Beer Calendar: Beer Slushies, a Big Effin Lager and Marshmallow Stuff

For the second year in a row, a Colorado brewer has won the heralded Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing from the Boulder-based Brewers Association. The recipient was Brendan McGivney, who is the COO and co-owner of Odell Brewing. McGivney has worked at Odell since 1995 and "is recognized for aiding the development of new hops, building farmer-brewer relationships, serving as part of the hop quality group, and discovering the innovative process of 'fresh grind' hops," the BA says.

"McGivney is responsible for developing brands such as Odell IPA, Drumroll American Pale Ale, Friek, 5 Barrel Pale Ale, and Rupture. In addition to helping other breweries with his wisdom, McGivney’s work has allowed smaller breweries better access to higher quality hops and new experimental varieties," the BA adds.

Last year's recipient was Lauren Woods Limbach, the longtime sour and wild ale specialist at New Belgium Brewing. A sensory expert, Limbach leads the wood-barrel-aging program at New Belgium.

The award is presented "in honor of Wynkoop Brewing Company’s Russell Schehrer to an individual or company for their innovative contributions to the brewing industry." Schehrer was the founding brewer at the Wynkoop, which opened in 1988, and specialized in English-style cask ales. He died in 1996.

Keep reading for craft-beer events through July.

Wednesday, July 8
Goldspot Brewing taps its version of Black is Beautiful, an imperial stout that is being brewed by nearly 1,000 breweries across the country in an effort "to bring awareness to the injustices that many people of color face daily," according to Texas's Weathered Souls Brewing, which initiated the project. For its beer, Goldspot teamed up with Inland Island Yeast and Troubadour Malting to brew a blackberry stout, with 100 percent of profits being donated to ACLU Colorado and the Southern Poverty Law Center. "This beer has notes of apricot from the Troubadour Munich and notes of honey, chocolate and a lightly tart, juicy and crisp finish," Goldspot says.

If you want to score some of Bierstadt Lagerhaus's Big Fucking Lager — a 12 percent ABV "barleywine-adjacent" version of its Marzen lager, then you may have to buy it online today for pickup on Sunday, July 12. "Think of it as a lager wine, only please don’t. That is a stupid term and we refuse to be responsible for its usage," the brewery says. Lagered for eighteen weeks, it is malty and sweet. "Paul Vismara designed the label, and it is perfect for the beer and these times," Bierstadt adds. "A giant comet is depicted hurling through space; we can only guess at its destination: Earth." This lager will not be on tap, and will only be sold in cans for off-premises consumption.

Cerebral Brewing has four fresh beers available in cans. Marshmallow Stuff is an IPA brewed with Citra and Galaxy hops, along with marshmallow and lactose. DDH Double Rare Trait is a double-dry-hopped, imperial version of the brewery's flagship IPA, Rare Trait. Brewed with Citra, El Dorado and Mosaic hops, it comes in at 8 percent ABV. Forbidden Idol-Saturn is the latest in Cerebral's Tiki Sour series; this one is a double IPA hopped with Citra, Southern Cross and Nelson and then blasted with lemon, passion fruit, juniper and lactose. And finally, the brewery brings back International Waters, its foeder-aged pilsner.

New Image Brewing has a new version of its DDH East Coast Transplant available in cans; it uses a hop "we loved from earlier this year: Bio T," the brewery says. "Yakima Chief Hops created this incredible strain, and so we felt like we had to give it a go again, this time for the dry hopping of one of our favorite core beers."

Thursday, July 9
FlyteCo Brewing will tap Feral Bearhawk, a pale ale that it brewed in collaboration with its Berkeley neighbor, the Feral outdoor equipment brand. The double-dry-hopped pale ale is the second in the Feral collab series. The beer will be available starting at 6 p.m.; there will also be custom T-shirts, Crowlers and cans.

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 the 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 disc golf on its course.

Westfax Brewing and Odd13 Brewing will release a collaborative project at noon called Wes Melontooth San Diego-Style IPA. The 6.9 percent ABV beer was brewed with German Ariana, German Huell Melon and Colorado Cascade hops, lending notes of ripe melon, berry and citrus. Available in cans on on draft, it will anchor your day. Barrett & Pratt Provisions will be on hand with food.

