Beer Calendar: Dark Brews, Pickles and Brewery Anniversaries

Lady Justice Brewing, the tiny Mountain View brewery that donates the majority of its profits to organizations that support "the status of women and girls" in Colorado, is introducing a new series of American strong ales that will be sold through the brewery's membership model. Lady Justice will sell 150 memberships at $60 each, which entitle the member to three 22-ounce bottles, a sticker and a koozie.

All of the beers in the Limited Edition American Strong Ale Series are all over 7 percent ABV. The beers are: Collins & Murkowski, a chocolate stout aged on maple and named in honor of Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) "for standing their ground and demanding the best for their country"; Reclaiming My Time, an IPA named in honor of Representative Maxine Waters (D-California) "for refusing to let her voice be silenced and her time be wasted"; and Madame President, an amaretto brown ale "named in honor of popular votes and hope for the leadership of future generations," the brewery says.

Memberships go on sale today at ladyjusticebrewing.com/csb/, and the beer will be available for pick up from the brewery at 4375 Eaton Street, in Mountain View, on several dates in December and January.


Thursday, November 2
Comrade Brewing taps Leroy, an American brown ale brewed with chocolate malt, caramel wheat and honey malt, at noon. The 5.3 percent ABV beer was hopped with Cascade, Centennial and Chinook hops and "pours a rich mahogany with notes of roasted barley, caramel and chocolate. (Of course, the name Leroy was made famous in Colorado when Oskar Blues started brewing a brown with the same name back in the day.)

The Post Brewing Company will host a grand opening for its second brewery location — this one in the former home of Shine Brewing in Boulder — tonight; the beer-and-chicken joint, which mirrors the company's original location in Lafayette, will be open seven days a week. "The full-fledged brewery will be run by lead brewer Nick Tedeschi, who worked side-by-side with founding brewmaster Bryan Selders from day one, and food will be at the hands of chef/owner Brett Smith," the Post says. "Guests will enjoy The Post’s signature fried chicken, roasted chicken, huge from-the-farm salads and veggie sides, lodge favorites like pot roast and chicken pot pie, and homemade, classic American desserts. Not to mention medal-winning beers like Howdy Beer, Top Rope Mexican Lager and Achtertuin Seizoen, as well as a rotating line-up of other Post classics and seasonals."

Friday, November 3
Following the success of July’s Bastille Day saison fest and September's Oktoberfest, The Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project will keep the holiday theme rolling by co-hosting a Día de los Muertos party with its neighbors, Museo de las Americas, 861 Santa Fe Drive, in conjunction with the First Friday gallery walk. The brewery will tap Horchata Milk Stout and Mango Habanero Pilsner and will have guest taps of Mexican-inspired beers from local breweries. A food truck and the band The Sweet Muffs & Co. will round out the festivities.

Beryl's Beer Company taps The Don at noon. The beer is Beryl's Donny Boy Doppelbock "all grown up and aged in Fireside Whiskey barrels," the brewery says. "In honor of our veterans and all those that are active, 25 percent of all The Don pours will go to the USO. This beer's namesake and many of those close to us at Beryl's are veterans." There will also be live music from The Notecrackers.

Epic Brewing will release Triple Barrel Big Bad Baptist at 5 p.m. The beer was conceived after Epic brewmaster Kevin Crompton opened a bottle of last year's Double Barrel Big Bad Baptist ans asked, "What other badass ingredients can we age in whiskey barrels?” It turns out there are only a few other ingredients that have the rare ability to absorb barrel character, the brewery says. One of those is shaved coconut, which Epic aged by itself in a barrel before adding to the beer. "The coconut doesn’t steal the show but it is the first thing you notice, even when you’re pouring the beer- then it mellows revealing the coffee, malt, barrel, cacao, whiskey, rum, toast, and finally, more coconut, Epic says. The beer will be available in the taproom on draft and in bottles.

Copper Kettle hosts its annual release of Well Bred bourbon-barrel-aged barleywine starting at 2 p.m. "The 2017 version is...a sweet, creamy barleywine with fragrant notes of vanilla, cherry, and bourbon. In summary: It's an insanely delicious, plush addition to any cellar," the brewery says. It will be offered on tap and in bombers.

4 Noses Brewing in Broomfield unleashes the third installment of its Experirmental Double IPA. This version in the series was hopped with more than four pounds per barrel of Simcoe, Mosiac and Citra. It goes on at 2 p.m.

