Upcoming Events (Week of 11/1)

This week is jam packed with beer related events in the Denver area highlighted by a vertical tasting at Twisted Pine and three big events this Saturday.  On Thursday, November 5th, Twisted Pine will be hosting a 5 year vertical tasting of their Northstar Imperial Porter.  Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door and include five 6 oz samples of different Northstar vintages from 2004-2009, a commermative glass, and a 1.5 hour educational session with owner Bob Baile, brewer Eric Mosiman and brewer Jeff Brumley.  Space is limited, so try to get your ticket early.

Then on Saturday, November 7th, you'll have to choose between the 3rd Annual All Colorado Beer Festival in Colorado Springs, Upslope Brewing's 1st Anniversary Party in Boulder (featuring 6 beers on tap including their First Anniversary Stout), and perhaps the biggest event this week, Wynkoop's Beers of the Year party here in Denver. From 1:00pm to 5:00pm, the Wynkoop will be pouring 25 different beers including all their 2009 specialty beers and a few from 2008.  Four ounce samples are just a dollar each, or you can get unlimited samples for $25.

This week's beer events in the Denver area:

• Mountain Standard Reserve Release Party @ Odell Brewing, 11/2, 5:00pm
• Sisterhood of the Hop - Inaugural Meeting @ Avery Tap Room, 11/3, 6:00pm - 8:00pm (Free, Women Only)
• Northstar Imperial Porter Vertical Tasting @ Twisted Pine Tap Room, 11/5, 6:00pm - 7:30pm ($20 in advance, $25 at the door)
• Oskar Blues Firkin Friday @ The Tasty Weasel, 11/6, 5:00pm
• Dry Dock Firkin Friday - Belgium Bounty Old Ale, 11/6, 3:00pm - 11:00pm
• Beers of the Year @ Wynkoop Brewing Company, 11/7, 1:00pm - 5:00pm ($25 for unlimited samples, 25 different brews available)
• 3rd Annual All Colorado Beer Festival @ Mr. Biggs Event Center, 11/7, 12:30pm & 5:30pm ($25 in advance, $30 at the door) - Check out my write up here
• Upslope Brewing 1st Anniversary Party, 11/7, 2:00pm - 6:00pm

Upslope Munson Farms Pumpkin Ale Release Party

Upslope Brewing will be releasing their latest creation at their tap room this week.  Their Munson Farms Pumpkin Ale is a 100% Boulder product using spices from Savory Spice, and obviously pumpkins from Munson Farms. Around 125 pound of locally grown baby bear pumpkins were combined with a mix of Vietnamese cinnamon bark, nutmeg seeds, allspice berries, whole cloves, and shaved mace to create the pilot batch of this new seasonal.  It will be unveiled this Friday, October 30th, at 4:00pm in their tap room, and it sounds like only a small amount was brewed so it probably won't last long.

2009 Colorado Craft Beer Expo Recap

This past Saturday the Colorado Brewers Guild brought together 21 local breweries at the Empire Restaurant in Louisville for the 2009 Colorado Craft Beer Expo.  The event was the perfect place to catch up on any beers that you may have missed out at the Great American Beer Festival last weekend, and was also far more intimate than the big event in Denver.  Obviously, there were far fewer people in attendance allowing you to sample everything with no lines, but the real bonus was that every booth was manned by actual employees from the breweries.  In many cases, you were able to talk directly to the brewers about their beer as you drank it.  A real treat!

Most of the breweries brought their standard fare, but a few rolled out rarities not often seen outside their tap rooms.  These included Barrel Aged Gordon & Old Chub from Oskar Blues and Golden City Brewing's Barrel Aged Centurion Barleywine.  Another highlight was the new duganA IPA from Avery Brewing.  Just released this Friday, it was every bit has the "transcendental hop experience" advertised.  Colorado Springs' Trinity Brewing was pouring their Café Blanc (probably the only beer I've seen brewed with white coffee) and Peche Noir, but unfortunately didn't bring their GABF Gold Medal winning TPS Report.  They did mention that bottles are still available at the brewery though and from what I hear it'll be worth your time to drive down and get some.

All of this was great, but the biggest highlight for me was running into Tim from Oskar Blues who I had "helped" brew this year's first batch of their Ten FIDY Imperial Stout.  That batch was just canned this Friday and they were actually pouring it at the event!  I may be a bit biased, but I thought it tasted excellent and will be worth buying when it hits stores in the next few weeks.

