Beer Calendar: Rockies Opening Day and New IPAs from the Breckenridge, Ratio and Comrade Breweries

There aren't a lot of craft breweries associated with professional sports teams, but Pikes Peak Brewing just announced that it has become the official craft-beer sponsor for the newly arrived Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, of the United Soccer League; Heineken is also a beer sponsor of the team. The deal kicked off on April 4 during the team's home opener at Sand Creek Stadium. Pikes Peak Brewing will serve its Elephant Rock IPA during all home games. And here in Denver, there will be plenty of beer flowing on opening day for the Colorado Rockies Friday. Here are some of the other beery events on the calendar:

Wednesday, April 8
Crooked Stave will release a new batch of Vieille Artisanal Saison today at its taproom in the Source. This is the second batch of Vieille released this year. "The brewery has moved production of its core brands – Vieille Artisanal Saison, Surette Provision Saison, and St. Bretta Citrus Wildbier – to a quarterly basis, with a new batch of each beer coming out every quarter," the brewery says. "Lightly dry hopped with Motueka, the April 2015 batch of Vieille exhibits zesty citrus aromas and a refreshing tartness at the finish."

Copper Kettle is celebrating Hoppy Easter month with a series of Wednesday firkins. Today's is Headless Bunny, an intense chocolate Irish Stout. 5280 Sliders will be selling burgers.

Thursday, April 9
Breckenridge Brewery will introduce its newest beer, Breck IPA, at 5:30 p.m. with a party at the Pub on Penn in Denver. The 6.3 percent ABV beer weighs in at 66 IBUs. Enjoy a pint on Breck.

Grapefruit Sculpin IPA alert! Freshcraft will tap a single keg of this beer from San Diego's Ballast Point today at 7 p.m. The rare beer is highly sought-after. The restaurant will be giving out some Ballast Point glassware, and brewery reps will be on hand.

Spangalang Brewery opens today at noon with eight beers on tap, including two different IPAs, a Belgian dubbel, a Belgian Table Beer and an imperial stout. The brewery is located in Five Points inside the old DMV building. Here's the full story.

Alpine Dog Brewing will tap its newest beer, the Notorious M.O.N.K., a Belgian-style dubbel, today.

Friday, April 10
Lucky Pie in LoDo will host its second annual Opening Day Pig Roast today starting at 11 a.m. The patio party will include pork from Tender Belly and beers from Epic Brewing. Cans of Epic beer will be $5 all weekend.

Falling Rock Taphouse will roll out the welcome wagon for Opening Day, with a variety of special and rare beers on tap, along with the Odell Brewing truck, which will be serving beer out front.

Comrade Brewing will tap a collaboration beer today at noon that it did with Hogshead Brewery. Communist Pig East IPA is an 8.1 percent ABV beer brewed with Simpsons Marris Otter and hopped with Target and East Kent Goldings.

Copper Kettle Brewing will release the second edition of its limited bottle, Le Chapeau, today at the brewery. The 8.4 percent ABV French-style saison was aged in lightly toasted Merlot and Petit Syrah barrels. It will be available in 22-ounce bombers and on draft.

Saturday, April 11
Ratio Beerworks, a brand-new brewery in River North, will release Antidote IPA today at noon. Live music from Chad Price starts at 6 p.m., followed by an acoustic performance by the Gamits. Matt's Snack Shack will be serving food out front.

Sunday, April 12
Station 26 will host its monthly Bluegrass Brunch staring at 11 a.m. today. There will be beer, live music from Cosmic Mesa, donuts from Glazed & Confuzed, and barbecue from Rolling Smoke.

Wednesday, April 15
Crooked Stave will release Petite Sour Boysenberry at its taproom today. "Another of the ever-growing Petite Sour series, Boysenberry was primary fermented in oak with the brewery’s mixed culture of wild yeast and bacteria, and was dosed with the equivalent of over a pound of fruit, leaving a beer with a deep violet color and vibrant boysenberry characteristics," the brewery says.

Copper Kettle is celebrating Hoppy Easter month with a series of Wednesday firkins. Today's is an English Strong Ale version of Sombremesa with a higher ABV and cherry flavors. Gusto's Kitchen will be serving food.

Friday, April 17
Dry Dock Brewing's original south location will tap a firkin today at 3 p.m. as part of its weekly cask program. The beer is S-Words, Dry Dock's Swordfish Extra Pale Ale with added coriander and lime.

