How Are We Gonna Drink All This Beer
Carol White - October 4, 2012
Denver Beer Week, held in conjuction with GABF, presents an incredible variety of events and happenings in and around the Mile High city. Peruse the list below and marvel at the sheer inundation of suds related activies - beer dinners, tastings, rare beer tappings, pub crawls, regenerative, sobering-up breakfasts, music, tours, etc..
If you're fortunate enough to have tickets to the GABF, check out the second segment below for information and tips about the grandest beer festival in the world.
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Denver Beer Week Events
Friday, Oct 5th
Denver Beer Co. at 4:30, Denver Mayor Hancock will kickoff Denver Beer Fest by tapping a brew he helped create. He will be pouring a pumpkin beer brewed with pumpkins from the Denver Urban Gardens. The event will benefit the Colorado Brewers Guild.
Inaugural Denver Beer Crawl.
Some of our favorite watering holes and brewers are each featuring different â€" and spectacular - Colorado beers this week.
Saturday, Oct 6th
Inaugural Denver Beer Crawl.
Some of our favorite watering holes and brewers are each featuring different â€" and spectacular - Colorado beers this week.
Cultivate Festival in Denver.
Sponsored by Chipotle Mexican Grill, this is a Festival that brings together farmers, chefs, thought leaders, artists, musicians, and participants like you, on a journey towards a world of more sustainable, wholesome and delicious food. the festival will be held at City Park in Denver from 10am-6pm. It's free to attend the fest, and different tents to visit, to watch visiting chefs, live music, kids activities. There is also a brewer's hall for beer tasting. 100% of the profits from the Brewers' Hall will benefit Food Family Farming Foundation.
Colorado Craft Beer Show broadcasts live at Strange Brewing.
Sunday, Oct 7th
Inaugural Denver Beer Crawl.
Some of our favorite watering holes and brewers are each featuring different â€" and spectacular - Colorado beers this week.
Gourmet Food Truck Festival & Tailgate Party, from 12-8 at 46th & Tennyson in the Highlands. We'll have the Bronco game on, a DJ spinning records, live music, free bike parking, kids' activities, local craft brews, and eats from 10 of Denver's finest food trucks. Admission is FREE!
Monday, Oct 8th
Enjoy a VIP night in the Renegade brewhouse to get geared up for Great American Beer Festival. Bring your GABF media pass or proof of blog ownership (printout of administrator page) for an exclusive night of beer, food, and hanging out with the staff. 6pm-9pm.
Inaugural Denver Beer Crawl.
Some of our favorite watering holes and brewers are each featuring different â€" and spectacular - Colorado beers this week.
Beer Dinner at Strange Brewing.
Tuesday, Oct 9th
Cheeky Monk, “Thank The Saints” with Ginger Johnson, talking about and tasting Belgian beers. 7pm-9pm, $25.00.
Cook Street School of Culinary Arts Sausage making class. Learn the basics of making sausage, and dinner served with microbrews.
Beers Made By Walking at Wynkoop.
Attendees can sample ten one-night-only beers from CO breweries, each beer inspired by nature hikes and urban walks. $15 at the door, each ticket is good for a 4oz BMBW beer.
Inaugural Denver Beer Crawl.
Some of our favorite watering holes and brewers are each featuring different â€" and spectacular - Colorado beers this week. http://www.denver.org/denverbeerfest/breweries
Wednesday, Oct 10th
Burlesque, Beer & Brats.
The famous Clocktower Clockettes present a night of fun, food, and free beer! Avery Brewery (Boulder, CO) will taste you on nine different brews, and the Burlesque Starlets will present nine amazing dances, each one tied to a beer in some way, shape, or form. Free brats all night long! 7pm - the first taste happens, 7.30 the dancers start! Price is $35.
Tommyknocker Beer Dinner.
Rackhouse Beer School.
4pm-6pm, followed by Rare Beer tasting. 6pm-10pm.
Oskar Blues GABF Ordeal.
A bus tour of everything Oskar Blues. Visit the original brewpub in Lyons, Hops & Heifers Farm, Home Made Liquids & Solids Restaurant, and the brewery in Longmont. Kick-off is at 8am.
Tour Night at Renegade.
Tours will be on the hour from 5-8. Learn a little about Renegade, how we brew, and even have some opportunities to win a prize if you’re smart enough.
Inaugural Denver Beer Crawl.
Some of our favorite watering holes and brewers are each featuring different â€" and spectacular - Colorado beers this week.
Suds & Sliders at Highland Tap & Burger. Chef Eli pairs 3 different savory sliders with craft beer from Avery, Left Hand, and Ska Brewing Companies. $15 the day-of scores you sliders and an 8 oz. pour from each brewery.
The Great German Beer Dinner at Russell’s Smoke House. Russell’s Smokehouse will serve a four-course German beer dinner with San Francisco-based Master Cicerone and Consultant à la Bière Rich Higgins. Together, Higgins and Executive Chef Taylor Drew will lead guests through an evening of German beers paired with tender cuts of smoked duck, roasted venison loin and braised short ribs. The meal, which is capped with a marzen beer and carrot cake, costs $55/person, exclusive of tax and gratuity.
