Breckenridge Announces Homebrew Contest Winner

A couple of months ago Breckenridge Brewery announced that they would continue the recent industry trend of professional/homebrewer collaborations by holding a homebrew competition to determine their 20th Anniversary brew.  Today, the brewery announced on FOX 31 News that winning beer was a French and Belgian style Saison from Jen and Greg Seitz of Denver.  The couple only started homebrewing 8 months ago, so this is quite the accomplishment.  You will be able to taste their winning beer sometime in mid-February at all the Breckenridge locations.


 

Retail Beer Releases (Week of 12/6)

The seasonal beers are back in a big way this week and just in time for the Christmas holiday.  California heavyweights Stone, Lost Abbey, and Port have all sent new winter beers to Denver that you won't want to miss.  Lost Abbey's Gift of the Magi is a big Golden Ale inspired by the story of the Three Kings using the bark of Frankincense and a little bit of Myrrh.  Stone's Special Holiday Ale is a collaboration with Nøgne Ø and Jolly Pumpkin that was brewed with chestnuts, juniper berry, white sage, and caraway seed (Check out Chipper Dave's review of last year's version here). Port Brewing's Santa's Little Helper is one of my favorite imperial stouts and it is so flavorful that I have difficulty describing it.  That could be because it's brewed with “everything but the kitchen sink.”  This great beer was also on tap at Falling Rock last weekend, so head down there for a taste.

Additionally, Tommyknocker's The Legend Oaked Brown Ale (covered here) has started showing up on liquor store shelves in the area.  I believe only 1,500 bottles were produced, so get it while you can.

New retail beer releases in the Denver area:

• Anderson Valley Winter Solstice (Seasonal)
• Breckenridge Christmas Ale Hand Numbered 1 liter bottles (Limited Release)
• Del Norte Luminaria (Seasonal)
• Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi (Seasonal)
• Nøgne Ø/Stone/Jolly Pumpkin Special Holiday Ale (Seasonal)
• Port Santa's Little Helper (Seasonal)
• Tommyknocker The Legend (Limited Release)
• AC Golden Herman Joseph's Private Reserve (New)
• Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti (Seasonal)
• Great Divide Old Ruffian Barleywine (Seasonal)
• Boulevard Harvest Dancer Wheat Wine (Limited Release)

Retail Beer Releases (Week of 11/1)

The holiday beer season is officially in full swing with no less than 12 seasonal beers hitting shelves in Denver liquor stores this week.  Additionally, Odell has released the newest beer in their Single Serve Series, Mountain Standard Reserve.  This deep mahogany ale was brewed with 400 lbs of locally grown, organic Cascade and Chinook hops from Rising Sun Farms in Paonia, CO.  Odell then double dry hopped the beer to create an even hoppier aroma that just sounds fantastic.  It's currently being sold in 750 mL corked bottles for about $15 and they are planning on brewing it once a year after the hop harvest.  I'm definitely looking forward to trying this one.

New beer releases this week:

• Breckenridge Christmas Ale (Seasonal)
• AC Golden Winterfest (Seasonal)
• Delirium Noel (Seasonal)
• Dupont Avec Les Bon Voeux (Seasonal)
• Gouden Carolous (Seasonal)
• Lagunitas Brown Shugga (Seasonal)
• Odell Mountain Standard Reserve (Limited Release)
• Rouge Santa's Private Reserve (Seasonal)
• Sam Adams Winter Lager (Seasonal)
• Samichlaus Classic (Seasonal)
• Shiner Holiday Cheer (Seasonal)
• Sierra Nevada Celebration (Seasonal)
• Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter (Seasonal)

Breckenridge 20th Anniversary Homebrewing Competition

Breckenridge Brewery's 20th anniversary is coming up next year and they've decided to brew up a special beer to celebrate the occasion. However, the twist is that the brew will not be one of their own recipes, but instead will be selected through a homebrewing competition! The brewery will be accepting your homebrews from November 15th through December 1st with judging taking place December 4th and 5th. The winning brewer will then get the chance to join the Breckenridge team in January to brew his or her recipe at their brewery.  This is a great chance to have tons of people tasting your beer, as it will then be featured at all four of their locations and also be available in bottles at their Kalamath Street tasting room in Denver.  This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for any aspiring brewers!

The Rules:

• Entries must be in the following categories: Belgian Pale Strong Ale, Traditional Scotch Ale, German Style Altbier, or French & Belgian Style Saison
• Each homebrewer can only submit one beer per category, but can enter all 4 if they choose.
• The Brewer's Association guidelines will be used by the Breckenridge Brew & Quality Control staff to choose a winner.
• They recommend single infusion mash practices and no starting gravities over 20 degrees. 
• The winning recipe may be changed to allow for the commercial and seasonal availability of ingredients
• All entries must be submitted in the form of either three 12 ounce bottles or two 22 ounce bottles.
• All entries must be submitted with this entry form.

Let me know if you decide to enter the contest and good luck!

Retail Beer Releases (Week of 10/4)

This is a big new beer week in Denver with no less than 17 new or seasonal beers hitting area stores including the latest releases from Avery, Fort Collins, and Odell. Plus the return of fresh hopped beers from Great Divide and Left Hand, the introduction of Elysian into the Denver market, and Dogfish Head's innovative Pangaea arriving in town (brewed with ingredients from each continent).  However, the real prize for me is the 2009 release of Oskar Blues Ten FIDY Imperial Stout.  I've mentioned in the past that I was on hand for the brewing of this year's first batch, so it was kind of exciting to open my first can and taste the end product.  Lucky for you, my presence didn't throw things off too badly and it tasted every bit as good as last year's version!

