Brass, Brats and Beer at The Clarkson Mansion

The Denver Philharmonic Orchestra will be teaming up with Flying Dog Brewery this Saturday, October 3rd from 12:00pm to 3:00pm to host a fundraiser supporting the organization. This is your chance drink great beer provided by the 2009 Mid-Sized Brewery of the Year and support local arts at the same time.

The event will include live music (show tunes, jazz, and light classical), grilled brats, homemade cookies, and brews from Flying Dog.  It all goes down at the Clarkson Mansion (670-680 Clarkson St.) and tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for ages 12-20, and $5 for ages 6-11.  They can be purchased in advance from the DPO's website or at the door the day of the event.

Upcoming Events (Week of 9/27)

The 2009 Great American Beer Festival and Denver Beer Fest have both come to an end, but there will be plenty of ways to cure your post-GABF depression this week.  The highlight looks to be the Colorado Craft Beer Expo at The Empire Restaurant in Lousiville, CO.  With 21 Colorado breweries in attendance this will be your chance to make up for anything you missed at GABF.  I know I'll be looking to try the offerings from Small Brewery of the Year Dry Dock Brewing and hoping that Trinity Brewing brings their gold medal winning experimental beer, TPS Report.

• Monthly Wine & Cheese Pairing @ Great Divide, 9/29, 5:00pm - 8:00pm ($10, email Patrick@greatdivide.com to RSVP)
• duganA IPA Release Party @ Avery Tap Room, 10/2, 4:00pm - 7:00pm ($15)
• Fresh Hop & Hibernation Release Party @ Great Divide Tap Room, 10/2, 6:00pm - 9:00pm ($15)
• Dry Dock Firkin Friday ,10/2, 3:00pm - 11:00pm
• Oskar Blues Firkin Friday @ The Tasty Weasel ,10/2, 5:00pm
• Colorado Craft Beer Expo @ The Empire Restaurant in Louisville, 10/3, 12:00pm - 4:00pm ($30 in advance, $35 at the door)
• Summit Brew Fest, 10/2, 6:00pm - 10:00pm & 10/3, 2:00pm - 10:00pm ($25)

Great American Beer Festival 2009 Recap

This year's Great American Beer Festival was my first and when I entered the hall I was completely overwhelmed, and with over 2,100 beers being served, who could blame me? Any plan I had went right out the window causing me to miss out on several breweries that I was targeting (Short's, Surly, and Firestone Walker being my biggest regrets). However, I was able to taste something like 40 different beers (completely made up that number, things were a bit hazy by the end of the session) and several favorites emerged.

Sour beers were the kings of the event and Cascade Brewery from Portland, OR ruled over them all with four amazing sours (Sang Royal, Kriek Ale, The Vine, and GABF silver medalist Vlad the Imp Aler. A few other sour beers that stood out were New Galrus' Old English Porter, New Belgium's Eric's Ale, Alagash's Interlude, and perhaps my favorite (and definitely the most sour) beer at the festival, Cambridge Brewing's Cerise Cassee. I only wish these beers were readily available in Denver.

The beer with the most hype at the event was The Bruery's Black Tuesday Imperial Stout, but I wasn't willing to wait in lines that ranged up to 40 minutes. Luckily, there were plenty of other options available to sate my appetite. My favorites were Full Sail's Black Gold Bourbon Barrel Stout, O'Fallon's Chocolate by the Barrel (a barrel aged version of their Cocoa Cream Stout), Central Waters' Bourbon Barrel Stout, and Brooklyn Brewing's Black Chocolate Stout. Out of these, only the Full Sail beer is available in town.

IPAs were probably the most plentiful style at the Festival with just about every brewery pouring their version. Even with so many options, one IPA was the clear leader of the pack for me; Three Floyd's Dreadnaught. 3F's Double IPA is in the running for best beer I had at the festival and was without a doubt one of the finest IPAs I've ever had. A few others that stood out were Maui Brewing's Smoked RiPA, New Holland's Oaked Mad Hatter IPA, and Hoppin' Frog's Mean Manalish DIPA. Once again none of these beers are distributed to Denver.

There were also several interesting brews at the Festival that used ingredients rarely seen in beer. The front-runners among these were DOG Brewing's Melon Dog (who would have thought watermelon could work so well in beer, very refreshing), Bootleggers' Plum Riot (the first beer I've ever seen made with plums), and Coopersmith's Sigda's Green Chili (the finest chili beer I've tasted, just the right amount of heat). I don't believe any of these are bottled, but you can try the Green Chili beer at Coopersmith's brewpub in Fort Collins.

