Beer Calendar: Sour Ales, Thanksgiving Tie-Ins and Beery Anniversaries

Fate Brewing in Boulder announced this week that it has acquired an extra 2,500 square feet of space next door to its current facility, where it will begin renovations next month, adding a barrel-aging room and new bottling and canning equipment. In addition, Fate will double its fermentation capacity to about 150 barrels. "We knew that increased production capacity would be a goal at some point down the road. Never did we imagine it could happen so quickly, but we have hit capacity and we need more space to keep up," Fate Brewing owner Mike Lawinski says in a statement.

Turn the page to see all of this week's craft-beer events.

Wednesday, November 19

Comrade Brewing taps its 7 percent ABV American Red Ale today. Brewed with Cascade, Chinook and Galaxy hops, the beer has a "big malt backbone but with only a moderate amount of caramel sweetness, layered with aromas of fresh pine, citrus and grapefruit with a nice balanced bitterness," the brewery says.

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project will release its latest batch of Origins Burgundy Sour today at 6 p.m. The bottle limit is set at twelve.

November is Happy Thanksgiving cask month at Copper Kettle Brewing, during which the brewery will release firkins of beers that honor Turkey Day. This week's is Sweet Potato Casserole Porter, an English dark ale with restrained, roasty characteristics and a hint of a sweet finish.

Thursday, November 20

The annual Chef & Brew Festival, which brings some of Denver's best chefs together with top breweries, returns to the EXDO Event Center from 7 to 10 p.m. today. Attendees get access to unlimited appetizers and craft-beer samples from at least eighteen restaurants and eighteen breweries. The apps and beers are paired, and the best combo -- as voted on by guests -- will win the competition. Tickets are $49 (or $80 for VIP, which gets you in an hour earlier, at 6 p.m.). Some of the chefs include Jensen Cummings of the BSide, John Chad Little of Harman's, Argyll's John Broening and Panzano's Elise Wiggins. Breweries include Crooked Stave, Funkwerks, TRVE, Epic and Great Divide. Find the full list, info and tickets at chefnbrewfestival.com.

Denver Beer Co will host its annual Pie & Beer pairing from 6 to 9 p.m. today with Sugar Bakeshop and Coffee House; tickets are $15. Try four beers paired with four pies, then pre-order your Thanksgiving pie and beer to be picked up Wednesday, November 26.

Upslope Brewing will release the second beer in its limited, canned Lee Hill Series today with a party from 5 to 9 p.m. at the brewery's original Lee Hill taproom. Volume 2, Wild Saison "delivers bright notes of ripe fruit imparted by the saison yeast and is nicely balanced by the tartness of the Lactobacillus and Brettanomyces," according to Upslope. The 6.8 percent ABV sour ale was aged for seven months in red wine barrels, then packaged in 19.2-ounce cans. The beer will only be available for sale in cans at the taproom ($10, limit of four). Shopey's Sandwiches food truck will be serving, and there will be live music performed by Blake Aaron Russell.

Friday, November 21

Sanitas Brewing is Boulder will tap its Stock Ale today, a brawny winter seasonal. Reminiscent of the "strong, malty English ales of the late 19th century," Sanitas ferments the beer with more than a pound of dried figs per barrel, "a technique once used by brewers to reactivate fermentation in casks," the brewery says. At 7.5 percent ABV, Stock Ale "pours a dark red color with notes of dried fruits and caramel in the aroma followed by rich flavors of bread crust and a balancing bitterness." Some bars and restaurants in Denver may see the beer over the next few months.

Dry Dock Brewing will debut the latest barrel-aged beer in its Signature Series, Double Coffee Porter, today in the Canoe Room, located inside the brewery's north Aurora production facility. The beer will be available on tap and for sale in bomber bottles; it will be distributed to liquor stores later in the month. The 9.3 percent ABV beer was made with cold-brewed coffee from Denver roaster Coda Coffee and aged in whiskey barrels for ten months.

American Craft Beer Radio will host its second-annual Holiday Beer Bash from 6 to 9 p.m. today at Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum in Lowry. It features 35 breweries with unlimited sampling, cuisine from local chefs and prizes -- all in a setting filled with out-of-commission aircraft. General admission tickets are $35, and VIP tickets, which get you in an hour early, are $45.

Saturday, November 22

Denver Bicycle Cafe will celebrate its third anniversary beginning at 7 p.m. today with lots of beer from Copper Kettle, Strange Craft, Renegade, Odyssey and others. Tickets are $15 and include a limited-edition souvenir pint glass and two beers. The cake will be cut at 7 p.m., followed by live music starting at 8 p.m.