Look for these new releases at a beer store near you:

• Avery duganA IPA (New)
• Breckenridge Lucky U IPA (New)
• Buffalo Bill's Blueberry Oatmeal Stout (New)
• Dogfish Head Pangaea (Seasonal)
• Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA (New)
• Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale (New)
• Elysian The Immortal IPA (New)
• Elysian Loser Pale Ale (New)
• Fort Collins Brewing Common Ground (New)
• Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale (Seasonal)
• Great Divide Hibernation Ale (Seasonal)
• He'brew Jewbelation (Seasonal)
• Left Hand Warrior IPA (Seasonal)
• Odell India Barleywine (New)
• Oskar Blues Ten FIDY (Seasonal)
• Sam Adams Coastal Wheat (New)
• The Bruery Autumn Maple (Seasonal)

Denver Beer Fest Events: Part 1 (9/18 - 9/20)

The Denver Beer Fest begins in just two days and with over 125 beer related events going on in town over the next week there will be a lot to do and plenty of beer to drink. With so many options it'll be difficult to decide where to go, but fear not! For the next few days I'll be running an ongoing series here attempting to cover all this week's events to help you decide where to spend your precious time! The series kicks off today with a look at this weekend's happenings (9/18 - 9/20). I've highlighted what I think are a few "can't-miss" events and I'll also be updating the Google Calendar to the right with new tastings, dinners, and meet & greets as I find out about them, so check back often!

Friday, September 18th:

• Firkin Friday @ Oskar Blues - Old Bovinity milk Chub, 5:00pm
• Firkin Friday @ Dry Dock Brewing - Hazelnut Southern English Brown, 3:00pm
• Oktoberfest on Larimer Square, 5:00pm - 1:00am
• Free Sample Friday @ Great Divide, 10:00am - 10:00pm

Great Divide is giving away up to 8 free samples all day long!

• Edge City Oktoberfest Release Party @ Bristol Brewing, 5:00pm
• Hoppy Friday @ Marlowe's Restaurant, All Day
• Hoppy Hour @ Govnr's Park Tavern, 4:00pm ($12 to keep your glass)

Govnr's Park will be tapping 12 GABF beers for "Hoppy Hour" - some of which are exclusive to Gov's for the week. This will be the first time the Blue Moon Brewers have ever released their beer pre-GABF.

• Hoppy Hour @ Paramount Cafe, 4:00pm
• Blessing of the New Tap Handles @ Cheeky Monk, 7:00pm
• Breckenridge at the Beach @ Renaissance Denver Hotel, 6:00pm - 11:00pm (Featuring the Breck Brew Crew girls!)
• Beer, Cheese and Bread pairing dinner @ City O' City, 7:00pm
• Avery Brewing Meet the Brewer @ Rialto Cafe, 4:00pm - 7:00pm ($12 for a flight of 4 beers)

Rialto will be featuring a flight of four different Avery beers for only $12 including Avery IPA, White Rascal, Ellie’s Brown Ale and Out of Bounds Stout. A complimentary appetizer buffet will also be provided.

Saturday, September 19th:

• Oktoberfest on Larimer Square, 11:00am - 1:00am
• Siempre Loco Cask Ale @ Bristol Brewing, 12:00pm - 9:00pm
• Sam Adams Flights @ Marlowe's, All Day
• Denver's Best Burgers & Beers @ Paramount Cafe, All Day

Paramount Café is offering special Colorado farm raised elk, bison, ostrich, Kobe, lamb and dry-aged beef burgers. Not exactly beer specifc, but I think it sounds pretty cool.

• Festival Italiano @ Belmar, 10:00am - 7:00pm
• Beer, Brats and Burlesque! with Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret, 7:00pm ($25 per person)
• Breckenridge Brewery Meet the Brewer @ Govnr's Park, 8:00pm - 9:00pm

Govnr's Park Tavern will host a meet and greet with the brewer from Breckenridge Brewery as well as launch a beer flight program

• Cheeky Monk's Cheek to Cheek Trip, 9:00am - 3:00pm ($65 per person)

Sunday, September 20th:

• Oktoberfest on Larimer Square, 10:00am - 5:00pm
• Great Divide Dinner @ Vesta Dipping Grill, 6:00pm (Call 303-296-1970 for reservations)

Chef Matt Selby hosts this pairing of tasty food from Vesta Grill and beer pairings from Great Divide. Limited seating.

• Festival Italiano @ Belmar, 10:00am - 7:00pm
• Oskar Blues Brewers Brunch @ Steuben's, 11:00am ($30 per person)

Oskar Blues Brewery will be hosting a brunch at Steuben's in Uptown. Tickets include a four-course meal inspired by Oskar Blues selections, as well beverage pairings. Call 303-830-1001 for tickets. Hurry! Seating is limited to just 20 people!

• How to Brew Your Own Beer Class @ Govnr's Park, 3:00pm
• Rogue Brewery Meet the Brewer @ City O' City, 7:00pm

If you have an event you'd like me to add please contact me at DenverBrew@gmail.com.