Saturday, November 4
Join Fiction Beer Company for its Descent Into Darkness and mac ’n' cheese cookoff, beginning at 5 p.m. "To celebrate (or cope with) the coming of darkness, we are tapping ten of our dark beers simultaneously," the brewery says about the impending clock change. The beer list includes: Barrel Aged Feely Effects, Barrel Aged Malice and Darkness, Malice and Darkness Feely Effects, Wintry Emblem (2016), Ye Who Enter Here, This Is Not an Exit, Alternate Present (2016 GABF medal Winner), Paperback Writer and Deep Roots. There will also be a very limited number of 2015 Wintry Emblem bomber bottles for purchase. As for the mac ’n' cheese contest, "cook your best darn homemade mac ’n' cheese recipe to be judged and shared with the taproom," where official judges will be on site "meting out badges of glory," Fiction says. Eventbrite registration is encouraged for mac ’n' cheese cookoff participants.

Mockery Brewing will shut down 35th Street in front of the brewery for a block party honoring its third anniversary. There will be bands playing all day on the stage, corn hole,  bocce ball, face painting, live screen printing with Humble Monster Screen Printed Goods, food trucks, twenty beers on tap, and specialty bottle releases. Revelry Events and the Globe Hall Food Truck will be serving food.

Jagged Mountain Brewery marks its fourth anniversary at noon by releasing Resident Dirtbag, a Belgian-style quad fermented and aged in Breckenridge Bourbon barrels that previously housed Port wine. There will be a limited number of bottles, as well as glassware and merchandise available while it lasts.

The Colorado Beer and Pickle Society will convene for its Fall Gathering at 6 p.m. at Spangalang Brewery. The Real Dill will bring Pickled Green Tomatoes and the "truly inspired" Pumpkin Spiced Latte Spiced Pickled Pumpkin, while Spangalang will tap "a first ever offering of Fernetwalker, an imperial stout spiced with Amaro botanicals," the CBPS says. Brewed Food will also be in attendance with some amazing sauerkraut, and ZIVIX Five Points will be serving up freshly baked bread and whipped butter.

Bierstadt Lagerhaus will release its seasonal Dopplebock at 2 p.m. at the Rackhouse Pub. There will be music by the Rhinelanders, hammerschlagen, classic German grub and Crowlers to go.

Dry Dock Brewing will serve a special one-of-a-kind firkin at 2 p.m. at its North Dock taproom on Tower Road as part of the Aurora brewery's weekly firkin program. This time, it's Barrel-Aged Chocolate Orange Imperial Stout.

Another year for Upslope Brewing, and another reason to party. Head to the brewery's Flatiron Park location from 2 to 8 p.m. for a free ninth anniversary party and concert that will take place in the back parking lot, the taproom and the patio. There will be live music from Mayhem Gulch, Zen Mustache, Blind Alley Troubadours; food from Lazo Empanadas, Rollin' Bones BBQ, Rocky Mountain Slices, Sancho's Authentic Mexican and Schnibs Pretzels; games and hammocks; and more than fifty beers on tap, including core classics, vintage favorites, collaboration brews and specialty styles.

Outer Range Brewing is bringing four beers down from its home base in Frisco and putting them on tap at 6 p.m. at Congress Park Taproom as part of the bar's series of occasional tap takeovers.

Friday, November 10
Alpine Dog kicks off three days of third anniversary celebrations at 3 p.m. by releasing a Triple IPA collaboration with Locavore Beer Works and Fermaentra Brewing, which also celebrate their third anniversaries this month. The Clamato Time Fish Taco Food Truck will be on hand. On Saturday, the brewery releases bombers of its second anniversary beer, Wild BA Imperial Stout, followed by this year's anniversary beer at noon. That one is an IPA brewed with Simcoe and Mosaic hops and fermented with wild Brettanomyces yeast. At 6 p.m., Alpine Dog releases Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Liquid Debauchery Barley Wine. MGJ's Burgers Food Truck will outside. On Sunday, the brewery releases Bourbon BA Barleywine at noon and Coffee Tipsy Cairn Brown Ale at 1 p.m.

Bruz Beers taps Saturnalia, a specialty Belgian-style ale brewed with five imported malts and brewing sugars. "Saturnalia is fermented with two Belgian yeasts, which provide complex fruit and spice notes," the brewery says. "This full-bodied orange-colored ale is spicy with a moderate touch of citrus fruits that linger into the long complex finish." The name Saturnalia is an homage to Saturn, the god of agriculture. "In short, his very name meant 'good times' during the Golden Age. Romans began the one day feast/wine-blast known as Saturnalia to celebrate their good fortune with good friends, good food and celebration."

