Beer Calendar: Beer Ice Cream and Anniversaries for Freshcraft, Wit's End

Mason Hembree wasn’t exactly surprised when people misinterpreted last week’s announcement that Dad & Dudes Breweria in Aurora planned to brew two beers made with cannabis extract and serve it at the Great American Beer Festival. After all, the Dad & Dudes press advisory was headlined, “Dude’s Brews to Release World’s First Line of High CBD, Cannabis-Infused Craft Beer.” And in pot-crazy Colorado, “cannabis” has become synonymous with marijuana.

Hembree likes to make a splash. Dad & Dudes first burst on the scene in 2011 with Dank IPA, a beer that made unapologetic references to pot. And speaking of unapologetic, Hembree followed up in 2014 with Sorry Dude, a stout named sarcastically for North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s reaction to The Interview. Dad & Dudes also offered free beer for a year to the person who stole the bust of John Denver from the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield last October — as long as the statue was returned.

But the revelation that Dad & Dudes would brew Sativa IPA and Indica Double IPA using cannabidiol, or CBD, a non-psychoactive hemp extract, pushed the hype to a new high — so high, in fact, that the brewery recorded a clarification video (find it on the brewery's Facebook page). “We got quite a bit of media attention, and it was exactly what we wanted,” Hembree says. “But some news outlets said we were making a marijuana-infused beer, or a pot-infused beer, so we needed to clear the air with our customers and investors.”

Not to mention the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Liquor Enforcement Division and the Brewers Association, which hosts the GABF every year. “Liquor enforcement called right away,” Hembree says. “But they gave us the green light.”

Wednesday, August 26
Copper Kettle is celebrating  tropical fruit month by tapping a new firkin each Wednesday. Today's is Toasted Coconut Milk Stout. Also, the Cluck Truck will be on hand at 4 p.m. with chicken and mac n' cheese.

Thursday, August 27
The fifth annual Save the Ales beer tasting and fundraising event returns today to the Exdo Event Center. There will be beers from forty Colorado breweries, including Naughty Pine, a beer aged in Breckenridge Bourbon barrels exclusively for Save the Ales by Crazy Mountain Brewery in Edwards. "Colorado’s water: it’s some of the best in the nation, and it makes some of the best beers in the world. And it’s limited," says the organization Conservation Colorado, which is hosting the fundraiser. General-admission tickets are $35 (or $30 for Conservation Colorado members), while VIP tickets are $60 (or $50 for members). The event starts at 7 p.m. (although VIPs can get in at 6 p.m.). All attendees will enjoy unlimited beer tastings, drawings for beer swag, live music, and access to food trucks. All proceeds benefit Conservation Colorado. See more details and buy tickets at ConservationCO.org/SavetheAles.

Join Beer Advocate's Todd and Candice Alstrom today at 5 p.m. at Wit's End Brewing for a Beer Advocate meetup. The brewery's fourth anniversary blowout is in two days, but owner Scott Witsoe might provide a preview treat. Tacos El Huequito will be on hand.

Factotum Brewhouse scored some tickets to the Great American Beer Festival and they plan to give away three pairs. To enter, you need to drink a full beer at Factotum today or on September 2, 8, 13 and 17. For each full pour you buy, you get entered once into the giveaway. Three winners will be chosen at 8 p.m. on September 17 — each will get a pair of tickets.

Euclid Hall Bar & Kitchen is once again hosting a series of "intimate" craft beer dinners leading up to the Great American Beer Festival in late September. Each dinner will have a menu crafted to pair with the particular brewery and a brewery expert will be on hand to discuss the beers. Each dinner begins at 7 p.m.; tickets are $55 per person and be purchased at brownpapertickets.com. Tonight's dinner features beers from Verboten Brewing in Loveland.

Denver Bicycle Cafe will host a tap takeover and a meet-the-brewer night with Denver Beer Co. It features rare drafts from the brewery and a chance to learn about how those selections are brewed.

Freshcraft will celebrate its fifth anniversary tonight (this event was rescheduled from August 20) with a family-style beer-pairing dinner at 7 p.m. Courses are Rocky Ford cantaloupe gazpacho garnished with crispy prosciutto and fresh dill, paired with Trinity Elektrick Cukumbahh; oysters served with a vanilla mignonette garnished with bourbon black pepper and coffee dusted chicharrones, and paired with Station 26 First Birthday Cottonwood Smoked Imperial Porter aged in A. D. Laws 4 Grain Bourbon Barrels; slow-braised bison short ribs smothered in a rich mole and a golden beet pico served with Olathe corn on the cob covered in a lime crema, chili powder and cotija cheese, and paired with Casey Brewing & Blending Casey Family Preserve Balaton Sour Cherry Palisade Peach Tart; and cream-cheese-filled macaroon crust, topped with sweet Palisade peaches and a maple brown butter glaze, and paired with Odell Brombeere Blackberry Gose. Tickets are $65 (tax and gratuity included) and available here.

