It’s almost summer, and we all know what that means. Summertime, which means summer beer and the height of the beer festival season. No matter where you travel in Colorado, watch out when you cross the street or your may stumble upon a beer event in full bloom.
Although not technically a summer event - as it’s held annually over the Memorial Day weekend - the Beaver Creek Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival serves as a great warmup. This year 35 Colorado brewers poured samples for over 700 people at what may be the most civilized, comfortable and pleasant event of the season. Held indoors, with pleasant lighting, carpeting, climate control and great beer, the Park Hyatt Resort’s Microbrew Beer Tasting and Seminar sets the mark very high for beer events. Coupled with the live blues music and BBQ from across the US, you’ll never be disappointed here.
Unless, of course, you missed it. So, we present for you a brief roundup of some of our Favorite Summer Colorado Beer Events so that you’ll know about them ahead of time, and can plan accordingly. Now, this is not exhaustive - for the Big List check out our Events Page. And be sure to inquire at your local brewer about their own events, as they roll out new summer beers and keep the doors open late to let in all the summertime cheer.
But we can guarantee that summertime will be bettertime if you build any of these events into your schedule.
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Fresh after the solstice, suitably odd and Colorado-centric is Burning Can, put on by Oskar Blues brewing. Their legendary Dale’s Pale Ale turned the craft beer world on its head by selling great craft beer in cans instead of bottles. Burning Can is also the All-Colorado Can Beer Festival, where a dozen brewers will pour their best summer beers - from a freakin’ can! The June 26 event will run from 1pm to 4pm in Lyon’s Sandstone Park - right across the street from the newly-expanded Oskar Blues - and feature culinary delights like beer can chicken. Music provided by Bonepony and Interstate Stash Express should keep toes a-tappin, and don’t forget - Cans are Good. And you’ll be doing good, too, as the money you spend will benefit the Colorado Brewer’s Guild.
The Colorado Brewer’s Guild sponsors another great event on July 10 in Salida: the Colorado Brewer’s Rendezvous. It’s a chance to meet the brewers who actually know about their beer, and sample dozens of Colorado beer. Riverside Park makes a relaxing backdrop for the 1pm-5pm event. You can tap into more info at www.salidachamber.org or at www.coloradobeer.org
If you’ve got a bike (or something even remotely bike-like) you may want to wheel into Ft. Collins on July 18 for the Urban Assault Ride, which promises a compelling mix of beer, bikes and big wheels that starts and ends at New Belgium Brewing Company. While not strictly a beer festival, this event certainly earns our respect for its mission (having fun) and its method (a free-form race of pedal-pushing teams vying to ride through a series of checkpoints in the least amount of time, with lots of cold, tasty beer at the finish line). Sign up before the event here.
If you’re still thirsty after all that bike riding, the fifth annual Summer Brew Fest at Mile High Station promises - you guessed it - more beer. From 6pm to 10pm, on July 23, you’ll get a crack at over 40 beers, mostly from Colorado, and get to feel nice about it all, knowing your consumption is benefitting the Swallow Hill Music Association. The group also runs the Winter Brew Fest as well, and you’ll find out more by clicking here.
No Ales Allowed.
The Manitou Craft Lager Festival means what it says: No Ales Allowed. Now in its ninth year, this year’s two-day event (August 14th and 15th) promises to bring together brewers from across the US who will pour lagers and only lagers to about 1500 happy festivarians. The team-brewed Warning Sign Eisbock will be tapped for all to enjoy, and Live music, BBQ and over thirty brewers fill Manitou Spring’s Memorial Park. August weather often includes a late afternoon thundershower, so keep a rain poncho handy. You’ll be drinking to a good cause (open space and parks in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs) and can sip smug in the knowledge that this is the first all-solar-powered beer festival in the country.
