Greeley's Wiley Roots Brewing is about to get down to Denver more often. The brewery has hooked up with TwoSix Craft Distributors, which will distribute Wiley Roots across the Front Range.
TwoSix was formed last fall when Station 26 Brewing launched its own distributorship and began selling beers from Arvada's New Image Brewing along with its own.
Wiley Roots was added to the TwoSix lineup after a recent expansion to double its brewing capacity, adding a new production facility adjacent to the taproom. Since the beginning of the year, Wiley Roots has worked with WeldWerks Brewing on distribution. Wiley Roots is known for its New England-style milkshake IPAs, imperial stouts, milkshake sour IPAs and fruit slushes.
"By making these investments and partnering with TwoSix Craft Distributors, Wiley Roots hopes to better meet demand through the brewery’s wholesale channels, but will also focus on the hyper-rotational nature of their taproom offerings," the brewery says.
Keep reading for beer tappings this week.
Wednesday, June 24
TRVE Brewing, which hasn't yet opened for on-site drinking because of its small size, will have two new beers available in cans to go. Sin After Sin is a mixed-culture sour ale brewed with cinnamon and dry-hopped with Tettnang and Hallertau Blanc. "Mellow cinnamon accentuates a deep blueberry character," the brewery says. The second beer is TRVE's take on the Colorado Strong benefit beer, which hundreds of breweries are making around the state to raise money for the Left Hand Brewing Foundation and the Colorado Brewer's Guild. "This is a benefit beer made with Colorado ingredients to support the local supply chain, neighborhood breweries, and raise funds for the Colorado Strong Fund, whose mission is to provide aid in response to the impacts of COVID-19 across Colorado. 20 percent of all sales of Colorado Strong will return to the Colorado Strong Fund and will be allocated directly to provide assistance to healthcare, hospitality, service industry, and gig economy workers across the state." TRVE's version has classic saison character with light bubblegum and fruity hops.
Cerebral Brewing has two fresh beers available on tap and in cans to go. Cloud Types is a double IPA brewed with CTZ, Citra and Motueka hops, giving a nose of eucalyptus, matcha green tea and honeydew melon. Gamma Knife is an IPA made with Galaxy, Citra and Cashmere hops. It has notes of kiwi and pineapple.
Copper Kettle Brewing taps Something Completely Different at 2 p.m. "This beer is exactly what it's called — something completely different," the brewery says. Dry-hopped and kettle-soured, this "farmhouse-style IPA" packs a lot of funk. There are only two kegs available.
Thursday, June 25
Station 26 Brewing taps staff favorite Saaz Pils. "Crisp, crushable, with a classic pilsner malt base and dry-hopped with Saaz for a balanced taste that you’ll keep reaching for," the brewery says. The 5.3 percent ABV lager will also be available as part of Station 26's Stay-tion at Home boxes.
Friday, June 26
Fiction Beer Company drops two beers at 2 p.m. on draft and in cans. Juice Box is a golden kettle sour with more than two pounds per gallon of sweet blackberry purée blended with tart lemon. "The natural acidity in our base beer serves to balance the sweetness from the berries. The lemon purée brings the taste of a classic lemonade stand to your palate," the brewery says. The second beer is Madame Psychosis New England Style IPA. Double dry-hopped with Idaho #7, Citra and Mosaic, it has flavors of ripe papaya.
New Image Brewing has two new beers available. Smile With Your Eyes Double Dry Hopped Triple IPA, a collaboration with Cerebral Brewing, was made with blueberry blossom honey, Mosaic, Galaxy and Motueka hops. Named for a skill that everyone has had to develop during COVID-19's mask-wearing days, the huge 14.1 percent AVB triple IPA "came together around highlighting the sweet and floral flavors of blueberry blossom honey and then backed it with the citrus, tropical and stone fruit notes from the killer combination of Mosaic, Galaxy and Motueka hops," the brewery says. The second beer is Double Double, a 9.5 percent ABV double-dry-hopped double IPA made with Galaxy and Mosaic hops.
Black Project Wild & Spontaneous Ales has four new sour beers to go. Apex, which the brewery calls "a summer patio tour-de-force, boasts juicy, tangy orange flavors with a bit of cinnamon. Comet features "a whirling blast of cherry and blueberry, while Argon, a 100 percent spontaneously fermented beer/wine hybrid, was made with cabernet sauvignon grapes. And finally, Habu is a "blend of three years of traditional, lambic-inspired, coolship spontaneous ale that follows the methode traditionnelle guidelines. The blended base beer was refermented with two different kinds of whole tart cherries. Montmorency and Balaton. We then take the beer and move it into freshly emptied bourbon barrels at which point we add vanilla bean and cocoa nibs."
Lariat Lodge Brewing taps a new beer at its Evergreen and Ken Caryl Ranch breweries. Lost Gnome Saison is a 6 percent ABV Belgian-style wheat ale brewed with coriander and sweet and bitter dried orange peel. It's "fermented with our house Belgian yeast strain for a unique take on a classic style," the brewery says.
