Upcoming Events (Week of 10/18)

This week is lining up to be another great one for beer events in the Denver area.  The biggest of these is Dry Dock Brewing's 4th anniversary party this Saturday (which I've already covered here), but there are also several other tastings and new beer releases in town.  One I'm definitely looking forward to is Avery's release party for the 2009 Czar Imperial Stout on Wednesday at their tap room in Boulder.  In addition to this year's version, they'll also have the 2007 and 2008 Czars on tap for a vertical tasting!  $15 will get you 5 tasters plus a slice of a cake prepared specifically for the event.

• October Beer & Wine Class @ The Kitchen, 10/20, 5:30pm ($60 plus gratuity)
• Homebrewers and Collectors Support Group @ Avery Tap Room, 10/21, 6:00pm - 8:00pm ($5 cover)
• Czar Imperial Stout Release Party & Vertical Tasting ('07, '08, '09 vintages) @ Avery Tap Room, 10/21, 5:00pm - 8:00pm ($15 for 5 tasters)
• Left Hand Beer Tasting @ Proto's in Broomfield, 10/22, 6:00pm - 9:00pm
• Pumpkin Smasher Tapping @ Rockbottom - Downtown, 10/22, All Day
• Left Hand Beer Dinner @ California Café, 10/23, 6:00pm (Call 303-649-1111 for more information)
• Oskar Blues Firkin Friday - Cask Conditioned Ten FIDY @ The Tasty Weasel, 10/23, 5:00pm
• Dry Dock Firkin Friday, 10/23, 3:00pm - 11:00pm
• Cask Ale Night @ Bristol Brewing, 10/24, 12:00pm - 9:00pm
• Mountain Sun "Funky Good Times" Benefit for KGNU Community Radio @ Boulder Theater, 10/24, 8:30pm - 1:30am ($25 at door or $22 at their 3 pub locations)
• 4th Anniversary Party @ Dry Dock Brewing, 10/24, 12:00pm - 11:00pm (See my write-up for more information)
• Left Hand American Homebrewers Association Rally, 10/24, 1:00pm - 4:00pm (Free for AHA members, RSVP here)
• The Rackhouse Pub is also set to open in Denver this week with 20 craft beer taps!

If you would like your event added e-mail me: denverbrew@gmail.com

2009 Colorado Fresh Hop Celebration Recap

The 3rd Annual Colorado Fresh Hop Celebration was held this Saturday at Falling Rock Tap House.  The bar teamed up with Deschutes Brewery to bring together 11 different fresh hopped beers from 10 different brewers (including a homebrewer).  As described in an earlier post, a fresh hopped ale is one brewed the same day that the hops were harvested.  That means all of these great beers are once-a-year treats.

All of the brews had fantastic aromas and were great examples of how fresh hops can enhance beer in a very different way than their dried counterparts.  My two favorites were the Fresh Hopped Gordon from Oskar Blues (also the People's Choice winner this year) and Tommyknocker's Bitter Brewer IPA (a true CO beer with the hops coming from Montrose). Another highlight was homebrewer Gordon Pencis' Falling Over Hops Pale Ale.  Deschutes was kind enough to overnight him the fresh Crystal hops he used and the end result was the equal of all the pros coming in second in the People's Choice voting.

As if all the great beer wasn't enough, Beer at Home (a homebrew supply store in Westminster) held a homebrewing demonstration at the event.  They continued the theme of the celebration by brewing a beer using fresh hops harvested from vines at Falling Rock.  It really smelled fantastic in the kettle and was the perfect addition to a great event.

Complete Beer List:

• Deschutes Hop Trip
• Full Sail Lupulin
• Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale
• Left Hand Warrior IPA
• Oskar Blues Fresh Hopped Gordon (People's Choice)
• Pizza Port High Tide IPA
• Ska Hoperation Ivy
• Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale
• Sierra Nevada Estate-Brewers Harvest Ale
• Tommyknocker Bitter Brewer
• Gordon Pencis Falling Over Hops Pale Ale (People's Choice Runner Up)

Boycott Monster Energy

As you may have heard, Hansen Beverage Company, a massive corporation and the owner of the Monster Energy drink brand, has recently delivered a cease & desist letter to Rock Art Brewery, a tiny craft brewer in Morrisville, VT, over their Vermonster beer.  The letter states that Rock Art's brew will "undoubtedly create a likelihood of confusion" with the energy drink.  I'm not going to get into the merits of their claims other than to say it seems ridiculous to me that someone would confuse a beer with an energy drink.

