This Week in Beer: River North Wins Big in Brussels 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:

River North Takes Home Best American Beer at Brussels Beer Challenge
The Story: The brewery has now medaled at the competition four years in a row.
The Scoop: Nightmare Fuel won silver in the coffee category, while Midnight Hike won silver in the chocolate category. Those two beers have now medaled three years in a row each. Uptown Squirrel won gold in the porter category and also took home the Best American Beer accolades.

The brewery notes that "out of 1,705 beers from 500 breweries across 39 countries, only 19 beers from the United States were awarded medals — and we’re proud to have taken home three of them, plus the title of Best American Beer 2024!"

Founder Matt Hess tells Westword that every time the brewery enters an international competition, it has the opportunity to get feedback on beers from highly trained judges with diverse brewing backgrounds. "We take this feedback very seriously and use it to continuously improve our beers," says Hess. He adds that the team at River North is world-class, and head brewer Matt Malloy is "as good as they get." To have that level of confidence in the team while still being dedicated to improvement every step of the way is a strong combination and a primary driver for the strong following that River North has.
14er Brewing Is Closing This Weekend
The Story: The RiNo brewery announced its closure on November 17.
The Scoop: RiNo has been an especially competitive brewery landscape for quite some time. The neighborhood has hordes of customers with disposable income, but with that heavy demand comes higher rent and stiff competition. Recent closures include Mockery Brewing, Epic Brewing and 10 Barrel. Among the new additions are Left Hand Brewing's Mission Ballroom taproom, Brew Dog's franchise and Dewey Beer's Colorado outpost.

Goat Patch Announces Acquisition of Pikes Peak Brewing
The Story: Goat Patch will expand into Monument.
The Scoop: In a press release, Goat Patch announced that the takeover is happening because Pikes Peak founders Chris and Judi Wright are retiring. As a nod to the work that the Wrights have done over the years, Pikes Peak will retain its name. Goat Patch's current facility has a 3,000-barrel capacity, while Pikes Peak has a 10,000-barrel production facility. The sale is anticipated to close by the end of the year.

Upcoming Events

Ski Jorts City
Through December 31
Lady Justice Brewing
3242 South Acoma Street, Englewood
Lady Justice is launching its seasonal experience, Ski Jorts City. Its taproom has been separated into sections with varying themes, including a mountain town photo-shoot zone and a cozy faux-fire area. A series of events will take place at the transformed taproom through the end of the year. Highlights include a consumable makers' market on November 23, a 21+ drag trivia contest with Jessica L'Whor on November 25, and an awkward family photo shoot on November 30.

Denver Christkindlmarket
Friday, November 22, through Monday, December 23
Civic Center Park
Broadway and Colfax
For the third year in a row, you can sip bier from Prost during this popular holiday market. The opening day features a ceremonial keg tapping by Mayor Mike Johnston and Prost's director of sales, Jacob Schneeberger. Prost will be releasing its Export Helles lager at the festival; its new Non-Alcoholic Pilsner will be on offer as well.

Chili Cook-Off
Saturday, November 23, 4 p.m.
Burns Family Artisan Ales
1236 South Broadway
Block out time on Saturday evening to compete or taste chili at Burns Family. It's free to enter your own chili (registration required) and costs $7.50 to taste. With a $50 prize for the winning chili, the event is likely to bring in some solid entries.

Puzzle Buzz
Wednesday, November 27
FlyteCo Tower
3120 Uinta Street
Puzzle Buzz is a jigsaw-building activity where teams of four compete for a $100 cash prize at one of the coolest beer venues in Denver.

Beer of the Week

Babette from Milieu Fermentation, Barrel Aged Flavored Stout, 13 percent ABV
From the Brewery: Our German chocolate cake-inspired bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout. We blended our selected barrels onto a mountain of Ghanaian cacao husk from Nuance Chocolate, toasted and raw coconut, and house-roasted pecans.
From the Glass: A nose full of bourbon with some dark sugar behind it. A hint of plum as it warms. Sweet up front in the taste with flavors of thick chocolate cake and heavy cream at first, but then comes a welcoming balanced bitterness from the dark malts. An assertive dark chocolate builds in the finish, with deep spice notes increasingly coming through with each sip. It drinks almost like a chocolate liqueur at times, with waves of flavors that really hit on the German chocolate cake theme. This is Milieu's first barrel-aged stout release, and it's a winner.
Availability: On draft and in cans at the brewery.