Thursday, Oct 11th
Cheeky Monk, 2nd Annual Cheeky Challenge, 3pm-5pm. Get a team & compete against some of your favorite brewers! Each team will compete in fun but challenging games. Followed by a tapping of Saison du BUFF w/Stone, Dogfish Head & Victory. $20 per person or $100 for team of 4.
Freshcraft, Cigar City reception. Before the GABF convention hall opens stop by for some amazing beers from one of the hottest breweries in the country, straight from Tampa, FL 3pm-5pm.
Inaugural Denver Beer Crawl.
Some of our favorite watering holes and brewers are each featuring different â€" and spectacular - Colorado beers this week.
Oskar Blues, “It’s All About The Package” After-Party starts after GABF on Thursday and includes larger-than-life live music by Halden Wofford & the Hi Beams, gigantic giveaways and big, badass beers. Limited transportation from the convention center to the party from 9-11pm. Print off the “ticket”, get one at GABF on Thursday night, or show it on your phone to the doorman to get in. Starts 9:30pm-ish.
Avery Breakfast at Euclid Hall, 11pm. A late night beer breakfast pairing of epic proportions. This event is sold out.
Breckenridge Brewery, Denver Brews Cruise RendezBrew tasting event showcasing the fine breweries affiliated with Brews Cruise tour companies. From 1pm-3pm, tickets are $15 including tasting and Smoked Avalanche Sausage. The Brews Cruise RendezBrew will be a benefit event with portions of the proceeds going to Leukemia/Lymphoma Society and the Colorado Brewers Guild.
Friday, Oct 12th
Denver Beer, Meet The Brewers, of Saranac Brewery and Denver Beer Co. as they tap their collaboration beer "Continental Collide".
Tommyknocker at Hard Rock Cafe, 9:30am. Supports Pinktober.
“Cheers” at Falling Rock Taphouse.
Freshcraft, Inaugural Colorado Beer Brunch at Fresh Craft. We'll be serving some delicious brunch food to help you get your day started & pouring some amazing and rare beers from Colorado Brewers, 9:30am, $30.
Inaugural Denver Beer Crawl.
Some of our favorite watering holes and brewers are each featuring different â€" and spectacular - Colorado beers this week.
Avery Pucker Up Poker Run. A crazy crawl among five of Denver’s premier pubs! At each stop, you will get a 4oz. pour of a rare, barrel-aged sour beer, a 6oz. pour of a palate cleansing beer, and a playing card. Start at the Falling Rock Tap House at 11am, and split up into groups to visit Lucky Pie Pizza & Tap House, Highland Tap and Burger, Euclid Hall, and finish at Star Bar. Tickets-$45. Best poker hand at the end wins a prize! 11am-5-ish.
Saturday, Oct 13th
Brewers Breakfast Burritos & Barrel-aged Barleywine at Denver Beer Co..
Cheeky Monk, Breakfast with the Bruery. Annual breakfast tradition with Patrick Rue of The Bruery. Special beer paddles served with some great food choices, start serving at 8am.
Inaugural Denver Beer Crawl.
Some of our favorite watering holes and brewers are each featuring different â€" and spectacular - Colorado beers this week.
Black Shirt Brewing Co. opens their doors in Denver.
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Also, check for "tap-takeovers" at bars and taphouses around the state. The Mayor of Old Town, in Fort Collins, is tapping the "100" best beers of Northern Colorado the week before and the week of GABF.
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Great American Beer Festival 2012
If you're going to GABF, get your liver ready early. This year the Brewer's Association promises to deliver the biggest beer festival ever to the Denver Convention Center. The entire upper level of the event will host a staggering 580 breweries from all across America - by far the most ever at any American beer festival. The Guiness Record for Largest Number of Beers Tapped In One Location - held of course by GABF from earlier years - will be shattered for sure, as close to 3000 beers are served up one ounce at a time to GABF attendees.
We offer a few simple suggestions to make your valuable time at GABF more productive, and keep everybody happy and productive while trying to sample more beer than you could ever possibly drink at one time.
Plan ahead. Get a copy of the GABF brewery list and scope out the beers you really want or have to taste. Make a list, and figure out beforehand how the event is laid out (Rocky Mountain beers in one area, Midwest beers in another, etc) so you can navigate efficiently.
Eat some food, and drink plenty of water. Even one ounce at a time, you'll drink a lot of beer. Pace yourself, or you'll be one of those poor souls everybody sees at the end of the session, abandoned by your friends and dumped curbside to the care of roving dogs, suspicious police and feral cats.
You'll wait in line for a while to sample the most popular beers. Do everybody else a favor. After you get your pour, MOVE ALONG. Please don't slow down the line by asking a bunch of questions about IBUs or yeast strains. If the brewer is around, step aside with him or her and query to your heart's content. Just help keep the line moving and the beer pouring, and everybody will be happy.
Check out our Beer Drinker's Guide to Colorado booth at GABF. We're going to have some great event specials on our new 6th Edition Beer Map and Free Beer Coupon Book. We've got new t-shirts, too - including cool men's shirts you'll see at GABF for the first time. Buy early, Buy often!
See the photo below for instructions on making your own BDG2C Glass Catcher, or stop by our booth again to get your very own. Handy, foolproof, and effective - you'll never drop your sample glass again!
Have fun. Try beers you've never had before, and look for the exotic. There will plenty of variety, and you're bound to find something you love and something you hope to never, ever taste again. Be open to new beers, and new beers will be open to you.
