During the event, the brewery will also release a special beer called 30. "The concept was [using] an amalgamation of different ingredients that have been important to us throughout the course of thirty years of doing business,” Avery says.
The beer uses malts like Special B, which play an important role in Avery’s legendary high-alcohol, gold foil-topped beers, as well as hops like Simcoe, which is used in Maharaja, and Columbus, which is used in Hog Heaven. The strong ale was aged in Stranahan’s whiskey barrels and saw a light dry hop. “The idea was to have equal parts of all these components,” says Avery. “You’ll smell and taste the malts, hops and barrel. There will be a noticeable heat component.”
30 will clock in somewhere around 15 percent ABV, around the typical range that Avery’s stronger beers usually land in.
Additionally, the festival will include some special vintage beers from Avery's cellar, like Rumpkin, Tweak and Uncle Jacob’s, along with beers from over sixty breweries that were chosen by the staff. Continuing with that theme, staff members' ideas were used to create three event-only beers for the fest: a schwarzbier, a rice lager and a cherry-coconut IPA. Live music and food trucks will be on hand, as well.
Avery says he stole the idea for the invitational “fair and square” from Firestone Walker, which throws its own Invitational every year and will be in attendance at this one. “Rachael [Burrell] coordinates our events, and I think she throws the best beer festival in the country,” says Avery.
Special bottles will be curated from Adam Avery's cellar for the event.
Avery Brewing
Amalgam Brewing
Denver
Vanilla Boysenberry Reduction Boysenberry
2021 Boysenbarrel refermented on an additional 350 pounds of Oregon-grown boysenberries from the Willamette Valley before being freeze-distilled and finished on Madagascar vanilla beans. Packaged and served still. 8.8 percent ABV.
Freeform: Central Coast Syrah (Batch 2)
Carbonically macerated whole cluster Syrah grapes sourced from Paso Robles, allowed to ferment naturally with their native yeasts for fourteen days. The grapes were then pressed and directly blended into 18-month golden sour beer in the barrel. This beer aged an additional year in the barrel and on the lees, developing depth and texture in the finished beer. Naturally carbonated without filtration. 8 percent ABV.
Underground Breakfast (2023)
Imperial Stout aged in Weller Antique 107 Bourbon Barrels with Madagascar vanilla beans, Sweet Bloom Mexican coffee beans and Vermont maple syrup added. 14.2 percent ABV.
Ca’ del Brado
Bordeaux, Italy
Cuvee Kiwi
Golden sour beer with local Hayward kiwi added. 100 percent fermented by Brettanomyces Bruxellensis and aged in oak barrels with a mix of bacteria from our cellar. 7.8 percent ABV.
Invernomuto Farmhouse
Wild Farmhouse Ale: blend between barrel aged brett ale Piè Veloce Brux and vieille saison Nessun Dorma (aged from five to eight months in wine barrels). 6.3 percent ABV.
Cellar West Artisan Ales
Lafayette
Quilz
A cream ale fermented with Kolsch yeast. 4.8 percent ABV.
Barrel Select ‘23
Barrel aged wild saison dry hopped with Citra and Nectar. 7 percent ABV.
Cerebral Brewing
Denver
Double Barrel Here be Monsters BlLiS
Imperial Stout aged fourteen months in nine year EH Taylor barrels, then eleven months in Blis Maple Bourbon Barrels 15.2 percent ABV.
Neon Lite
This American Corn Lager is our ode to Colfax. It's exactly what we want to drink at our local dive bar, concert venue, or park hang.
Old Fitzgerald Here be Monsters
After spending the last thirty months slumbering inside a fourteen-year Old Fitzgerald barrel, this monster emerges balanced while retaining all the character of the barrel. 14.7 percent ABV.
Japas Cervejaria
Sao Paul, Brazil
Nama Birru
Crisp, dry, delicate and extremely refreshing. A delicious combination of Sorachi Ace and Lemondrop hops. 4.9 percent ABV.
Sawa Yuzu
With the characteristic acidity of the style, light and refreshing, Sawā is the translation for "sour" in Japanese. The perfect base for a beer that, in this version, has yuzu, a Japanese citric fruit with a pronounced acidity and extremely aromatic, reminiscent of a mixture of Sicilian lemon, tangerine and grapefruit. This sour also takes Citra and Cascade hops in dry hopping, further enhancing the citric characteristics of this rare fruit. 4.7 percent ABV.
Jester King Brewery
Austin, Texas
Biere de Merlot
Originally released in 2014, Bière de Merlot is a blend of barrel-aged wild ale re-fermented with Texas-grown Merlot grapes from Sulphur Bluff, Texas. The quality of the Merlot grapes we received this year was absolutely outstanding. We basically just got out of their way and let them express themselves through the beauty of natural/wild fermentation.
PSych Metal
A blend of young farmhouse ale with some Munich malt in the grist with Jester King SPON (a biere de coupage). From there, we added Cordyceps mushrooms from Smallhold farm, wormwood, lemongrass and butterfly pea flower.
Acerose Efflorescence
This is a collaboration with our longtime friends at Novare Res Bier Café in Portland, Maine. Acerose Efflorescence is a bière de coupage (young beer cut or blended with mature spontaneous beer) of fresh Belgian-style Blond Ale and mature Jester King SPON. The Belgian-style blond ale was brewed with water, malted barley and wheat, and Adreena hops from Roy Farms in Washington. After primary fermentation, it was blended with mature SPON beer from our barrel room. The blend was naturally conditioned through re-fermentation in the keg/bottle and allowed to develop harmony/complexity over three months prior to release.
Our Mutual Friend Brewing
Denver
Fixed Blade
Barleywine aged in Laws Rye Bourbon Whiskey Barrels. 14.1 percent ABV.
Wave Motion
Rotating experimental IPA series.
WeldWerks Brewing
Greeley
Giddy Up
Hard iced tea with lemon.
Strawberry Cheesecake
Sour ale with strawberry purée, cream cheese, milk, sugar and graham cracker. 4.5 percent ABV.
Vacay Everyday
Hazy double IPA.
Additionally, WeldWerks will have some mystery releases, so keep a close eye out at the festival!
Westbound and Down Brewing
Idaho Springs, Lafayette and Denver
Westbound Italian Pils
A bright, floral hop aroma meets crisp crushable Pils from the use of Hallertau Blanc, Saphir and Saaz with Italian-grown pilsner malt. Bright lemon, floral. 4.9 percent ABV.
Grand Theft Alpha
We teamed up with our friends from Joyride Brewing Company and Cannonball Creek Brewing Company for this three-way West Coast IPA collaboration featuring HBC 586 and our hand-selected Mosaic Cryo, Simcoe and Strata hops. 6.4 percent ABV.
Louie (2023)
A blend of six, fourteen-month-old Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace and Mellow Corn barrels. Conveniently packaged in 8 ounce cans for solo excursions or those nights you probably shouldn't open a big, barrel-aged beer, but do it anyway. Aromas of chocolate, toffee and crème brûlée give way to flavors of milk duds, orange marmalade and vanilla, all wrapped up with a warming bourbon finish. 13.9 percent ABV.
