The Colorado wine industry is having a kick-ass year. In fact, we might even say that 2012 will go down as the one in which our state’s wine biz officially blew up. Let’s rewind: In April, our fair city hosted the fourth annual Drink Local Wine conference, a national affair…
The Great American Beer Festival is also a great American motivator. In previous years, it has driven local breweries to finish construction projects, open their doors, brew new beers, and generally get their acts in shape. And this year is no exception — see the Bull & Bush, which is…
The Denver Beer Co, which just celebrated its first birthday last month, plans to spill over into a separate, 1,700-square-foot space next door that will be called the Barrel Room at Denver Beer Co. The addition, scheduled for completion in December, will allow the brewery to expand its production capacity…
“For so long, we’ve been able to go to the store and get whatever cheap things we want. And now people are becoming more interested in handcrafted, regional products,” says Shae Whitney, the City, O’ City bartender who founded her own company, Dram Apothecary, which creates organic, handcrafted bitters. “People…
Greenwood Village-based Red Robin has introduced a beer milkshake, just in time for, um, winter. Luckily, this state’s hottest summer isn’t over yet. But rather than go with a Colorado brewery, as Smashburger — another Colorado-based fast-casual chain — did for its new beer-and-burger pairing menu, Red Robin is using…
Hops can make spicy foods spicier. Roasted malts complement the sweet tang of barbecue sauce. And coriander? It pairs perfectly with Mexican food. Smashburger, the fast casual chain that began on South Colorado Boulevard and has expanded to around 160 locations in 27 states in just five years, has introduced…
Happy Place: Krameria Café, 1401 Krameria Street, 303-322-3138. The Hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m. The Deals: $2 margaritas and canned beer; $3 bottled beer, well drinks, and wines by the glass; $2 tacos and chile rellenos. Were we happy? Flip the page to find out…
“We’re really well known for our strong ales and our forays into that genre,” says Avery Brewing spokesman Joe Osborne. “But we’re always innovating, period.” And innovating will take the Boulder brewery in the opposite direction from the massive, high-alcohol beers that it has specialized in when, probably sometime next…
Great Divide Brewing will tap its first-ever beer made with fresh Colorado hops tomorrow at 2 p.m., joining a growing list of brewers who use locally grown hops. Sticky Icky is a pale ale that has been soaked in a firkin with fresh Crystal hops from Misty Mountain Hop Farm…
The Great American Beer Festival sold out in minutes — possibly seconds — this year, stealing the breath away from many beer fans and crashing plans. But the festival-related events that surround the annual beerstravaganza, October 11-13, have risen to a level in the past two years that now equals,…
If you’re anything like us, then at times your veins may seem to be pumping pure bubbly. But if you’re not, then we reckon there are at least two guaranteed occasions upon which you find yourself consuming drinks made with sparkling wine: Sunday brunch and New Year’s Eve…
The answer to the question posed in the video above is, “Yes, freakin’ open already!” The three dynamos behind Black Shirt Brewing have been pouring their hearts and souls into this neighborhood brewery, set to open very soon (really), and they must have a lot of both because the place…
Yet another out-of-state brewery will test the Colorado waters in a few weeks, but this one has the backing of someone who knows how to run the rapids. No-Li Brewhouse from Spokane, Washington, plans to sell four of its beers in bomber bottles and possibly on tap here starting in…
Happy Place: Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, 191 Inverness Drive West, 303-768-0827. The Hours: Daily from 5 to 7 p.m. The Deals: $6 specialty cocktails, wines by the glass, and small plates. Were we happy? Flip the page to find out…
Update, September 19: The beer will be a “hopped up brown” and in a brown can, so the Deuce references continue. Oskar Blues and Indianapolis-based Sun King Brewing are whipping up their second collaboration beer today in Longmont under a shroud of secrecy. “We’re keeping some suspense about style of…
Ken Kodys is a beast — and I mean that in the most complimentary way. No, I’m not referring to his size, although he is a large man at 6’6″. I mean that creatively he is a beast, and a stone-cold killer in cocktail competitions. Ken is also one of…
The Great American Beer Festival doesn’t change much from year to year. It is always a massive draw, a tourism magnet and the place to be seen for breweries and beer lovers alike. But the Boulder-based Brewers Association, which hosts the festival, October 11-13, does like to keep it relevant,…
Just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be another day dedicated to the celebration of…well, anything, oenophiles around the country will raise filled-to-the-brim glasses to toast National Cabernet Day on Thursday. While it’s easy to dismiss these booze-filled events as just another excuse to tie one on, in truth they’re…
Wynkoop Brewing Company is gearing up for the Great American Beer Festival and recently tapped a couple of its rarest but most outstanding beers. Orville is a blend of a couple of unusual beers: a pale ale fermented with brettanomyces in four wooden barrels for six weeks, and the same…
It shouldn’t be about what you wear, right? According to Sean Kenyon, the barman behind the Squeaky Bean and Williams & Graham, it absolutely should be about that, especially if you’re one of those tenders who takes to wearing a “hipster” tank top when you’re slinging drinks behind the stick…
Cigar City Brewing, a small Florida beer maker with a huge following nationwide, will pour some of its highly-sought-after beers at a handful of Colorado taphouses for the first time this year during the Great American Beer Festival. The Tampa Bay brewery doesn’t normally distribute outside Florida, but like Michigan-based…
Happy Place: Tamayo, 1400 Larimer Street, 720-946-1433. The Hours: Monday through Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. The Deals: $3.50 beer specials; $5 specialty cocktails; $3 small plates. Were we happy? Flip the page to find out…
