This Week in Beer: Get a Black Friday Deal on Collab Fest Tickets and More

As the local brewery scene continues to evolve and grow, we’re rounding up the news, events and new releases you need to know about. Here’s the latest:

Collaboration Fest Tickets on Sale November 29
The Story: The Colorado Brewers Guild runs the yearly beer festival.
The Scoop: Collab Fest is one of the top festivals in Colorado. Brewers team up with friends; creations range from some of the best traditional-style beers to wacky experimental brews, and the fest itself is filled with industry professionals. It will be held on April 19 at the Westin Westminster. The venue has hosted the festival for the previous three years, and feedback on the location has been very positive.

Tickets are the cheapest from November 29 to December 2. Early admission tickets are only $75, which gets attendees into the fest an hour early. For reference, a general admission ticket purchased the week of the festival will cost the same.

Colorado Breweries Win at Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer
The Story: Verboten continues to dominate, while Milieu grabs a gold.
The Scoop: The Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer (FOBAB) takes place annually in Chicago. It is known as a prestigious event where some of the best barrel-aged beers in the world compete for bragging rights. Verboten Brewing out of Fort Collins and Loveland won two medals – a gold for its Double Oaked Cognac Grow Old With You barleywine, and a bronze for its Grow in Darkness blended barrel beer.

Milieu Fermentation isn’t even a year old, but it won a gold for its SMOL beer in the wild beer mixed-culture category. What is unique about SMOL is that it is only 2.7 percent ABV, a fraction of the alcohol level of most beers in this festival, and likely the lowest ABV beer to ever medal at the event.

Denver International Beer Competition Winners Announced
The Story: Two local breweries took the top two spots.
The Scoop: First place was awarded to Los Dos Potrillos Cervecería out of Parker for its Mexican Lager. Second place went to River North Brewery for its West End Squirrels English Brown Ale. Last week, River North won best American beer at the Brussels Beer Challenge for its Uptown Squirrel.

Both Squirrel beers are malty British-style brews, but the Uptown version is a lighter porter-type beer, whereas the West End is a brown ale at a slightly higher (but still very approachable 5.2 percent ABV) alcohol level. Completing the trio, Squirrels Just Want to Have Fun is an English brown ale made with Logan House coffee beans; it won a gold medal at the 2024 Great American Beer Festival. Head brewer Matt Malloy tells Westword he’s excited to see how these lower-ABV malty beers do in barrels in the future.

Bloom & Grow Chef Kyle Britton Releasing Cookbook
The Story: The local chef’s first book is focused on sauces.
The Scoop: Bloom & Grow set up shop at Max Taps in Centennial earlier this year, and Britton created a menu to go along with its excellent beer list. The food includes burgers, chicken sandwiches, cheesesteaks, nachos, snacks and, of course, sauces. Britton has focused on sauces in his publishing debut, telling Westword that he noticed condiments from the store just don’t stack up in flavor or healthiness to freshly made ones. The book contains recipes for many of Bloom & Grow’s sauces, including bacon jam, charred salsa, pesto, Bodega Sauce and “restaurant quality” ranch based on a recipe from Britton’s uncle. Copies of the paperback book go on sale Sunday, December 1. The Kindle version is available on Black Friday, with a special 25 percent discount through Monday, December 2.

Upcoming Events

Big Holiday Energy
Wednesday, November 27, through Wednesday, December 11
Call to Arms Brewing
4526 Tennyson Street
Call to Arms has made a name for itself as a holiday destination over the years with its Big Holiday Energy pop-up. From floor to ceiling, the space is filled to the brim with decorations, and there are events galore on the schedule. A daily advent calendar offers a prize to the first customer of the day, in addition to Santa Sundays in December, a scavenger duck hunt, holiday movies and a weekend hot chocolate station.

If you’re looking for more festive places to imbibe, check out our guide to the thirty-plus holiday pop-ups in the metro area.

Can’d Aid Benevolent Bazaar
Friday, November 29, through Monday, December 16
Online Auction (registration required to bid)
Can’d Aid is holding its third annual online benefit auction. Bid on some fabulous items like a trip for two (including airfare, four-star hotel, breakfast and private tour) to Paris. Other destinations include Greece, Florence and Ireland. There’s also a signed Paul Simon guitar, multiple festival passes, a private bike ride and beers with pro mountain biker and YouTube video creator Jeff Lenosky, fly-fishing trips and more. Can’d Aid is a Colorado nonprofit founded after the devastating floods in Lyons eleven years ago. The program provides tools and access for children to lead healthy, active, creative lives. To date, it has served over 460,000 people through its programs.

Black Friday Bingo
Friday, November 29, 2 to 4 p.m.
WestFax Brewing
6739 West Colfax Avenue, Lakewood
WestFax is hosting an epic afternoon of bingo. Do your shopping at home, then head over to the brewery for ten rounds of play with prizes worth over $600. There will also be four different beer releases, including a black lager, a Christmas ale, a Laws bourbon barrel-aged beer and a Belgian quad aged for twenty months with plums in Breckenridge bourbon barrels.

Beer of the Week

Anton Francois from Diebolt Brewing, Amber Ale, 5.5 percent ABV
From the Brewery: A clean, refreshing French Ale with a light malt and fruity aroma, crisp malt saveur that makes its way to a slightly earthy, hop bitterness and bready malt finish.
From the Glass: A nose of light caramel, lightly toasted, sweet breads and a light touch of strawberries. The flavor is mellowed, malty goodness balanced with moderate hop bitterness and orange citrus. The finish is off-dry with a peppery phenol entering the mix as it warms. Diebolt might get the most attention for its barrel-aged imperial stout series, Vladislav, but the majority of the beers on the menu are beers you can have a few pints of in one sitting. This one goes down easy, but it has an appreciable malt quality along with an interesting balance of hops.
Availability: On draft and in cans.