Breweries at the Colorado Craft Beer Expo:

• Oskar Blues Brewery
• Gordon Biersch
• Boulder Beer Company
• Left Hand Brewing
• Odell Brewing
• Upslope Brewing
• Avery Brewing
• BJ's Brewpub
• Bristol Brewing
• Steamworks Brewing
• Ska Brewing
• Great Divide Brewing
• Walnut Brewery
• Rock Bottom Brewpub
• Del Norte Brewing
• Dry Dock Brewing
• Breckenridge Brewery
• Pump House Brewpub
• Golden City Brewing
• New Belgium Brewing
• Trinity Brewing

Colorado GABF 2009 Winners

The Great American Beer Festival announced the 2009 medal winners today and Colorado breweries performed very well, collecting no fewer than 39 medals. Dry Dock Brewing in Aurora led the way for craft brewers with 3 medals plus winning Small Brewing Company of the Year! If you haven't been to their new location yet I suggest going soon as it's a beautiful brewpub and they clearly make some of the best beers around. Another standout looks to be Trinity Brewing's Gold Medal winning TPS Report experimental beer, which I somehow missed while I was at the Festival. I've only heard great things about it and will be heading down to the Springs to get a taste shortly. I'd also like to point out that the newest brewery in Boulder, Upslope Brewing, managed to take home 2 medals despite just opening this year! Their beer only recently started getting distributed to Denver, so grab a can the next time you're in your local beer store. It's great to see our local breweries getting accolades they deserve.

Colorado GABF 2009 Medalists (Brewery, Style, Beer)

• AC Golden Brewing - Bronze European Style Dunkel - Dunkel
• Avery Brewing - Gold German Style Doppelbock or Eisbock - The Kaiser
• Avery Brewing - Bronze Experimental Beer - Brabant
• Backcountry Brewery - Silver Bock - May Bock
• Bristol Brewing - Silver American Style Brown Ale - Cheyenne Cañon Ale
• Colorado Boy Pub & Brewery - Silver Irish Style Red Ale - Colorado Boy Irish
• Colorado Boy Pub & Brewery - Bronze Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter - Colorado Boy IPA
• Colorado Brewing Company - Silver American Style Pale Ale - 44 Pale Ale
• Coors Brewing - Gold American Style Specialty Lager - Keystone Ice
• Coors Brewing - Gold American-Style Lager or Premium Lager - Coors Banquet
• Coors Brewing - Silver American Style Light Lager - Keystone Light
• Coors Brewing - Silver American Style Amber Lager - Killian's Red
• Coors Brewing - Silver American Style Specialty Lager - Pre-Pro
• Dry Dock Brewing - Gold German Style Altbier - Bismark Altbier
• Dry Dock Brewing - Silver South German Style Hefeweizen - U-Boat Hefeweizen
• Dry Dock Brewing - Silver German Style Märzen - Reines Marzen
• Durango Brewing - Gold American Style Amber Lager - Durango Colorfest
• Glenwood Canyon Brewing - Gold Other Strong Beer - Cardiff
• Glenwood Canyon Brewing - Bronze German Style Doppelbock or Eisbock - Carbonator
• Gordon Biersch Brewery - Silver Bohemian Style Pilsener - Gordon Biersch Pilsner
• Gordon Biersch Brewery - Silver European Style Dunkel - Gordon Biersch Alt Bier
• Gordon Biersch Brewery - Bronze Munich Style Helles - Gordon Biersch Golden Export
• Great Divide Brewing - Silver Imperial Stout - Yeti Imperial Stout
• Great Divide Brewing - Bronze Rye Beer - Hoss Rye Lager
• Great Divide Brewing - Bronze Barley Wine Style Ale - Old Ruffian Barley Wine
• Left Hand Brewing - Gold Smoked Beer - Smokejumper Porter
• Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery - Bronze American-Belgo-Style Ale - Temperance
• New Belgium Brewing - Silver German-Style Sour Ale - NBB Love
• Rockyard Brewing - Bronze American-Style Wheat Beer - Double Eagle Ale
• Ska Brewing - Silver English Style Brown Ale - Buster Nut Brown
• Ska Brewing - Bronze English-Style Summer Ale - True Blonde Ale
• Ska Brewing - Bronze Sweet Stout - Steel Toe Stout
• The SandLot - Gold Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest - Move Back
• The SandLot - Silver Munich Style Helles - Where the Helles Bill?
• The SandLot - Silver Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest - Greenside Up
• Trinity Brewing - Gold Experimental Beer - TPS Report
• Upslope Brewing - Bronze Pro-Am Competition - Time of the Season
• Upslope Brewing - Bronze German-Style Wheat Ale - Upslope Dunkel Weizen

Release Party at Upslope Brewing

Upslope Brewing opened just a few months ago in Boulder and is rolling out new brews at a rapid pace. On the heels of last weekend's tapping party for GABF Pro-Am contender Brian Patterson's Belgian Pale Ale, they will release two new beers this Saturday. From 2:00pm to 6:00pm they'll be debuting a new Bitter Brown (also available at the Boulder Heat Rave) and Dunkelweizen at the brewery. The Belgian Pale Ale, Belgian Dubbel, IPA, and Pale Ale will also be available on tap!