Founded by friends Carlin Walsh, Christian Koch, Sheila Bustamante and Xandy Bustamante, Elevation will produce beers along the lines of the ski slope rating system: blues will be easy drinking, blacks will be bolder, and double blacks will be insane. The brewery, using 750 ml bottles, plans to distribute all over Colorado.
Wednesday, February 1Today marks the beginning of Stout Month at Denver's Vine Street Pub and the Mountain and Southern Sun Pub & Breweries in Boulder. The nineteenth annual celebration of stouts offers one of the most amazing array of dark beers made in Colorado at revolving taps at all three locations. There will be dozens of stouts on tap from Mountain Sun, as well as guest taps from other breweries. Some of the Mountain Sun specialties include Chocolate Dip Stout, Korova Cream Stout, Old School Irish Stout, Yonder Mountain Stout, Thunder Head Stout, Cherry Dip Stout, Coconut Cream Stout, Dark Harvest Pumpkin Stout, Bourbon Barrel Aged Stoked Oak Stout, Trickster Stout, Usurper Imperial Stout, Addiction Coffee Imperial Stout, Nihilist Imperial Stout, and new ones, Oatimus Prime Imperial Oatmeal Stout and Megatron Imperial American Stout.
Thursday, February 2
Boulder Beer will tap an unusual beer with an unusual story today at 4 p.m. Bad Moon Risin' Double Black IPA is what the brewery is calling an "awesome oops." It is Boulder Beer's strongest-ever beer and it was created when during a shift change there when the brewers from the second shift didn't realized that the brewers from the first shift had already added 4,000 pounds of one kind of grain for a fifty-barrel batch of beer to the grain mill. The second crew added their own grain for a different beer, and the result was: a big mess in the mashtun. But the brewers decided to deal with it. They added some hops that they thought would stand up to the grain and ended up with a 12 percent ABV dark and roasty cross between their Planet Porter and their Mojo Risin' Double IPA. It's the most limited fullscale beer the brewery has ever made, and they can't do again because they're not even sure about the recipe. So drink up and enjoy the moment.
Friday, February 3
Postponed until Sunday due to snow; Copper Kettle closed todayCopper Kettle Brewing will release its first hefeweizen today called Kettle-Weizen with a party from 5 to 9 p.m. The Sesame Seed food truck, serving Chinese food sandwiches and other specials will be outside.
Hops & Pie will tap a firkin of Upslope Brewing's Foreign Style Stout today at 3 p.m. as part of its monthly Firkin First Friday program. The beer, which was recently released in limited quantities in cans, was aged in this cask with Madagascar vanilla and cinnamon.
Great Divide will tap a firkin of My Bloody Monster today around 3 p.m. It's a cask of Yeti aged with raspberries.
Saturday, February 4
Copper Kettle Brewing officially releases its Imperial Bourbon Breakfast Stout to the public today during tasting room hours from noon to 9 p.m. At 5 p.m., the Tasterie food truck will be outside, and at 7 p.m., there will be live bluegrass music from The Acoustic Mining Company. The beer is oatmeal stout that has been brewed with coffee, chocolate, Kentucky bourbon and wood chips.
Twisted Pine Brewing will release Canis Lupulus, the second in its Artisan Ale Project series, today with a taproom party beginning at noon. Each month this year, the brewery will release a new beer in 750 ml bottles as part of the project, each featuring the work of a different local artist on the label. This month's beer, an imperial India black ale that weights in at a hefty 10 percent ABV, was double dry-hopped with Galena and Citra hops and "carries a noseful of evergreen and lemon scent," the brewery says. The label artwork, "Silver Stars and Moon," was done by Chris Huang, who will be on hand today to sign the bottles and sell other pieces of his artwork.Lucky Pie in Louisville gets football fever today by hosting Super Firkin Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. The pizza joint, which will open a second location in Denver later this year, will tap four firkins: Bristol Brewing WInter Warlock with cinnamon and habanero; Left Hand Stranger Pale Ale; Avery's New World Porter; and Black Fox Brewing Somnombulance, a Belgian brown ale aged on raspberries, coffee, vanilla beans, and caramel. $20 gets you a glass of each specialty beer and Lucky Pie snacks. Proceeds benefit the Colorado Brewers Guild.
Sunday, February 5 The Cheeky Monk on Colfax will celebrate the Super Bowl with some beer specials today, including $4 Great Divide Nomad and Avery Joe's Pilsner; $5 Stone IPA and Dry Dock IPA,;$8 AFC vs. NFC sample paddles, as well specials on food (wings, homemade chili, sliders and more.
The Copper Kettle will also host a Super Bowl Party from 4:30 on with beers discounted by $1 all day, along with game food outside. In addition, Copper Kettle will release its first hefeweizen today called Kettle-Weizen; this event was originally scheduled on Friday, but was postponed due to snow.
Thursday, February 9
February is barleywine month at the Falling Rock Taphouse (or Dain Bramage month, as they call it because of the high alcohol content of this style of beer). And while there will be various barleywines on tap all month, Falling Rock will begin tappings its vintage kegs tonight. Some of these aged beauties come from Uinta Brewing, Firestone Walker, Sierra Nevada, Alaskan, Oskar Blues and Great Divide.