This limited release will be available on tap beginning Friday, November 10th, at 3:00 pm till 10:00 pm. We will also have a variety of our other recent taps available for tasting, such as Autumn Peach Ale, Medusa- Belgian Style Quadrupel, Valor and Blackcurrant Quad. We hope to share a glass with you.

Saturday, November 11
"If you've been in the Baere taproom often enough you've likely heard us talk about both our love for hot sauce and our love for Palisade Peach Table Sour. Now we finally have the chance to party with both of these glorious things at the same time," Baere Brewing says about its hot sauce release with the Real Dill. "We met the Dillionaires of The Real Dill not long after we opened and spared no time diving into a fermentation/pickling/hot sauce nerd fest of a conversation. We dreamed of one day co-creating a hot sauce using Baere-liner Weisse as the majority of the souring liquids. We gave them as much beer as they wanted and they hit the kitchen running. After a few different pilot batches, they ... created the ultimate Green Chile Hot Sauce with just the right amount of heat to pour all over anything and everything you can imagine." To go with it, Baere will release bottles of Palisade Peach Table Sour, made with more peaches. The beer will also be available on tap. The chile sauce will sell for $12 per sixteen-ounce bottle, while the beer will cost $14 for a 750-ml bottle.

Take a bone-dry Belgian-style imperial stout, age it in freshly emptied whiskey barrels for up to one year, and you get the one and only Barrel Aged Avarice. That's the word from River North Brewery, which will host its annual release of this winter specialty at noon. Bottles are $10 with a one-case limit. The brewery will also feature a three-year vertical of Barrel Aged Avarice, dating back to 2015.

Fermaentra Brewing celebrates three years of making beer with a party starting at noon. In addition to food trucks, merchandise giveaways and commemorative glassware (for the first 100 people), there will be some crazy beers. They include: MMXVII Anniversary Barrel Blend bottle release; Galaxy DDH Peasant Magic IPA Crowler Release; three-year collaboration triple IPA release (made with Locavore Beer Works and Alpine Dog Brewing, who are also celebrating their third anniversaries this month); a firkin and other barrel-aged beers.

Locavore Beer Works in Littleton will commemorate its third birthday with a party with live music (Dollhouse Thieves, The Eric Dorn Trio, and Turkeyfoot), food, giveaways and barrel-aged beers and bottle releases. Beer tappings include: Black Pearl Barrel Aged Imperial Porter; The Vig Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout; Cherry Hammer Barrel Aged Cherry Brown Ale; Fifi Barrel Aged Saison; Edwards Wee Demise Barrel Aged Scottish Wee Heavy; Quadricorn Belgian Quadruppel; and, of course, Mama Had Triplets Triple IPA.

Comrade Brewing will tap Citra SMASH Pale at noon. To brew it, Comrade used American pilsner and wheat malt, along with Citra and Citra hop kief. The 6 percent ABV beer has "intense tropical fruit notes of passion fruit, papaya, mango and a distinct citrus," the brewery says.

Oskar Blues brings back its popular but rare Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy and Java Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy (both at 12.9 percent ABV) with a release party at the Oak Room, which is on the northwest side of the brewery in Longmont. To make the beers, Oskar Blues aged its Ten FIDY Imperial Stout in a blend of Buffalo Trace and Heaven Hill bourbon barrels for at least eight months. The Java version was mixed with Oskar Blues-owned Hotbox Roasters cold brew made with a blend of Mexican and Brazilian beans; it will only be available from in the taproom for one day. Sales of the 19.2-ounce cans begin at 10 a.m., "though we have a feeling that a line might begin to form earlier, so we’ll start giving out numbered wristbands at 9:30," the brewery says. "These wristbands will allow you to walk around and not worry about losing your place in line... To ease the pain of the wee hours we’ll have CyclHOPS Bike Cantina slingin' breakfast burritos. Did we mention there’d be coffee? Hotbox Roasters will be on scene." For details on limits, the importance of the wristbands, and other info, go to the Oskar Blues Facebook page. Both beers will be on draft in limited quantities — and the regular BA Ten Fidy should hit some liquor stores in Colorado and across the country.

