Upcoming Events (Week of 12/6)

This week is looking like another special one for beer drinkers in the Denver area with several events you won't want to miss.  The highlights include Oskar Blues' 7th CANiversary where they'll be debuting a brand new seasonal, a Holiday Beer Dinner at the Wynkoop featuring 4 courses and 6 great Colorado beers, and the 2009 release of Avery's monstrous Mephistopheles Stout (16% abv!) complete with a 4 year vertical tasting.  However, the one event I definitely won't be missing is Twisted Pine's release party for their new sour ale.  I'm a huge fan of sour beers and I've enjoyed most of the speciality releases the brewery has put out recently, so I'm expecting great things.  They'll only have two kegs on for the initial release and they will surely go quick, but I've been told that it will be released again in 7 months on tap and in 750 ml bottles.  Can't wait to try it!

Upcoming beer related events in the Denver area:

• Great Divide Brewmaster's Dinner @ Beatrice and Woodsley - 12/8, 6:00pm ($50 per person, RSVP at (303) 777-3505)
• Oskar Blues 7th CANiversary Party @ The Barn in Lyons - 12/9, 5:00pm - 10:00pm
• Oskar Blues will have live music, food, and specialty brews on tap.  Additionally, they'll be announcing a new seasonal beer and you'll have the opportunity to hand can your own beer to bring home with you.
• Holiday Beer Dinner @ Wynkoop Brewery - 12/10, 6:30pm ($35 per person, RSVP at 303-297-2700)
• 4 courses paired with 6 winter beers. Featuring selections from AC Golden, Breckenridge, Dry Dock, Great Divide, Odell and the Wynkoop.
• Oskar Blues Firkin Friday - 12/11, 5:00pm
• Dry Dock Firkin Friday - 12/11, 3:00pm - 11:00pm
• Sour Brown Ale Release Party @ Twisted Pine - 12/11, 3:00pm - 9:00pm
• Twisted Pine's first sour beer is a brown ale that was brewed with special strains of yeast and has been barrel-aged.
• Mephistopheles' Stout Release and Vertical Tasting @ Avery Tap Room - 12/11, 5:00pm-8:00pm ($15 for 5 tasters of your choice)
• Four consecutive years of Mephistopheles on tap (2006-2009)
• A keg of Straight Outta Hell will be on tap (50% Mephistopheles, 50% Out of Bounds with Coffee)
• Sour Tapping Event @ Trinity Brewing Company - 12/12
• I don't have many details on this one yet, but it's supposed to feature some of the best sour beers from around the world.

Meteor Shower Porter Release @ Twisted Pine

On Friday, November 20th, Twisted Pine Brewing will unveil a new limited release beer, Meteor Shower Porter, at their Boulder tap room.  The new beer is a Belgian-style dark ale that checks in at 10% abv and was brewed with blackstrap molasses and honey.  If you were at the Northstar Vertical Tasting a few weeks ago then you've already tried this one, but for the rest of you, get up to Boulder quick because only a small quantity was brewed and when it's gone, it's gone forever.

Upcoming Events (Week of 10/25)

This week is shaping up to be another great one for Denver beer drinkers with no less than 11 events in the area.  Things start off with Great Divide's monthly beer & cheese pairing on Tuesday, continue with several great Halloween parties, and wrap up with a new fall seasonal release from the Wynkoop Brewing Company.  Following this year's Denver Gorilla Run on Saturday, the Wynkoop will tap a cask of their new Riverside Pumpkin Ale (named for Denver's historic Riverside Cemetery).  The twist is that the "cask" is actually a real pumpkin! The beer was brewed with 75 pounds of toasted pumpkin, 30 pounds of pumpkin puree, traditional pumpkin pie spices, and they threw in some flaked pumpkin during the secondary fermentation.  Sounds perfect for a brisk late Fall day.


From Wynkoop:

The beer is a mahogany-colored ale of approx 6.5% ABV and sports a balanced blend of amber malt notes, layers of pumpkin flavors, and gentle spicing. It’ll be available through November while supplies last.

