Beer Calendar: Cool Beans, Galactic Funk Punch and a Day of Dorks

A pair of veteran local brewers recently moved on to new breweries.

In Lafayette, longtime brewer and brewery consultant David Mentus has taken over at Uturn BBQ and Brewery, which opened in 2017 with two beers and a drive-thru window where patrons could get a plate of barbecue and a six-pack to go. Mentus, who has worked at several different breweries, including Mountain Sun and Bootstrap Brewing, will also be in charge of expanding Uturn's lineup and introducing some new seasonal releases. Some of his upcoming beers include a hazy IPA, an American amber and a rotating beer with different infusions; the first iteration of that one is Cherry-Chipotle Uturn Dark Ale, a stout made with smoked chipotles, cherry juice and whisky-soaked oak chips.

In Centennial, Resolute Brewing has hired Justin Burnsed as head brewer. He takes over for founding brewer Zac Rismiller, who is now at Bull & Bush. Burnsed had been the head brewer at Mockery Brewing in Denver since it opened in 2014 and has developed more than 100 beers there. Before that, graduated from the University of California, Davis’s master brewers program and spent time at Firehouse Brewing, Stone Brewing and Prospectors Brewing, all in California. Some of his new creations at Resolute include a wee heavy, rum raisin imperial stout and blonde; he has plans for a strawberry wheat wine and an Irish red.

Keep reading for the best craft-beer events through mid-March.

Wednesday, March 7
It's IPA month at Copper Kettle Brewing, which will tap a new firkin of a special IPA each Wednesday at 2 p.m. The first is Pomegranate Rye IPA, which "tickles the palate with subtle rye spice and muted bitterness," the brewery says. "Complemented by pleasantly sweet notes of pomegranate and a relatively low IBU of 60, this beer aims to please both Hop Heads and casual beer drinkers alike.

Woods Boss Brewing taps a new beer called Vivette. This New England-style IPA was brewed with lactose, black currant, rolled oats and a ton of Bramling Cross, Mosaic, Tardif, Bravo, Galaxy, and Crystal Hops. "The tart berry, fruity, and lingering sweetness combine with an amazing mouth feel and body to entice and leave you wanting more," the brewery says.

To help raise money for an upcoming exhibit on beer at History Colorado, Left Hand Brewing will host a series of three dinner talks by its own historian and brewer, Carl Rose. The first Colorado History Night is today from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the brewery in Longmont and includes an hour-long talk, a Colorado-inspired plated dinner, and a flight of Left Hand beers — all for $25. The other two dinner talks take place on March 21 and March 28. Rose will cover the complete history of Colorado's brewers, beginning with the pioneer brewers of the 1860s through the growth of the industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Thursday, March 8
Zuni Street Brewing kicks off three days of parties to celebrate its first anniversary. Today you'll find live music from the Ken Burdette Band Duo from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., the Wheels on Fire Food Truck and anniversary T-shirts and sunglasses. Friday, there will be more live music and a food truck. And on Saturday, Zuni Street will release two beers: Bourbon Barrel Aged Midnight, a whiskey ginger beer with a Belgian Twist; and Sour Brown Ale Aged with Strawberries. There will also be music, ice cream, food trucks, a bouncy castle and more.

Friday, March 9
Alpine Dog Brewing brewed a collaboration with Copper Kettle Brewing for Collaboration Fest, which takes place March 31, but the brewery will give you a sneak peak starting today when it taps Imperial Strawberry Wit, which was conditioned on loads of strawberries, dry hopped with Mosaic and Mandarina (for a citrus/tropical fruit/berry/earthy profile) and spiced with a touch of cinnamon and habanero in the kettle.

Westfax Brewing in Lakewood will celebrate its two-year anniversary with events starting at 2 p.m. and lasting through Saturday. The first is the release of Concussion Protocol, a Belgian-style quadrupel. It is also the second anniversary of the Sha-WING Food Truck, which will be on hand and hosting a wing-eating contest at 7 p.m. It's $10 to enter, and there can be a maximum of ten participants; the winner gets gift cards and free beer.