One of the state's most unusual — weirdest, even — fests returns to Longmont from 6 to 10 p.m., when Left Hand Brewing hosts the fourth annual Nitro Fest at Roosevelt Park, 700 Longs Peak Avenue in Longmont. "The world’s only exclusively nitrogenated beer festival" features more than one hundred "super smooth nitro beers" from more than forty breweries in the US, Ireland, the UK, China and Korea. This "wild Cirque de Soleil-style" fest includes "the contagious dance energy from internationally recognized 'jamtronica' band, Lotus," along with Lunar Fire, Sven Jorgensen & Fractal Tribe and Boulder Circus School, Left Hand says. Costumes are encouraged. Tickets are $75 and available at lefthandnitro.com. Proceeds will benefit Left Hand Brewing Foundation.

Monday, November 13
Join Ratio Beerworks and The Long I Pie Shop for a beer-and-pie tasting event serving four pie sample and four beers for $20. Shauna Lott from the Long I will also be pre-selling whole pies for Thanksgiving. For tickets, reservations and info about the pairings, go to Ratio's Facebook page.

Thursday, November 16
4 Noses Brewing will release El Jefe, an imperial stout with coffee and cinnamon, in cans an on tap at 3 p.m. "The flavor is loaded with a dark roastiness that transforms into a cinnamon old brew. The flavor ends with a warm dose of dark and milk chocolates," the brewery says.

Friday, November 17
Cerebral Brewing celebrates its second anniversary all weekend. Things kick off today with the release of two canned beers: Remote Island and Gamma Knife. The Adobo Food Truck will be on hand at noon. On Saturday, Cerebral releases the latest round of Here Be Monsters bottles; details are TBA. Copia Confectionery will be on hand "giving away and selling their delicious chocolates," the brewery says. The Farmer in the Hive will be out front starting at noon. There will also be raffles and prizes. And finally, on Sunday, Cerebral hosts an egg-drop competition. Come pick up your kits starting when doors open at noon and competition will begin at 2 p.m."  Moe's Original BBQ Truck Denver will be out front. There will also be a customized photo booth in house for the entire weekend, and the brewery will tap a few new releases.

Join Great Divide Brewing at the Barrel Bar in RiNo for a celebration of the second annual National Yeti Day as it honors "the magical beasts we love so much." There will be more than ten varieties of Yeti on tap, including a hot and cold Yeti station for Yeti hot chocolate and Yeti floats made with Yeti ice cream from Sweet Action Ice Cream. Plus, there will be some awesome specialty firkins, a food truck and the Yeti Cave. There will also be giveaways and raffles starting at 2 p.m. and featuring a bar tab, Yeti Beer, new Yeti merch, Yeti Skis from Meier Skis, a Yeti Yoga Mat from Yeti Yoga and more. And finally, the Yeti himself will be in attendance.

Saturday, November 18
Wynkoop Brewing brings back its dark-beer showcase from noon to 4 p.m., serving dark, seasonal beers from more than thirty breweries, mostly in Colorado. Tickets, $35, are available at eventbrite.com, and include unlimited tastings in a commemorative glass and chocolate. Proceeds benefit local health organizations like Movember Foundation and Colorado Cancer Research Program.

Sunday, November 19
Avery Brewing in Boulder holds a brewery-only release at 1 p.m. for Flavus Cattus, the 48th beer in its acclaimed Barrel-Aged Series. This 16 percent ABV blonde ale was aged in tequila barrels and is "the passion project of Chief Barrel Herder Andy Parker," the brewery says. "After three years of toying with the idea of a blonde 'demon-strength' beer, Parker made it a reality." The beer — $12 per twelve-ounce bottle — goes on tap at 11 a.m., and a line may form then as well for bottle sales. Avery will also have a limited selection of some of its past beers available for sale form its cellar. Check the brewery's Facebook page for details.

Wednesday, November 22
Ratio Beerworks welcomes the return of two heavy hitting winter seasonals to the taproom at noon. The first beer is the 8 percent ABV Nobody’s Darlin’ Blended Barrel-Aged Whiskey Ale. The beer blends "various barrel-aged versions of Reservoir Old Ale, Stone + Ratio’s Collaboration India Black Ale and Hold Steady," the brewery says. The second beer is Reservoir Old Ale, a 7.7 percent ABV brew that "imparts bold, toffee, nutty, malt forward flavors from the use of Maris Otter English malts and Muscovado sugar."