February is Stout Month at Mountain Sun

Next month, the Mountain Sun Brewpub will be hosting it's 17th annual Stout Month at all three of it's locations (Mountain Sun, Southern Sun, and Vine Street Pub here in Denver).  They'll be celebrating everyone's favorite winter beer by having no less than 12 of their own and 15 guest stouts on tap throughout the month.  Additionally, Adam Boggs won this year's competition and will be brewing up his Mint Chocolate Stout at Mountain Sun.  Can't wait to try all these beers!


Beer List for Mountain Sun Stout Month:
House Stouts:

• Nitro Belgian Dip Chocolate Stout
• Nitro Korova Cream Stout
• Nitro Old School Dry Irish Stout
• Yonder Mountain Stout
• Thunderhead Stout
• Oaked Thunderhead Stout
• Dropkick Stout
• Cherry Chocolate Dip Stout
• Trickster Stout
• Usurper Imperial Stout
• Nihilist Imperial Stout
• Addition - a NEW Coffee Imperial Stout

Guest Stouts:

• Stone Russian Imperial Stout
• Belhaven Imperial Stout
• Deschutes Imperial Stout (I'm not sure which one this is)
• Avery The Czar Imperial Stout
• Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
• Young's Double Chocolate Stout
• Port Brewing Old Viscosity
• Moylan's Dragoon Stout
• Bear Republic Big Bear Stout
• Victory Donnybrook Stout
• Port Brewing Ryan Sullivan's Imperial Stout
• Stone 12th Anniversary
• Ska Brewing Steel Toe Milk Stout
• Pumphouse Brewery Collaboration and more
• Port Brewing Santa's Little Helper

Vine Street Pub approved to brew

Earlier this week, the Denver City Council unanimously voted to approve a request to change the zoning regulations at Vine Street Pub to allow brewing on the premises.  All that remains is for Mayor John Hickenlooper to sign off on the request, which could be done as early as today.

Vine Street is the Denver branch of the Mountain Sun brewpub chain (along with Mountain Sun and Southern Sun in Boulder) and the change will allow them to increase production to 3,500 barrels annually with future plans to expand to 5,000-6,000.  They hope to have the Denver pub brewing within a year with the plan being for Vine Street to brew their eight year-round offerings, Southern Sun to handle small-batch beers, and Mountain Sun to focus on experimental beers.

It sounds like this change will be beneficial for both Mountain Sun and the Denver craft beer scene, so I hope it goes through without a hitch.

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

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