Copper Kettle Brewing's Lemon Shandy Lager is back on tap at noon. "This super easy-drinking lager with lemon is one that is meant for patios and hot weather," the brewery says.

Wednesday, July 15
POSTPONED until July 22: Denver Beer Co. brings its Virtual Pairing Series back, this time with a take-and-bake pizza-and-beer pairing co-hosted by Lucky Pie Pizza master Sam Reed. To participate, simply pre-order your pairing pack for pick-up at either taproom. Then, at 5 p.m., Reed and DBC head brewer Jason Buehler will lead the pairing, including a dough-tossing lesson on Facebook Live, followed by a Q&A. Each two-person pairing is $60 and includes dough, sauce and tappings for three kinds of pizzas, plus six-packs of Pretzel Assassin Amber Lager, Juicy Freak Juicy IPA and Incredible Pedal IPA.

Thursday, July 16
Like most breweries these days, Call to Arms Brewing won't be able to celebrate its birthday with a big bash, but since the brewery is noting five years, it does have a special beer release in store for the occasion. How 'Bout a Can of Wine? is "a red wine puncheon-aged sour wine hybrid that boasts a brilliant rosé color and was brewed with 50 percent Sangiovese grapes," the brewery says. "This stunning mixed-culture sour offers aromas of cranberry and strawberry and notes of tart raspberry, grape skin and soft vanilla. Delicately floral and fruity with light oak character, a pleasant Brett funk and a dry finish," it's available on draft and in cans.

Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery will release its version of Black is Beautiful Stout, this one brewed with local Root Shoot Malting malts, along with raspberries and chocolate. Different versions of the beer are being brewed by nearly 1,000 breweries across the country to raise money and awareness for organizations that advocated for people of color. Jagged Mountain will donate proceeds to Outdoor Afro.

Saturday, July 18
Wild Provisions Beer Project, an wood-aged and wild beer-focused offshoot of 4 Noses Brewing, will host a grand opening and introduce a new side of its beer program, Czech lagers. "Our Premium Pale Lager and Czech Dark Lager have undergone a cold break in the coolship, a week in open-top fermenters, and a further six weeks in horizontal lagering tanks, naturally carbonating along the way," the brewery says. The beers will be available on tap — poured from Czech side-pull faucets — and in some cool-looking sixteen-ounce black cans to go. Wild Provisions, which opened last month in Boulder, will also offer tours. "We are eager to share the ethos behind this passion project, as well as the specific processes we use to produce both Czech-inspired lagers and wild/spontaneous beers," the brewery says. Tour reservations can be made on Eventbrite.

Saturday, July 25
As part of its second-anniversary celebration, Dos Luces Brewery will have a very limited tasting of upcoming barrel releases. "Every once in awhile, we have to tap our barrels to make sure that the aging beer is coming along nicely and hasn't developed any off flavors. This time, you get to join us," says Dos Luces, which only brews the pre-Columbian-style beers chicha and pulque. The two new brews are Túpac Amaru III with pomegranate, aging in Colombian rum barrels, and Moctezuma III with strawberry, aging in reposada tequila barrels.

Celebrating ten years in business is a special milestone — even more so in craft brewing — so Grimm Brothers Brewhouse in Loveland wants to make note of it. The celebration takes place from noon to 9 p.m., and the $10 tables must be reserved in advance because of COVID restrictions. Each reservation will be good for one hour and 45 minutes so that they can be sanitized in between groups. Each reservation includes one souvenir Tenth Anniversary mug. In addition, the brewery will have some special-release anniversary beers.

Wednesday, July 29
Although Colorado Craft Beer Week and Collaboration Fest were canceled, Colorado Pint Day is back on. In this case, drop into a participating Colorado craft brewery, buy a pint and get the 2020 Pint Day glass for free; the effort is a fundraiser by the Colorado Brewers Guild. Different breweries will have different rules this year — and many will only be selling the glasses in advance online to keep crowds down. This year's sixteen-ounce glass features organic-printed bighorn sheep art by Mallory Hodgkin. Breweries that have already announced their participation include Fiction Beer, Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery, Station 26 Brewing, Comrade Brewing, Platt Park Brewing and Woods Boss Brewing.

In addition to Pint Day, Platt Park Brewing will release the next beer in its Ice Cream Parlor series. This Milkshake IPA is brewed with peach purée, Madagascar bourbon vanilla and milk sugar.