Leadville's Periodic Brewing will open its new Northglenn taproom, 2100 East 112th Avenue, at 11:30 a.m. and host grand opening events through Saturday. The first 42 patrons get a free glass with their beer.

Saturday, March 10
"The future is now," says River North Brewery, which will begin selling its newest canned beer, a New England-style IPA called Mountain Haze, at noon in the taproom. This "Citra-driven juice bomb in a can" is the latest addition to the brewery's packaged lineup, and it will be available year-round. Snag six packs at $12 each. Plus, El Taco Veloz will be on hand with food.

Call to Arms Brewing has cooked up a beer with Novel Strand Brewing, which plans to open this year in the Baker neighborhood, called Galactic Funk Punch. It will be released in cans. "This divine nectar was entirely fermented in oak puncheons with a blend of two bacterias, one of our favorite saison strains, and one bad motha-shut-yo-mouth strain of Brettanomyces," the breweries say. "We then went to another dimension and infused it with a spaceship full of Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin and Mosaic hops. We hope every sip you drink down puts a dip in your hip on the way to funky town." The 6.3 percent ABV sour ale is "a mix of both traditional and modern souring and hopping techniques. Expect an initial wave of Brett funk joined by a heady mix of tropical fruit flavors birthed over several months of flirtation between hops and microbes." There are 100 four-packs of sixteen-ounce cans available, at $20 per four-pack.

Banded Oak Brewing will release Cabernet Barrel Aged Belgian Dark Strong at noon. "A 2017 Denver International Beer Competition double gold winner, Cabernet Barrel Aged Belgian Dark Strong is balanced by tannins from grape skin and oak," the brewery says. "The opening is reminiscent of a port or dessert wine, and leads into flavors of dark fruits, syrups, and sour cherries. At 12.4 percent ABV, this complex beer is deceivingly drinkable." Each 750 mL bottle is $18 each. It is also on draft.

Ratio Beerworks brings back its Cool Beans Coffee Festival — "a grand celebration of beer, coffee and coffee beers" — from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The brewery has teamed up with its neighbors at Novo Coffee "to showcase the diversity of flavors that can emerge from differing coffee bean varieties, various levels of roasts, and how all of those flavors can be highlighted or enhanced when infused in an array of beer styles," Ratio says. For $30 at nightout.com, attendees get six four-ounce tasters of coffee-infused Ratio beers; one full pour of a coffee beer; a bloody beer from the Real Dill featuring Ratio's Domestica American Standard Ale; pour-overs and coffee demonstrations from Novo, Huckleberry Roasters and Method Roasters; doughnut holes from Glazed and Confuzed; bacon from Bacon Social House; and a limited-edition commemorative Ratio coffee camper mug.

Join Cerebral Brewing for the third annual release of Work From Home Breakfast Porter, a dark beer brewed with Vermont maple syrup and Colombian coffee roasted by MiddleState Coffee. As it did last year, the brewery will celebrate with a beer breakfast party from 10 a.m. to noon on both Saturday. March 10, and Sunday. March 11, that includes waffles and bacon from Waffle Brothers and cartoons on the big screen; wearing your pajamas is highly recommended. In addition, Cerebral will also release Barrel-Aged Work From Home in bottles and a limited amount on draft. This beer has been slumbering in Breckenridge Bourbon barrels for the past year or so. Tickets, $40, are available at eventbrite.com for both Saturday and Sunday, and they will sell out quickly. Admission includes a screen-printed mug, a ten-ounce pour of Work From Home, a four-ounce taster of Barrel-Aged Work From Home, a waffle and a side of bacon. Additional ten-ounce pours of Work From Home will be available for $5. Ticket holders also have the right to purchase one bottle of Barrel-Aged Work From Home and two bottles of regular Work From Home at the party before bottles go on sale to the general public on March 17.

