Beer Calendar: Ring in the New Year at Your Favorite Local Brewery

Every year, Zymurgy magazine, which is produced by the Boulder-based American Homebrewers Association, asks its readers for their twenty favorite beers that are commercially available in the United States. After tallying the votes, Zymurgy says readers put six Colorado beers on the list. The highest ranking beer was Left Hand Brewing's Milk Stout Nitro, which tied for twelfth place. Other local beers to make the list were Odell IPA, Oskar Blues Ten FIDY, New Belgium La Folie, Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale and Odell Myrcenary.

Thursday, December 31
Renegade lights up the new year again with Depravity, its imperial peanut butter cup stout, which it releases every New Year's Eve. Come to the taproom between 3 and 9 p.m. "to get your hands on a pour of this extremely limited, extremely delicious beer," the brewery says. Or purchase an early-bird ticket for $32.50, which includes a 64-ounce growler plus a fill of depravity; come between noon and 3 p.m. to beat the crowd.

Fiction Beer Company is throwing its second annual New Year’s Eve celebration, with live music, a special tapping to toast 2016 and the second barrel-aged sour beer release. Music starts at 10 p.m. and will continue into the new year. 

Copper Kettle hosts its second annual New Year's Eve black-tie party featuring a four-course beer pairing dinner from El Toro the Tot starting at 9 p.m. There will also be an optional champagne beer toast ringing in the New Year at midnight. This event will sell out. Tickets are $75 and available at eventgrid.com.

Kokopelli Beer Company in Westminster will ring the new year with live music from Mitchel Evan & the Mangrove starting a 8 p.m. There will also be giveaways and happy hour prices all day and then party favors and a champagne toast at midnight. Reservations are suggested, and are now being accepted.

The Brew on Broadway invites you to join them for a New Years Eve celebration featuring the music of Denver Burglar Alarm from 7 to 10 p.m. There will be lots of beer and they will they will toast at 10 p.m. and again at midnight. 

World of Beer Cherry Creek will tap a lineup of beer from AB InBev-owned Goose Island Brewing starting at 5 p.m. when they start pouring 2014 and 2015 Bourbon County Brand Stout and Bourbon County Brand Barleywine. There will also be a number of Belgian and sour beers available on draft and in bottles. "The highlight of the night will begin at 8 p.m. with the release of Rare Bourbon County Brand Stout bottles," WOB says. "These bottles are extremely limited and will be made available to our World of Beer Loyalty members first (signup is easy and can be done at any of our World of Beer locations). The rest of the bottles will be sold on a first-come-first-serve basis."

Prost Brewing will start the new year with a free Dopplebock toast at midnight. The entire package, which costs $20.16 includes that, plus any two half-litre Prost beers, a German brat, six wings and party favors.

Caution Brewing West in Lakewood hosts an '80s Costume Contest & Karaoke Party tonight starting at 8 pm. "There will be prizes for the best costume(s), a midnight countdown, New Year's party favors, and tons of 80s karaoke & music video entertainment from Sound Master Entertainment," the brewery says.

Ratio Beerworks will get the night going 8 p.m. "with special tappings while Magic Cyclops busts out the dance jams. Be sure to dress sharp for the photobooth and be ready to party." Matt's Snack Shack will be out front.

2016
Tuesday, January 5
You already know about Stout Month, which takes place in February. Now Ernie's Bar & Pizza wants to celebrate the stout's cousin, the porter, and tonight Ernie's will devote eight of its thirty tap lines to a variety of local porters, whose "roasty, toasty, caramelly, drinkable goodness" is particularly nice during the cold winter months, the restaurant says. The following beers will start things off, and they'll be replaced with new ones as they kick throughout January: Denver Beer Company Graham Cracker Porter, Dieboldt Post Card Classic Porter, Dry Dock Vanilla Porter, Goldspot Gus Robust Porter, Verboten Caramel Porter, Wliey Roots Chocolate Porter, Wit’s End Kitchen Sink Porter with Smoked Malts and Rye.