Oskar Blues Brewery will celebrate twelve years of canning beers at its original location in Lyons at Oskar Blues Grill & Brew today. Although more than 425 craft breweries are now canning their beers, OB was the first to do it in 2002. The twelfth CANiversary party will kick off with a buffet dinner from 6 to 9 p.m., along with the GABF-famous Silent Disco from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the new expansion space on the north side of the building. Special beers available in cans include Chaka, Velvet Elvis, Station 3, Home Skillet, Pollen Buzz and Pinner Throwback IPA. Live music starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and available at eventbrite.com/e/12th-annual-oskar-blues-caniversary-tickets-13878475895.

Sunday, November 23

Barley's Angels, a craft-beer club for Colorado women, collaborated with four professional brewers over the past few weeks to create some beers that will be served in brewery taprooms over the holidays. The first release party is today at 5 p.m. at 300 Suns Brewing in Longmont, which will pour a Belgian wheat brewed with sweet orange peel. There will be cheeses from the Cheese Importers on hand as well.

Turn the page to see more events later in November and December.>

Wednesday, November 26

November is Happy Thanksgiving cask month at Copper Kettle Brewing, during which the brewery will release firkins of beers that honor Turkey Day. This week's is Pecan Pie Brown Ale, a light-flavored, malt-accented brown with pecans and brown sugar.

Friday, November 28

Let go of the Walmart coupons and shine a little light on Black Friday by trying one, some or all eleven variations of Station 26 Brewing's 11 percent ABV Dark Star Imperial Stout. The brewery opens at 1 p.m., when it will tap Dark Star, Firkin Dark Star and Whiskey Coffee Dark Star. From there you'll find Belgian Chocolate Dark Star, German Chocolate Dark Star and Mexican Chocolate Dark Star at 2 p.m.; Thanksgiving Dark Star (cranberry, rosemary, thyme) and Raspberry Dark Star at 3 p.m.; Kopi Luwak Coffee Dark Star at 4 p.m.; and Gingerbread Dark Star and Rum Raisin Dark Star at 5 p.m.

Today Copper Kettle Brewing will debut the 2014 version of its Snowed In coffee stout in bomber bottles and on draft. Previously known as High Country Breakfast Stout, the beer is an Imperial oatmeal stout made with locally-roasted coffee from Pablo's Coffee and aged for months in High West Distillery bourbon barrels. Taste of Texas BBQ will be out front selling food.

Comrade Brewing is releasing its 10.5 percent ABV Russian Imperial Stout today. Brewed with Chinook, Sorachi Ace and a generous late addition of Centennial hops, aromas of "toffee and chocolate dominate," the brewery says. Oh, and Comrade is setting aside a few hundred gallons of the stout to be aged in whiskey barrels, which will be released in a few months.

Friday, December 5

The Terminal Bar at Union Station will debut a new German-style beer at 5 p.m.; Union Kolsch was made specifically for the Terminal Bar by Denver Beer Co, located across the tracks, to honor the city's pre-Prohibition, German beer-making heritage. The DBC's Charlie Berger and Joe Vostrejs, of Larimer Associates (one of the Union Station partners) collaborated on the beer all summer. They tried out about six different variations before picking the one they liked best. At the party, there will be some limited-edition commemorative glassware available and beer specials.

Lost Highway Brewing will release a new winter ale, Liquid Pajamas, from 8 to 10 p.m. and celebrate by inviting everyone to wear their PJs for a Pajama Party. There will be "midnight snacks," games and beer. Liquid Pajamas, at 12.5 percent ABV, is brewed with wheat, rye, barley and eight pounds of powdered cocoa.

The first Boulder Beer Festivus, which was designed to celebrate the thirty craft breweries in Boulder, will take place today from 7 to 10 p.m. at Rembrandt Yard in Boulder. Hosted by Imbibe Events, Boulder Festivus is modeled after Denver Festivus, which was founded three years ago. So far, twelve Boulder breweries have signed on, but Imbibe says more will be joining the list. Tickets, $40, and the list of breweries are both available at boulderfestivus.com. A portion of proceeds benefits New Era Colorado Foundation.

As the number of breweries proliferated along the C-470 corridor in the southern Denver suburbs over the past year or two, eight of them decided to get together to create a recipe for a Weizenbock. Each brewery will now make their own version of the beer at their respective place of business and tap them on December 5. In addition, they designed a "beer passport," which can be picked up today (or later) as well. Patrons can get the passport stamped at each location when they order a Weizenbock. The first 180 people to be stamped at all eight will get a C-470 Collaboration beer mug. The eight participating breweries are Blue Spruce, 3 Freaks, Lone Tree, 38 State, Grist, Living the Dream, CB Potts-Broadway and Rock Bottom-Lone Tree.

