Find this week's craft beer events on the next page.
Wednesday, November 7
The Yak & Yeti will tap Belgo-IPA today at 4 p.m. This 6.1 ABV mixes hoppy flavor with the nuances of Belgian yeast strains, something that Yak head brewer Adam Draeger says he first experienced in Chicago while he was in college. The increasingly popular style is "a chance to introduce our customers to another style of beer, especially for lovers of hoppy beers. The recipe isn't all that different from our Himalayan IPA but with two major changes. 1. Fermented with the Belgian-Ardennes strain of yeast and 2. dry-hopped exclusively with Styrian Goldings Bobek hops."
Thursday, November 8
Today is International Stout Day, when beer lovers around the world can pick up their favorite dark beer and toast the style with like-minded beer drinkers.
Saturday, November 10
Copper Kettle celebrates A Night of Casks today by tapping two firkins with its English hand pump. The first is Tha Hoppa, which will be available from noon until it is gone. The second is Imperial Pumpkin Porter, which goes on at 5 p.m. You can try the difference between the cask style and regular versions. The Still Smokin' Food truck will be on hand beginning at 5 p.m.
Odell Brewing will release this year's batch of Friek, a hybrid of the kriek and framboise styles, at a tap room celebration in Fort Collins from 4 to 6 p.m. today. Guests can enjoy samples of the wild ale, food and music by Gypsy Fit. An adaptation of a Lambic-style ale, Friek is aged in oak barrels with cherries grown on the Western Slope, blended with Colorado raspberries and fermented with souring agents. Friek will be available in liquor stores in 750 ml cork-and-cage finished bottles.
The Funk'n Wild will hold its second meeting from 1 to 4 p.m. today at Oskar Blues Homemade Liquids and Solids. Andy Parker, the Barrel Herder for Avery Brewing, will be there to talk about sour and wild ales, yeasts and fermentation.
Tuesday, November 13
Highland Tap & Burger and Denver Off the Wagon will host Beer vs. Wine: Chocolate Edition tonight starting at 6:30 p.m.l it's an attempt to determine who reigns supreme: grapes or hops? Euclid Hall certified Cicerone Ryan Conklin will take on Colt & Gray wine guru Kevin Burke, each pairing their beverage of choice with sweet treats from Ziva Chocolates, Lioni Chocolate, The Pomm, Hi*Rise and Sweet Action Ice Cream. Jensen Cummings of Row 14 will serve up dishes featuring two of the chocolatiers' treats. Tickets are $35 and will benefit the Burning Through Pages nonprofit.
Thursday, November 15
Avery Brewing will mark the return of the Czar -- part of the brewery's Dictator series -- today with a taproom party from 5 to 9 p.m. The 11.1 percent ABV Russian Imperial Stout is "loaded with flavors of toffee, rich mocha, sweet molasses, candied currants and a hint of anise," according to Avery. The brewery is also holding a food drive: bring in three items from its high-needs list (100 percent fruit juice, cold and hot cereal, peanut butter, canned fish and meat, canned chili and stew and pasta sauce) in return for a ten-ounce pour of Czar and a chance to win two cases at the party.
Saturday, November 17
Oskar Blues will celebrate its tenth anniversary today with a party from 6 p.m. to midnight at its original Oskar Blues Grill & Brew in Lyon, with three bands, beer and food specials, a silent disco and giveaways. Tickets for one of the bands, White Buffalo, are $15 in advance. Oskar Blues will be serving an anniversary beer that it whipped up in collaboration with Durango's Ska Brewing, in addition to other beers.
Copper Kettle will bring back its Basil Blond today at noon in the taproom. The beer is made from fresh, locally grown basil, and Copper Kettle suggests a growler of it as a Thanksgiving Day accompaniment. Crazy Good Food will be there at 5 p.m.
Sunday, November 18
Copper Kettle Brewing brings back its Bourbon Breakfast Stout Brunch today, serving a three-course meal from the Harvest Food Truck. The brewery will pair the dishes (which include brioche spinach strata, pork belly and apple crepes) with its original batch of bourbon breakfast stout as well as its newest batch, which was aged in Breckenridge Distillery bourbon barrels. There are two seatings, at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. For tickets, $25 per person, email the brewery.
Hops & Pie hosts its monthly Littlest Big Beer Fest today with Fifty Fifty Brewing out of Truckee, California. Starting at 2 p.m., you can order flights or single pours of Donner Party Porter, Totality Imperial Stout, RyePA, Rockslide IPA, and Eclipse, which is the Totality aged for 300 days in twelve-year-old Elijah Craig oak bourbon barrels.
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