Friday, August 28
Comrade Brewing will bring back Hop Chops IIPA today, beginning at noon. This big, bold 8.7 percent ABV double IPA was brewed with Citra, Simcoe and Lemondrop hops.

Coda Brewing will bring one back one of its favorite beers, made it honor of one of its favorite bands. Join them tonight "for an epic night of psych blues and a new variation of the Dragondeer beer." They've added strawberries to this tart saison this time.

Chef/Cicerone Jensen Cummings will bring his new project, Brewed Food, to Upslope Brewing's Flatiron Park location in Boulder today from 4 to 7 p.m. as part of the Road to GABF Tasting Room Tour. Brewed Food pairs one dish with two different beer styles. Today's mix is braised Berkshire shouldr taco with hopped achiote-radish slaw. It will be paired with Blood Orange Saison and Upslope IPA.  It costs $8.

Saturday, August 29
Wit’s End Brewing will celebrate its fourth anniversary today with a beer- and food-filled blowout from noon to 8 p.m. Last year, the brewery expanded into a seven-barrel brewing system, which means the party will be filled with some special offerings. Among them are Wit's End's first ever firkins, as well as its homebrewer-inspired Beerslinger Series. Beers on hand will include the brewery's core lineup, along with some specialties like Miami Berliner Vice, Killing Me Smalls Session IPA, Dubbel Impact, Banana Hammock, Mai the Forth, and 2014 and 2015 versions of Scotchy, Scotch, Scotch. There will also be some new beers, like Laws Whiskey House Barrel-Aged Kitchen Sink, Superfluous IPA, and Hop Tub Dream Machine. Firkins include: Greene Man Ale, dry-hopped with East Kent Goldings, and Jean-Claude Framboise, made with raspberries and cacao nibs. Basic Kneads Pizza and the Cluck Truck will be on hand.

River North Brewery will release Fancy Effing Stout, an imperial stout aged in Manhattan cocktail barrels (they formerly held rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and a dash of bitters), today at 1 p.m. in the taproom, where you can try it on draft or buy 22-ounce bomber bottles to go. The bottles cost $15 with a half-case limit. More bottles will hit store liquor shelves in Colorado following the release.

Do you scream for beer-flavored ice cream? Fat Jack's will be serving up free samples of Little Man's limited edition Spangalang beer-flavored ice cream at Spangalang Brewing today starting at noon. There will also be pints for sale. Zivix will be grilling dogs, and there will be games and live music in the beer garden.

Tuesday, September 1
Denver Beer Co waited until September 1 to release Hey! Pumpkin, the brewery's seasonal pumpkin ale — and thank goodness. The 5.4 percent ABV beer "has a gorgeous copper hue resulting from the bushels of real pumpkin used in the mash. With a nose full of cinnamon, nutmeg, and spice, she is an autumn melody that will have you reaching for your sweater," the brewery says. You can find Hey! Pumpkin in the taproom on draft or in cans today starting at 4 p.m. There will also be roasted pumpkin seeds and Pumpkin Pong — with prizes.

Thursday, September 3
Euclid Hall Bar & Kitchen is once again hosting a series of "intimate" craft-beer dinners leading up to the Great American Beer Festival in late September. Each dinner will have a menu crafted to pair with the particular brewery, and a brewery expert will be on hand to discuss the beers. Each dinner begins at 7 p.m.; tickets are $55 per person and can be purchased at brownpapertickets.com. Tonight's dinner features beers from Diebolt Brewing in Denver.

The Denver Public Library has teamed up with two local breweries, Fiction Beer and Denver Beer Co, and author Kevin Hearne to make two beers that will be tapped as part of a month-long DPL series called BrewHa!Ha!, which "celebrates all things brewed," from coffee to kombucha. Hearne, author of the Iron Druid Chronicles, provided "the initial style inspiration for this project drawing on the habits of his main character in his novels," the library says. Both breweries will make cream ales. Fiction's will be spiced with caraway seed (a nod to the origins of Hearne's Irish main character, Atticus O’Sullivan), as well as pears. Denver Beer Co will make a kettle-soured cream ale with yogurt and black currants. Denver Beer Co will tap its beer today at 3 p.m. Remember to bring your library card for $1 off your pour, and ask for Sour 641.23. Fiction will tap its beer tomorrow.