Beer events in the Denver area this week:

• Great Divide Monthly Beer & Cheese Pairing, 10/27, 5:00pm - 8:00pm (RSVP with patrick@greatdivide.com)
• Avery Society for the Pursuit of Hoppiness - Pearl St. Hop Tour, 10/27, 6:00pm
• New Belgium & St. Arnold Beer Event @ Trinity Brewing, 10/28 (Lips of Faith beers, games, and raffles)
• Dry Dock Firkin Friday, 10/30, 3:00pm - 11:00pm
• Oskar Blues Firkin Friday - Spiced Old Chub, 10/30, 5:00pm
• Great Divide Hoppy Halloween Party, 10/30, 6:00pm - 9:00pm ($15 per person) - Check out my write up here
• Left Hand Brewing Halloween Party, 10/30, All Day ($3 dark beers, costume contest)
• Wildnight for Wildlife @ Millennium Harvest House, 10/30, 5:30pm - 10:30pm ($65 per person, beer tasting from local breweries)
• Smoked Stout Release Party @ Twisted Pine, 10/30, 3:00pm - 9:00pm
• Black Fox "Samhain" Pumpkin Saison Release Party @ Bristol Brewing, 10/30, 5:00pm - 9:00pm
• Trinity Brewing Halloween Party, 10/31, All Day (Beer specials from 3:00pm - 7:00pm)
• Real Gourd Beer @ Wynkoop Brewing Company, 10/31, 2:00pm (Riverside Pumpkin Ale release)

Upcoming Events (Week of 10/4)

This week brings us two more fall/winter seasonals with both Twisted Pine in Boulder and Bristol Brewing in Colorado Springs throwing release parties on Friday at their respective tap rooms.  Twisted Pine will be unveiling their Mr. Brown Pumpkin Ale for the first time, while Bristol is bringing out this year's version of the Winter Warlock Oatmeal Stout.  Both beers sound excellent and should be the perfect accompaniments to the brisk fall weather in Colorado.

If you would like your event included please e-mail me at denverbrew@gmail.com.

• Boulder Beer Company Dinner @ Beatrice and Woodsley, 10/7 ($55 per person)
• Beer Dinner of the Year @ Wynkoop Brewery, 10/8, 6:30pm ($35 per person)
• Mr. Brown Pumpkin Ale Release Party @ Twisted Pine, 10/9, 3:00pm - 9:00pm
• Winter Warlock Release Party @ Bristol Brewing, 10/9, 5:00pm - 9:00pm
• Oskar Blues Firkin Friday @ The Tasty Weasel, 10/9, 5:00pm
• Dry Dock Firkin Friday - Seven Seas Double IPA dry-hopped with Riwaka hops, 10/9, 3:00pm - 11:00pm
• Dry Dock @ Jack O' Launch Pumpkinfest at DeLaney Farms in Aurora, 10/10, 10:00am - 4:00pm, Free Admission
• 9th Annual Wines in the Woods - Beer In The Basement @ The Pines at Genesee in Evergreen, 10/10, 6:00pm - 9:00pm ($60 per person)

Boulder Beer Heat Rave 2009 Recap

As expected, the Boulder Beer Heat Rave was a great time. For just $25 I was able to sample several rare "tap-house" only beers from 25 different brewers all in one place while enjoying live music and meeting some great people.

Just about every beer was excellent, but there were a few that stood out a little more. These included the new Bourbon Barrel Stout from Odell Brewing (in stores now, so be on the look out for it), New Belgium's Tart Lychee (a sour beer aged in oak barrels with Brettanomyces yeast and blended with lychee and Ceylon cinnamon), and Blue Moon's Peanut Butter Ale (peanut butter in beer actually works!). The event's hosts, Boulder Beer Company, also pulled out all the stops and were offering up a Bourbon Berry Porter, Bourbon Mojo IPA, and 1998 Igloo Ale (that's right 11 years old!) plus their usual selections.

Barrel aged beers were definitely the hot trend of the day. In addition to the 4 already mentioned, there were 4 others available including Twisted Pine's delicious Reilly's Oak Whiskey Red (available in their tap room 9/18), year old Old Ruffian from Great Divide, oaked Mama Pilsner from Oskar Blues, and Avery's new Moloch Ale (I think on tap for the first time and every bit the 13.5% ABV). All in all, it was an excellent day and a great way to start off Boulder Beer Week!