featuring the ladies of craft beer, takes place at Left Hand Brewing in Longmont today from 5 to 8 p.m. And in addition to the calendar, there will be a vintage car show in the parking lot, a pinup contest, swing lessons and a performance by Jim Jamm Jimmy. Calendars will be sold in the taproom and the pinups will be signing their months. The 2017 calendar features 13 Colorado craft breweries and a coupon page.

Saturday, August 6
Sesh Fest returns to Denver — at the Highlands Masonic Events Center — today from 2 to 6 p.m., featuring "dozens of breweries paying homage to session-style beers." There will also be food, lawn games and music. Session beers are typically below 5 percent ABV and are usually lighter. Get tix at nighout.com.