Friday, September 4
The Denver Public Library has teamed up with two local breweries, Fiction Beer and Denver Beer Co, and author Kevin Hearne to make two beers that will be tapped as part of a month-long DPL series called BrewHa!Ha!, which "celebrates all things brewed," from coffee to kombucha. Hearne, author of the Iron Druid Chronicles, provided "the initial style inspiration for this project drawing on the habits of his main character in his novels," the library says. Both breweries will make cream ales. Fiction's will be spiced with caraway seed (a nod to the origins of Hearne's Irish main character Atticus O’Sullivan), as well as pears. Denver Beer Co will make a kettle sour cream ale with yogurt and black currants. Fiction will tap its beer today at 5:30 p.m. Get $1 off your first beer when you show your library card. Denver Beer Co tapped its beer yesterday.

Thursday, September 10
Euclid Hall Bar & Kitchen is once again hosting a series of "intimate" craft-beer dinners leading up to the Great American Beer Festival in late September. Each dinner will have a menu crafted to pair with the particular brewery, and a brewery expert will be on hand to discuss the beers. Each dinner begins at 7 p.m.; tickets are $55 per person and can be purchased at brownpapertickets.com. Tonight's dinner features beers from Dogfish Head Brewing in Delaware.

Oskar Blues celebrates the seasonal return of its Ten FIDY imperial stout today at 4 p.m. at the Tasty Weasel Taproom in Longmont. Tender Belly will on hand with bacon. There will be a vertical tasting of Ten Fidy, live music and good vibes.

Friday, September 11
Centro Latin Kitchen in Boulder will welcome in reps from the Post Brewing today, who will celebrate the release of Townie Ale and Howdy Beer in cans today from 4 to 6 p.m. There will be live music, food specials, giveaways and $1 cans of Howdy and Townie.

Saturday, September 12
Gravity Brewing in Louisville will celebrate its three-year anniversary today, starting at 1 p.m. There will be live performances by Jazz Ram and Full Belly, as well as hourly tappings of barrel-aged and small-batch beers.

Golden City Brewery will host Goldenfest today at the brewery. "For more than 15 years, Golden City Brewery has been supporting the local, mostly volunteer fire department through #GoldenFest," the brewery says. "In 2001 our event was already scheduled for September 12. Gathering on that day brought home to us how truly important it is that we support our first responders in any way we can. Last year we raised over 4k for the fire fighters, and they used the money to purchases much needed equipment. They will get large donations for specific items, but not the smaller amounts with which they can use as they see fit." GCB will be selling printed pint glasses for $10, full of beer, soda, or five ounces of Golden City Winery’s Riesling or Hard Cider, and the entire $10 will go to the fire department.

The Post Brewing in Lafayette will celebrate the release of Howdy Beer and Townie Ale in cans for the first time today from 4 to 6 p.m. There will be live music, specials on food, swag and giveaways, and $1 Howdies and Townies in cans from.

Sunday, September 13
The Post Brewing will throw a party in Denver at Lola Mexican Fish House from 4 to 6 p.m. to celebrate the release of its first two canned beers, Howdy Beer and Townie Ale. There will be live music, food specials, giveaways and swag. Plus, cans of the two beers will only cost you a buck apiece.

Thursday, September 17
Euclid Hall Bar & Kitchen is once again hosting a series of "intimate" craft-beer dinners leading up to the Great American Beer Festival in late September. Each dinner will have a menu crafted to pair with the particular brewery and a brewery expert will be on hand to discuss the beers. Each dinner begins at 7 p.m.; tickets are $55 per person and can be purchased at brownpapertickets.com. Tonight's dinner features beers from Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project in Denver.

Saturday, September 19
Zwanse Day returns to Denver today at Crooked Stave's original Barrel Cellar (not the location inside the Source). This is the day that Belgium's famed Cantillon brewery sends a special beer to only a few select locations around the world, who are all asked to tap it at roughly the same time. Crooked Stave is the only Denver outlet. This year's beer is a stout fermented with wild yeast. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m., with tickets sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Zwanze will be tapped at 1 p.m. and last call will be at 3 p.m. Only the first 150 people will get a pour. Tickets are $20 and include a glass of beer, a Zwanze glass and a pour of another Cantillon beer. Total attendance will be capped at 300 people, so the latecomers can get a glass and a pour of another Cantillon beer for $15.