Another highlight at this year's Festival was Collaboration Evil. Nine breweries from around the country took a common theme (Belgian Strong Ale this year) and put their own individual spin on it. I managed to track down 4 versions of the beer (Flossmoor Station, FiftyFifty Brewing, Lucky Bucket Brewing, & Valley Brewing) with FiftyFifty's rating as my favorite. Lucky Bucket and FiftyFifty also rolled out kicked up versions called Certified Evil and Concentrated Evil respectively. This was the second year of the project and it's a great idea that I hope continues in the future.

All in all, the 2009 Great American Beer Festival was an event to remember and I'm already looking forward to attending it in 2010.

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

Local Specialties

With the Denver Beer Fest in full effect and the Great American Beer Festival starting yesterday there are plenty of options for great beer in town. However, you may be missing some excellent specialty beers that local Denver breweries are rolling out this week. For instance, the Bull & Bush brewpub in Glendale is featuring a crazy beer list right now with just about every style imaginable on tap including 3 different kinds of stouts. It's worth stopping by just to taste their two barrel aged beers, the Royal Oil Barley Wine and Legend of the Liquid Brain Imperial Stout (best name ever & the beer featured in the picture). Both of these beers are aged in 23 year old Pappy Van Winkle barrels and after tasting them last night I can say they're some of the best I've ever had.

More great local specialties are available this week over at the Great Divide Tap Room where they've been pouring the "Les" Claymore Sour Bourbon Barrel Scotch Ale that I've mentioned in the past plus a brand new Berliner Weiss and a non-sour version of the Claymore Bourbon Barrel Scotch. They've even brought out this year's versions of the Hibernation Ale and Fresh Hop before their 10/2 release party! So while you're out there drinking all the amazing stuff from out-of-town, don't forget your local breweries.

Falling Rock GABF Kickoff Recap

Falling Rock Tap House hosted their 13th annual Great American Beer Festival tapping party on Monday and it was a great way to start the week and try some new brews. As THE beer bar in Denver you just knew the event was going to be special. Especially because they set aside a few kegs specifically for this party each year! Around 10 or so beers were tapped throughout the night featuring some of the best from Avery, Odell, Full Sail, Lost Abbey, Dry Dock, Port, Moylan's, Left Hand, and Great Divide and everything I tasted was fantastic. The two highlights for me were Great Divide's "Les" Claymore Sour Bourbon Barrel Scotch Ale (quite the name!) and Avery's The Beast from the Wood (at 15% abv this is no beer for lightweights). Odell also brought their fantastic new Bourbon Barrel Stout, which seems to be at every event I go to this week and tastes great every time. If you missed the event you can still get a taste of some of these beers at their respective breweries this week. Great Divide will have the Sour Bourbon Claymore available in their tap room and Avery lists both The Beast from the Wood '08 and The Beast From JW Lees’ Wood ’08 as beers they might appear up in Boulder this week.

A blurry picture of a great beer with a long name. Great Divide's "Les" Claymore Sour Bourbon Barrel Scotch Ale

Denver Beer Fest Events: Part 3 (9/24 - 9/27)

The Great American Beer Festival begins this Thursday and while it's THE big event in town, it's not the only one. So if you missed getting tickets this year, don't sweat it. The Denver Beer Fest continues this weekend and will provide you with all the beer drinking entertainment you need including a beer brunch at the Cheeky Monk on Saturday morning complete with beer mimosas! Plus the Falling Rock Tap House over on Blake Street will be serving up special brews throughout the weekend (I know I cannot wait to try New Belgium's La Folie on tap) and Flying Dog is hosting it's second annual free FBAG party on Friday just down the road in the warehouse that used to house their brewery. Cleary you don't need GABF tickets to have a good time this weekend, you'll just have more fun if you do!

Thursday, September 24th

• Avery Tap Room - Voltron & Hot For Sammy, 11:00am
• Great American Beer Festival, 5:30pm - 10:00pm
• Koningshoeven Tasting @ Cheeky Monk, 7:00pm
• Rhythm and Brews @ Paramount Cafe, 10:00pm - 2:00am
• Collaborate Evil Tasting @ GABF, 6:30pm - 7:00pm

Collaborate Evil is an effort between 9 brewers to take a common theme and put their own individual spin on it. This year the theme is a Belgian Strong Pale and all 9 brewers will be presenting their versions at Thursday's GABF session. The participants include Valley Brewing, Sacramento Brewing, Fatheads Brewery and Grill, Flossmoor Station, Oakshire Brewing, Silver Peak Brewing, Lucky Bucket Brewing Co., FiftyFifty Brewing, and Speakeasy Brewing Co.