Saturday, December 6

The Wynkoop Brewing Company is bringing back its annual Parade of Darks beer fest today, but this year the brewery is blowing it out by holding it off-site, from 1 to 4:30 p.m., at the Bindery on Blake. The fifth annual holiday tradition will showcase more than sixty beers "in the amber to opaque categories," from more than 25 breweries. Tickets are $35 and include a commemorative glass for unlimited sampling. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the event and an accompanying silent auction will benefit Metro CareRing, a hunger-relief organization. Participating breweries include Avery, Crazy Mountain, Elevation, Epic, Great Divide, Grimm Borthers, Odell, Odyssey, River North, Squatters & Wasatch, Strange, Tivoli, Twisted Pine, Verboten and Wynkoop.

Wednesday, December 10

Barley's Angels, a craft beer club for Colorado women, collaborated with four different professional brewers over the past few weeks to create some beers that will be served in brewery taprooms over the holidays. The second release party is today at 7 p.m. at Kokopelli Brewing in Westminster, which will pour a Chocolate Cranberry Stout. There will also be chocolate pairings on hand from the Chocolate Therapist.

Friday, December 12

Station 26 will host its First Birthday Blowout all weekend, beginning today at 1 p.m. with the release of Colorado Cottonwood Smoked Imperial Porter, which was brewed with 100 percent Colorado ingredients. On Saturday at 1 p.m., Station 26 will sell a limited number of bottles of the brew, First Birthday Beer; it's Station 26's first-ever bottle release. There will also be live music on Friday and Saturday nights, along with a Bluegrass Brunch on Sunday. There will be food trucks all weekend long. (Note: this is a 21-plus weekend.)

Our Mutual Friend Malt & Brew will celebrate its second anniversary today from 2 p.m. to midnight with food from Texorado, live music and DJs, and beer, of course. The brewery will do a bottle release of its American Wild Ale collaboration with the nearby Populist restaurant. About 200 corked and caged bottles will be for sale. OMF will also serve the beer on tap in addition to: Chocolate Oak aged Brown ale collaboration with Ritual Chocolate; Belgian Strong Golden Ale collaboration with Baere Brewing; Barreled & Bretted Chinook Red Ale; Barleywine; All Colorado Malt & Hop Pale Ale; All Colorado Malt & Hop Chinook Red Ale; Farmhouse Ale; Brown Ale; Novo Coffee Stout; Proletariat; and IPA. There will be shirt and beer giveaways and other cool stuff.

The first Fort Collins Beer Festivus, which was designed to celebrate the twenty-plus craft breweries in Fort Collins, will take place today from 6:30 to 10 p.m. at YendraBuilt, 1304 Duff Drive, in Fort Collins. Hosted by Imbibe Events, Fort Collins Festivus is modeled after Denver Festivus, which was founded three years ago. So far, eight Fort Collins breweries have signed on, but Imbibe says more will be joining the list. Tickets, $40, and the list of breweries are both available at focofestivus.com. A portion of proceeds benefits New Era Colorado Foundation.

Saturday, December 13

SOLD OUT: The third annual Denver-only Beer Festivus, put on by Imbibe and Denver Off The Wagon, runs from 3 to 6:30 p.m. today at the McNichols Building. Founded three years ago as a way to feature as many of Denver's breweries as possible under one roof, there will more than forty on hand today. Tickets are $40 (but currently sold out). A portion of proceeds from Festivus benefits New Era Colorado Foundation.

Sunday, December 14

Barley's Angels, a craft beer club for Colorado women, collaborated with four different professional brewers over the past few weeks to create some beers that will be served in brewery taprooms over the holidays. The third release party is today at 2 p.m. at Former Future Brewing in Denver, which will pour a Belgian Christmas ale with pink peppercorns, grains of paradise, nutmeg and spruce tips. There will be empanadas from Maria Empanda.

Monday, December 15

Barley's Angels, a craft beer club for Colorado women, collaborated with four different professional brewers over the past few weeks to create some beers that will be served in brewery taprooms over the holidays. The fourth and final release party is today at 5:30 p.m. at J. Wells Brewery in Boulder, which will pour two beers, an imperial porter and an imperial cherry porter. The food pairings are still TBD.

Westword

• Beer Man