Saturday, June 27
Lakewood's Landlocked Ales hosts a two-day anniversary party with beer, music and other activities. The beer is You Made Me Ink Imperial Stout, an 11.5 percent ABV beer with notes of coffee, chocolate and burnt toast. The brewery's Pickle Beer, Cucumber Sour and Squirrel Stash will also be back on tap. In addition, there will be a raffle, anniversary glasses, music and food trucks. Please wear your masks unless you are at a table.
Burns Family Artisan Ales releases There's a Beer Over There, a seltzer (?) collaboration with the Grateful Gnome, on draft and in a limited number of 375ml bottles to go. This high-ABV seltzer was aged in a Locke Distilling rye barrel to give it a creamy, vanilla-oak flavor, the brewery says. In addition, for Pride Month, Burns will have flights of the beer flavored with different fruits, called There's a Rainbow in You.
Greeley's Wiley Roots Brewing, which is known for its tart, fruity beer slushes, brings them back en masse today from 3 to 7 p.m. The brewery typically celebrates their yearly return in April but delayed the event because of COVID-19. The pending tap list includes Orange Slush Breeze, Strawberry Slush Breeze, Blue Slush, Purple Slush, Red Slush, Pink Slush and Frozen Root Beer Slush.
Tuesday, June 30
Woods Boss Brewing releases sixteen-ounce cans of Layers of Inspiration, a 7.9 percent ABV hazy IPA with "tons of bright-red berry notes and a subtle bridge of lime citrus to tie everything together," the brewery says, adding that it's "brewed with Barbe Rouge, Belma, Motueka, Citra, and a little Centennial Hops."
Wednesday, July 1
"We were really happy with how the first Nectar of the Forest turned out so we decided to rebrew it totally different," says Woods Boss Brewing, which will release cans of the hazy IPA today. It has the "same grain bill but a whole new menagerie of hops to tease out even more complexity. This time with Moutere, Rakau, Wai-iti, Azacca, Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy, Centennial and a wee bit of Eldorado."
Odell Brewing's RiNo location has brewed a beer in support of Hope For The Day, which is committed to starting conversations around metal health "to break the stigma of silence and raise visibility for resources in our communities," the brewery says. Open Conversations Golden Ale is the name of the beer. "The more we talk about mental health, the more we realize we aren’t crazy or messed up. We are human beings going through life, and some days, we need to talk about it. "
Thursday, July 2
West Coast IPAs, which are more bitter than their East Coast counterparts (and devoid) of haze, have been making a comeback in 2020 in Colorado, led by a handful of breweries that have pushed back against the hazy trend, as well as some that like to make both. Liquid Mechanics Brewing in Lafayette is one of those, and it is bringing back West Coast Cartel, an IPA it first brewed earlier this year with Golden's Cannonball Creek, another clear beer cheerer. "Featuring Simcoe on the hot side, with loads of Strata, Citra, and Mosaic in the dry hop, we fell in love with the beer, and it ran out too quickly," Liquid Mechanics says. "We wanted to do another batch as soon as we could, but COVID kinda got in the way. It's here now." The 6.7 percent ABV beer is available in six-packs of twelve-ounce cans. Oh, and it will be retired after this batch.
Friday, July 3
Start your Fourth of July weekend with a fresh six pack of Hop-A-Tronic Lupulositor, a New England-style double IPA from River North Brewery. This version of the 8.2 percent ABV beer features Lotus, Sabro and Idaho 7 hops for a fruity, tropical and melon flavors. It is available on tap or to go in both of the brewery's taprooms.
New Wave, a summer seasonal, returns to Ratio Beerworks at noon. "Brewed with patio sessions in mind, New Wave is a kettle-soured, strawberry Berliner Weisse," Ratio says. "Fermented with over three hundred pounds of real strawberries this light, tart, sour is perfect for a cool down." Six-packs are available to go.
Purpose Brewing & Cellars, of Fort Collins, makes a rare appearance in the Denver area when Cedar Creek Pub — across the street from Ursula Brewery in Aurora — taps Smoeltrekker #76. This Smoeltrekker version is a sour beer aged two years in an Old Elk Gin Barrel with notes of creme brulee and floral aromas.
Broomfield's Big Choice Brewing releases a new beer for the Fourth of July. Brewed with Colorado barley and hops, ’Merican Light American Lager was designed to be dry, light and thirst-quenching.
Saturday, July 4
"Celebrate the return of summer with watermelon in a glass," says Strange Craft Beer Company, which brings back Watermelon Hefe for the hot months. More than 660 pounds of organic watermelon go into this refreshing German-style wheat beer. Hang out in the beer garden for burgers, brats and fireworks.
Saturday, July 11
Beer slushies have become a summer staple at a few breweries in Colorado over the past few years as people go in for these frozen, fruity treats. Now Dry Dock Brewing will join in by hosting Slushies Saturdays with a new flavor every week at its North Dock location in Aurora. This time around, it's Cherry Limeade. Enjoy the brewery's beautiful patio and play some disco golf on its course, as well.