• World Brewer's Forum @ Denver Marriot City Center, 8:00pm - 12:00am
• Boulder Beer Meet the Brewer @ Crown Plaza, 12:00pm - 2:00pm
• Boulder Beer Tapping Party @ Falling Rock, 3:00pm
• Ommegang Brewers @ Argonaut Liquor, 3:00pm - 7:00pm
• Stone Brewing Tapping @ Falling Rock Upstairs, 10:00pm
• Shelton Brother's Tasting @ Falling Rock Downstairs, 10:00pm ($20 per person)
• Jewbilation Bar-Mitzvah @ Falling Rock, 11:00pm

Friday, September 25th

• Avery Tap Room - Sour Cherry Mephistopheles Stout & Moloch, 11:00am
• Great American Beer Festival, 5:30pm - 10:00pm
• Stone Brewing Meet & Greet @ City O' City, 4:00pm - 6:00pm
• Beer Advocate Social @ Great Divide Tap Room, 11:00am - 1:00pm
• Denver Rare Beer Tasting @ Wynkoop Brewery, 4:00pm - 6:00pm
• Firkin Friday - Cask Conditioned Dale's Pale Ale @ Oskar Blues, 5:00pm
• Oktoberfest @ Larimer Square, 5:00pm - 1:00am
• Lay the Foundation Lunch @ TAG Restaurant, 12:30pm ($55 per person)
• Achouffe Brewery Meet the Brewer @ Cheeky Monk, 4:00pm - 6:00pm
• Odell Meet the Brewer Lunch @ Govnr's Tavern, 11:00am - 1:00pm ($5 per person)
• St. Feuillien Celebration @ Cheeky Monk, 7:00pm
• Blues, Brews, & BBQ @ Paramount Cafe, 10:00pm - 2:00am
• Three Course Beer Dinner @ WaterCourse Foods, All Day ($52.80 for two)
• Flying Dog Brats & Gonzo (FBAG) Party @ Flying Dog Warehouse, 3:00pm - 6:00pm

The 2nd Annual FBAG party include free beer samples, free brats, and free live music. Did I mention it was free? Flying Dog will also be tapping their 20th anniversary beer for the first time for free!

• Sierra Nevada Kill-A-Keg @ Falling Rock, 12:00pm
• Sierra Nevada Estate Tapping @ Falling Rock, 12:30pm
• Meet Chris Brouwaerts from La Chouffe @ Falling Rock, 1:0pm
• Left Hand/Terrapin Depth Charge Espresso Milk Stout Cask Tapping @ Falling Rock, 2:00pm
• Up Your Reinheitsgebot: An Evening of Impure & Illicit Beers @ Falling Rock, 10:00pm

Dogfish Head, Avery, Allagash, and New Belgium will be pouring exotic beers that plead the 5th on the German Purity Law of 1517.

Saturday, September 26th

• Avery Tap Room - Straight Outta Hell, 11:00am
• Great American Beer Festival - Early Session, 12:30pm - 4:30pm
• Great American Beer Festival - Late Session, 5:30pm - 10:00pm
• Oktoberfest @ Larimer Square, 11:00am - 1:00am
• Flying Dog Beer Dinner @ Brauns Bar & Grill, 6:30pm ($35.95 per person)
• GABF After-Party @ Govnr's Park, 10:00pm - 2:00am
• Breakfast with The Bruery @ Cheeky Monk, 9:30am - 11:30am
• Gastropub Tour of Denver, 1:00pm - 4:00pm ($99 per person)
• Annual GABF Tasting with Dr. Bill @ Falling Rock, 9:00pm ($20 per person)

From Dr. Bill:

For those of you who haven't attended my previous events we ask for a $20 contribution to help pay for the beers we will order from Chris and to tip out the service staff. Also feel free to bring beers you may want to share. That being said I will be pouring over 100 rare and exotic offerings. A few teasers would be; LA Duck Duck Gooze, Santa's Little Helper aged in Bourbon barrels, Angel's Share, Cuvee de Tomme, RR Temptation, Consecration, Deviation, Bottleworks 10th Anniversary, The Bruery Papier, Alesmith BA Speedway, etc., etc., etc..

• La Chouffe Brewers @ Argonaut Liquor, 3:00pm - 7:00pm
• Boulevard Smokestack Beers @ Falling Rock, 4:00pm
• New Belgium Rarities @ Falling Rock, 10:00pm

Falling Rock will be pouring some of New Beglium's harder to find beers including Love, La Folie, Transatlantic Kriek, La Fleur Misseur & Le Terroir

Sunday, September 27th

• Avery Tap Room - Holy Trinity Day, 11:00am

Avery has just the cure for your post-GABF blues. More beer! They'll have their entire line of Holy Trinity beers on tap (Hog Heaven, Salvation, The Reverend) plus oak barrel aged and Brettanomyces versions!

• Oktoberfest @ Larimer Square, 10:00am - 5:00pm
• Coors Brewmaster @ Bridgewater Grill
• Beer Festival Exchange Fair @ Cheeky Monk