More importantly, Hansen's legal action has threatened the existence of Rock Art and could result in the brewery's closing.  As a self-proclaimed honorary Vermonter (I'm a graduate of the University of Vermont) who has drank plenty of Rock Art beers in the past, I would hate to see this happen and as a result will be boycotting Monster along with my fellow craft beer bloggers and signing a petition to let Hansen know how I feel.  Hopefully, this will be enough to get Hansen to back off from their lawsuit and allow Rock Art to continue to operate.

Ken Schmidt/Maui/Stone collaboration arrives in Colorado

I was able to confirm with a Stone Brewing representative that their new Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter collaboration with Maui Brewing and homebrewer Ken Schmidt is now available in Colorado. Ken won a homebrewing contest at Stone back in March with his Aloha Plenty Porter and the prize was to brew his recipe on a larger scale using Stone's facilities. Mitch Steele of Stone converted the recipe for production brewing and then they teamed with Garrett Marerro of Maui to tap his knowledge of brewing with coconuts. The end result features 1,000 lbs. of coconut, 300 lbs. of macadamia nuts, and 200 lbs. of 100% Kona Coffee, and is supposed to be fantastic. This beer was brewed on a very limited basis and with only a few cases shipped to Colorado it will be gone soon, so grab a few bottles if you see it.

Mitch Steele's Tasting Notes:

This is just an amazing beer to taste. The 3 special ingredients, Kona Coffee, toasted coconut, and macadamia nuts combine wonderfully, and come across at three distinct stages of tasting this beer. Just a wonderful beer to relax with and drink slowly, especially while thinking about the islands!

This beer should be available at these Denver area liquor stores:

• Lukas Liquor
• Tipsy's Liquor World
• Argonaut Liquor
• Applejack Wine & Spirits
• Mondo Vino

Retail Beer Releases (Week of 10/11)

After last weekend's frigid, snowy weather it looks like things will warm up in Denver just in time for this weekend's Fresh Hop Celebration at Falling Rock.  However, the summery weather won't stop brewers from putting even more new seasonal beers on liquor store shelves.  This week we're getting 7 new fall/winter brews including brand new releases from two Durango breweries. Thanks to a new facility and canning line, Ska Brewing's Euphoria Pale Ale is available here in cans for the first time and should please the hop heads this fall.  Meanwhile, Durango Brewing's Colorfest is now available in Denver in 22 oz bottles.  This fall seasonal just won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in the American Style Amber Lager category, so it should be worth tracking down.

Other new releases this week:

• Bridgeport Ebenezer Ale (Seasonal)
• Deschutes Jubelale (Seasonal)
• Durango Colorfest (New/Seasonal)
• Flying Dog K-9 Cruiser (Seasonal)
• Full Sail Wassail (Seasonal)
• Sam Smith Winter Welcome (Seasonal)
• Ska Euphoria Pale Ale (New/Seasonal)
• Rumor has it a few area liquor stores have the Ken Schmidt/Maui/Stone Macadamia Coconut Porter in this week.

Dry Dock Brewing's 4th Anniversary Party

Dry Dock Brewing in Aurora was one of the Denver area's best kept secrets until they hit the big time last month, winning Small Brewery of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival.  Now that the word is out, they're ready to throw down in a big way to celebrate their 4th anniversary.  Next Saturday, October 24th, they will be hosting an all-day party for the big occasion from 12:00pm to 11:00pm.  Special kegs have been set aside just for this event, so expect some rarities.  Additionally, they'll have a Randall the Enamel Animal on hand! Randall, an invention of the geniuses over at Dogfish Head, is a 3 foot long cylinder filter that is packed with whole-leaf hops and then affixed directly to the beer line leaving the keg.  The beer absorbs oils from the hops as it passes through enhancing the aroma and creating a unique experience.  As a twist, Dry Dock also plans to fill the Randall with fruit and run their award wining U-Boat Hefeweizen through it.  You won't want to miss these rare offerings, so show up early and stay late next Saturday.

A few of the beers that will be tapped:

• Topsail Trippel
• Alexander Nevsky Russian Imperial Stout
• Mouettes Joignastes Saison with Brett
• Rahab Belgian Dark Strong
• USS Enterprise IPA through a Randall full of hops
• U-Boat Hefeweizen through a Randall of fruit

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!