Wednesday, January 6
Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project is planning to celebrate its five-year anniversary with a with a wide variety of tappings, limited bottle releases, food pairings and other events all week, starting today. Things kick off at noon today when the brewery taps Vielle Reserva Apricot ($12 pours, or $14 per bottle). Then, at 5 p.m., there will be a mini fest featuring several out-of-state breweries, including a few that are distributed locally by Crooked Stave's distribution arm. The beers available include: Bell’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Note; Arizona Wilderness Head of Helios; Jackie O’s Wood Ya; Perennial Abraxas; something from Cantillon; Freemont Brewing's Bourbon Barrel aged Dark Star. There will also be a Mondo Cheese and Charcuterie pairing. “The Mini-Festival is a way for us to include a few of our friends in the kick-off party to what is shaping up to be a no holds bar week of tapping’s with rare and limited beers being pulled out of the Brewery Cellar and in some cases my personal cellar,” Crooked Stave founder Chad Yakobson said in a statement. “We are very excited to go back and re-visit some beers we haven’t tasted in a few years, as well as getting the entire Crooked Stave family out to the taproom to mingle and celebrate what has been a roller coaster ride over the past five years.”

Thursday, January 7
Dry Dock Brewing will release a new beer — and its final beer in the 2015 Signature Series — today at 2 p.m. in the Canoe Room at its North Dock location. The beer, Cascara Imperial Stout, was aged in whiskey barrels with cascara, the dried fruit of coffee berries. Dry Dock sourced the coffee beans through Denver’s Coda Coffeey, owned by brothers Timmy and Tommy Thwaites. Cascara has notes of dark cherry, rich leather, and tobacco, according to the brewery. "The profile was a natural complement to our Signature Series Whiskey Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, and the sixth of this year’s Signature Series beers was born." The beer will be available on draft and in 22-ounce bombers.

Saturday, January 9
The annual Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival hosts its commercial tasting event today in Vail at the Cascade Hotel from 2:30 to 6 p.m. Tickets are still available for $70 — although they are going fast. The majority of the events for the rest of the three-day festival are sold out. More than 150 breweries will be bringing some of their biggest and best. Drink water first.

Friday, January 15
Oskar Blues celebrates the return of Deviant Dale's double IPA today at 4:30 p.m. at the Tasty Weasel taproon in Longmont. "Come grab a pint from from the Weasel and take home a six-pack of Deviant in its new twelve-ounce package," the brewery says. They will also have various Deviant firkins, including Jamaican and Pineapple, and and a special Unfiltered version of Deviant Chowdah on tap. There will be food from Oskar Blues's Homemade Liquids and Solids, live music and a voodoo doll making station for the kids.

Saturday, January 16
Cannonball Creek Brewing in Golden will celebrate its third anniversary today and tomorrow with several beer releases and other festivities. Today, the brewery will tap its third anniversary beer at noon and other specialty kegs throughout the day. My Beer Pickles will be sampling and selling Mindbender IPA pickles from 2 to 5 p.m., while Moe's BBQ will have a pig roast. There will also be live music from Modern Whiskey Market & The Lookout Mountain Boys throughout the day.

Sunday, January 17
Former Future Brewing's Black Project will release two different beers for the first time today at noon. The first is Peach Rye Dreamland, a sour golden ale with peaches that was aged in a fresh AD Laws Secale Rye Barrel. "Great peach, funk, oak, tartness, and a noticeable rye whiskey character," the brewery says. All parts are about equal in presence, no one component (fruit, base, oak, spirit) overwhelms the others. Very balanced and delicious." It will be sold in 375ml bottles for $12 each (limits will be announced closer to the date).
The second beer, Mach-Limit Tempranillo, will serve as the launch beer for Black Project's revolving fruit sour series. Brewed in collaboration with Red Fox Cellars & Vineyard in Palisade (who supplied the Tempranillo grape must), the beer is described thusly: "bold, black cherry, currant, and herbal notes from the grape combines with the beer which has a dry tartness, wild yeast 'funk' and stone fruit from our house coolship microbes. Super interesting to drink. A little like the wine, a little like the beer. The two parts end up tasting like a super complex, funky, sangria - in the best possible way." This one sells for $28 per 750mL bottle.

Cannonball Creek Brewing continues its third anniversary celebration today with a Hair of the Dog Sunday Brunch featuring Solid Gold Mimosas and Bloody Red Mary's. There will be Artisan Brunch Pizzas from Rolling Dough Pizza and live music from The Industry.