Stout Month Is Back in a Big Way

Stout Month feels a little different in Denver with Vine Street Brewery finally back in full swing. The brewpub re-opened last summer after being closed for over four years. Originally started at the company's Mountain Sun Brewery location in Boulder in 1994 to bring attention to a slower month in the industry, Stout Month has been a staple in Colorado ever since. These days, many breweries and bars are celebrating by offering up delicious dark beers as the winter rolls along.

Lone Tree Brewing is one of the metro area breweries with its own dark beer releases throughout the month. "As Dry January becomes another of these traditions, we know our customers go into February ready for big, bold flavors," says its director of tasting rooms, Michael Webster. The brewery will be releasing a new stout each week starting February 1 with a barrel-aged donut imperial stout. "We couldn't help ourselves with [that one]. We made it with thirteen dozen donuts from nearby Mr. Donuts, [adding them] right in the mash tun," he notes.

A tiramisu stout will follow on February 7 and on Valentine's Day, a cherry chocolate stout will be released. Chipotle pepper and white chocolate macadamia nut stouts round out the month. Webster expects the limited batch stouts to be completely kicked at both the Lone Tree and Parker locations by March.
At all of the Mountain Sun locations, which include the flagship pub and Southern Sun in Boulder plus Denver's Vine Street and Longs Peak Pub and Taphouse in Longmont, there will be over twenty rotating Mountain Sun stouts available throughout February, with at least ten taps dedicated to those beers at any given time. Highlights include old favorites like COCONUT!!! Cream Stout, Megatron Imperial Hoppy Stout, Oatimus Prime Imperial Oatmeal Stout and Norwegian Wheat Stout.

Newer stout offerings will also be available from Mountain Sun, including Strong Shot Rye Barrel-Aged Imperial Coffee Stout and Wizard's Staff Imperial Stout.

Station 26 Brewing is kicking off Stout Month a day early. On Friday, January 31, the Denver brewery is releasing a s'mores barrel-aged stout on draft and in crowlers. Look for more stouts at Station 26 throughout the month.

Renegade Brewing will also have a large assortment of barrel-aged stouts including a collaboration with Westfax Brewing as well as guest taps from Alesmith Brewing, the Bruery, Milieu Brewing and Epic Brewing. That's just in week one. The second week of February includes beers from Fremont Brewing and Prairie Artisan Ales as well as Evil Twin Brewing. The third and fourth weeks will see stouts from River North Brewing, Uhl's Brewing and Coda Brewing as well as Perennial Brewing.

If you're looking for heavy-hitter stouts from out of state, Cedar Creek Pub in Aurora is tapping beers from all over the country. Featuring Boulevard Brewing's Espresso Martini Stout, Drekker's What Lies Beneath Stout, Fort George Brewery's Matroshka, Perrennial's Maple Abraxas and the Bruery's 8 Maids-A-Milking, the draft lineup is stellar. The brewery will also tap a local favorite from Weldwerks Brewing, Cuvee de Coconut Medianoche. In addition to those beers, Cedar Creek will have several special bottles including Voodoo Brewing's Barrel-Aged Where Our Secrets Go.
Bull & Bush Brewery is one of the many other pubs getting in on the fun. The Bull will be releasing four of its own stouts throughout the month and is pouring a stout from local friends at Comrade Brewing. In addition, Bull & Bush will be offering several vintage beers — it is one of the only breweries in the state that regularly stocks vintage beer, after all. Those stouts include the 2010 beew the Czar from Avery, Dry Dock Brewing's 2015 Black Beard's Delight and North Coast Brewing's 2015 Old Rasputin.

While it's not a stout, Bull & Bush is also set to release a big, malty, barrel-aged beer. February 14 marks the latest release of Royal Oil, the brewery's iconic English Barleywine. Royal Oil has a bit of a cult following locally and is only released every few years, whenever the beer is deemed fit for enjoyment. It is known to age extremely well for a beer, similar to a fine wine.

"We don't have a set date [for each vintage]," says Erik Peterson, who along with his brother David, owns the Bull. "We taste it along the way, if it needs more time, we'll go longer. If it's great at two years, we'll pull it. When it's ready, it's ready."

Now that the beer is ready, it will be available exclusively at the brewpub. "It's a little extra special for people buying it," notes Peterson. "But it's not ridiculous where it's impossible to find."