The Denver Flea — a maker-fest featuring more than one hundred vendors — returns for the season today and tomorrow at the Bindery on Blake, and this time the event will feature a special beer that the organizers of the Flea brewed with New Belgium. Fleak Out! Wild Ale is a limited-edition wild ale that will only be available at Denver Flea events. Brewed on New Belgium's small pilot system, the beer was fermented with Brettanomyces yeast, which will evolve over time so that the beer tastes different at each Flea party. New Belgium, which will be the only brewery serving, will also pour Slow Ride Session IPA in cans, along with Skinny Dip in bottles; Skinny Dip is no longer available on A regular basis from New Belgium. Tonight's Denver Flea kickoff party runs from 6 to 10 p.m.; tickets are $25 and include bottomless adult beverages, live music and Room & Board surprise giveaways. Tomorrow's Spring Flea is free and runs from noon to 7 p.m.; there will be food and beer available to buy, as well as plenty of shopping.

Sunday, April 19
Avery Brewing will host a release party and bottle sale of No. 26 in its Barrel-Aged Series today at the new location in Gunbarrel. Tectum et Elix is a 5.5% percent ABV sour beer, but is "one of the only wild/sour beers we've made that does not use Drie, our house Brett strain," Avery says. "Instead, we used multiple Brett & Sacch strains for primary fermentation, which created a much funkier beer that's earthy, rustic, dirty, and delicious! Soured with our house pediococcus and aged for 9 months in fresh Cabernet Sauvignon barrels." 

Thursday, April 23
Copper Kettle will kick off its four-day-long four-year anniversary today with the tapping of several firkins that customers voted for, including Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Watermelon Helles and 12 Hops IPA. 5280 Sliders will be selling burgers at 2 p.m., and the Lovely In-Betweens will fill the patio with tunes from 6 to 9 p.m.

Upslope Brewing will take over the taps at Colorado Plus Brewpub today. Beers include Craft Lager, Belgian Style Pale Ale, North English Brown Ale, Strawberry Mint IPA, and Tequila Barrel Aged Belgian Dark Strong Ale.

Friday, April 24
Copper Kettle will continue its four-day anniversary celebration today with the Staff Recipe Showdown, for which all nine brewery employees have created and brewed their own beers, such as a Chardonnay barrel-aged Key Lime Saison, Blood Orange Gose and Black Berlinerweisse. Customers get to sample and decide on their top pick. Steuben’s Food Service will be on hand from 4 to 10 p.m. and the the Acoustic Mining Company will play in the tasting room from 6 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, April 25
Comrade Brewing will celebrate its first anniversary today, starting at 11 a.m., by pouring twenty different beers, including saved kegs of Eisenhower American Strong Golden, Leroy American Brown, Red Dawn American Red and Quit Stalin Russian Imperial Stout. The brewery will also tap two new barrel-aged beers: Whiskey Barrel Aged Man Oar-Board Scotch Ale and Bourbon Barrel Aged Quit Stalin Russian Imperial Stout. Growler fills will be available for all the beers. Basic Kneads Pizza will be on hand.

Copper Kettle will continue its four-day birthday party today with a special, one-day-only anniversary beer. Macallan 18 Russian Imperial Stout, was brewed in 2013 and aged for eighteen months in a Macallan Scotch barrel the company received straight from Scotland. The Cluck Truck and Kitsune: Eat Well will be selling food from noon to 10 p.m. Groundscore plays on the patio from 6 to 9 p.m.

Sunday, April 26
Avery Brewing will host a release party and bottle sale for No. 27 in its Barrel-Aged Series today, starting at 11 a.m. Insula multos Collibus is a 9.7 percent ABV sour beer aged in bourbon barrels. The brewery calls it an ode to the Manhattan cocktail and describes the beer thusly: "We used our house Brett (Drie) for secondary fermentation and our house pediococcus and lactobacillus for souring to produce the cleanest sour beer we could to give the barrels center stage! The result was a dark red, strong sour beer that we aged in fresh Bourbon barrels for 9 months and fermented with cherries. The Bourbon barrels infused tons of vanilla and coconut notes; the mild cherry flavor balances out the hint of astringency from the charred oak barrels; the lactic acid is dominant—there's almost no acetic acid, so it doesn't smell sour, just delightful aromas of vanilla and oak."

Copper Kettle closes out its four-day birthday celebration today by tapping Framboise Sour Ale, which was aged for 22 months in wine barrels with a blend of souring yeast and bacteria along with local raspberries. The Biscuit Bus will be there at noon.

Sunday, May 3
Avery Brewing will host a release party and bottle sale today for No. 28 in its Barrel-Aged Series. Fortuna is an 8.1 percent ABV beer aged in Suerte tequila barrels for nine months. Avery then added fresh lime and Maldon salt; it calls the beer "sour, salty and citric awesomeness."

Saturday, May 16
Upslope Brewing will host its second annual Upslope Get Down today from 1 to 11 p.m. at its larger Flatiron Park location. The event is a free music festival with eight bands on two stages, and also features plenty of beer and food in the back parking lot. 

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