The Wynkoop's annual Day of Dorks returns from noon to 4 p.m. to celebrate nerdiness and dorkiness with some of the geekiest beers around. "Teaming up with over thirty breweries, we'll be pouring up some of the geekiest and whitewhaley craft brew in all the land," the brewery says, including Beryl's, Black Bottle, Black Bottle, Blind Faith, Chain Reaction, Diebolt, Elevation, Firestone Walker, Great Divide, Horse & Dragon, Intrepid Sojourner, Odyssey Beerwerks, Renegade, Ska, Spice Trade, Verboten and Westbound & Down. Nerd attire is suggested but not required. The Wynkoop will be collecting pens, pencils, notebooks and other supplies for local schools. Tickets, $30, are available at eventbrite.com, and include a glass and snacks, along with unlimited pours. "To miss out would be highly illogical," the brewery says.

Station 26 Brewing unveils Key Lime, a kettle-soured brew with lactose to give it smoothness, and vanilla and key lime flavors up front. The brewery will begin selling Crowlers of the beer for $12 at 1 p.m.

4 Noses Brewing releases Lupulin Meridian, a 6.9 percent "hybrid" IPA that was brewed with Simcoe, Mosaic and Citra hops and then dry-hopped with Citra, Mosaic and Galaxy. Cans and draft sales start at 11 a.m.

Westfax Brewing in Lakewood continues its two-year anniversary party at noon and will tap a new beer every two hours. There's Double Urban Lumberjack New England style IPA at 2 p.m., Double dry hopped Urban Lumberjack at 4 p.m. and Blood Orange 40 West IPA at 6 p.m. It's also $12 for a pour of our Blueberry Sour, Funk Booty, which also includes a special anniversary glassware in limited quantities. Vendors include: Crisp Barber Shop offering hot shaves and beard trims, Goorin Brothers Hat Shop, and Comida Food Truck.

To celebrate its second anniversary, New Image Brewing will release three special beers. The first is One More Time, a double-dry-hopped IPA with Citra, Mosaic and Columbus. Next up is Galaxy Double Dry Hopped East Coast Transplant, an even more absurd version of the beer New Image is most known for. And finally, there's Two, the official second-anniversary beer and the brewery's first-ever barrel-aged bottle release. Two is a rum-barrel-aged version of Dyad Kombucha Sour Ale that was dry-hopped with Nelson Sauvin. The beer has been aging for more than a year. For the party, New Image will have live music from three bands from 1 to 9 p.m.

Leadville's Periodic Brewing continues its grand opening weekend at its new Northglenn location with a party lasting from noon to 10 p.m. There will be door prizes, food from Ginger Pig and Chibby Wibbitz, and live music at 6 p.m. from the Trash Pandas.

The town of Frisco presents the third annual Frisco BrewSki, a happy hour ski tour at the Frisco Adventure Park and Frisco Nordic Center, from 2 to 4 p.m. "The family friendly event is for all ski abilities and ages, and costumes are encouraged, and maybe even a little bit required," organizers say. The skiing portion of the event takes place on the groomed and scenic terrain of the Frisco Nordic Center. The non-competitive ski tour is then followed by an after-party outside the Frisco Adventure Park, including prizes and refreshments. Upslope, Outer Range, Dillon Dam Brewery and Breckenridge Brewery will serve beer. For more information, details and tickets, and to register, visit FriscoBrewSki.com.

Wednesday, March 14
Join Copper Kettle Brewing from 2 to 9 p.m. as it celebrates Pi Day, "the only thing out of math class we all (well, most of us...) remember," the brewery says. Copper Kettle will tap four special pie-inspired beers that will be available in twelve-ounce pours or as a special flight. The beers are: Strawberry Rhubarb Blond; Pecan Pie Dopplebock; Cherry Pie Cream Ale; and Banana Cream Hefe, and "anyone who can recite the mathematical constant to at least the twentieth digit gets their first twelve-ounce pour on us." There will also be pizza pies from Dough Boys out front.

Saturday, March 17
Resolute Brewing in Centennial celebrates St. Patrick's Day by tapping a brand-new beer, Rye Irish Red with Clover Honey. Rock N Lobster Roll will serve its traditional food-truck menu with some special Irish additions, and the Dollhouse Thieves will keep the party moving from 2 to 4:30 p.m.