The Colorado State Fair gets a bad rap from a lot of folks, who often wonder why it’s held every year in Pueblo. Well, because that’s where the Fairgrounds are, and you can’t have a Fair without a Fairgrounds. It really is a remarkable event, conducted in dozens of separate venues over 11 days (this year from August 27 to September 6). Where else are you going to find baby bunnies, Charlie Pride, roller derby, Colorado craft beer and corn dogs in one place? And the 7th annual Foamfest at the Colorado State Fair is a real gem of a beer event. From 6pm to 10pm, August 28, you’ll be able to sample dozens of beers and judge for yourself if the State Fair awardees in the Craft Brewer and Homebrewer competitions meet your own exacting standards. If you’re going to enter the competition, you have until August 14 to get your beers “in”. More info is here.
Of course, if its beer competition you’re after, you’ll be attending the Great American Beer Festival. GABF will be a great toast to the end of summer, as this year’s event is being held a little bit earlier than usual: September 16-18 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Last year, 49,000 attendees had a chance to sample 2104 beers from 457 US brewers at GABF. It still holds the Guiness World Record for “most beers tapped in one location”, and tickets go on sale early (June 22) and usually sell out before the event starts. The “Super Bowl of Beer” is big, loud, roudy and the only place in the world where you’ll find such a huge variety of great beer. Our advice is to spring for a little more fun and go to the “connoisseurs tasting” on Saturday afternoon. That’s when they give out the awards, and you’ll tend to find more brewers and fewer drunks in attendance. Check out the GABF website for more details, and we’ll see you there.
Like we said, this is not the Be-All/End-All list of summer beer events. And you certainly don’t need to go to a event to enjoy great Colorado summer beer. All you really need is a little curiosity, a few bucks, and a little encouragement from your local brewer or liquor store owner to try out the cool, refreshing goodness found in summertime brews.
Although not technically a summer event - as it’s held annually over the Memorial Day weekend - the Beaver Creek Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival serves as a great warmup. This year 35 Colorado brewers poured samples for over 700 people at what may be the most civilized, comfortable and pleasant event of the season. Held indoors, with pleasant lighting, carpeting, climate control and great beer, the Park Hyatt Resort’s Microbrew Beer Tasting and Seminar sets the mark very high for beer events. Coupled with the live blues music and BBQ from across the US, you’ll never be disappointed here.
Mike Laur - DG2C
The Beaver Creek Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival.
Unless, of course, you missed it. So, we present for you a brief roundup of some of our Favorite Summer Colorado Beer Events so that you’ll know about them ahead of time, and can plan accordingly. Now, this is not exhaustive - for the Big List check out our Events Page. And be sure to inquire at your local brewer about their own events, as they roll out new summer beers and keep the doors open late to let in all the summertime cheer.
But we can guarantee that summertime will be bettertime if you build any of these events into your schedule.
----
Fresh after the solstice, suitably odd and Colorado-centric is Burning Can, put on by Oskar Blues brewing. Their legendary Dale’s Pale Ale turned the craft beer world on its head by selling great craft beer in cans instead of bottles. Burning Can is also the All-Colorado Can Beer Festival, where a dozen brewers will pour their best summer beers - from a freakin’ can! The June 26 event will run from 1pm to 4pm in Lyon’s Sandstone Park - right across the street from the newly-expanded Oskar Blues - and feature culinary delights like beer can chicken. Music provided by Bonepony and Interstate Stash Express should keep toes a-tappin, and don’t forget - Cans are Good. And you’ll be doing good, too, as the money you spend will benefit the Colorado Brewer’s Guild.
The Colorado Brewer’s Guild sponsors another great event on July 10 in Salida: the Colorado Brewer’s Rendezvous. It’s a chance to meet the brewers who actually know about their beer, and sample dozens of Colorado beer. Riverside Park makes a relaxing backdrop for the 1pm-5pm event. You can tap into more info at www.salidachamber.org or at www.coloradobeer.org
If you’ve got a bike (or something even remotely bike-like) you may want to wheel into Ft. Collins on July 18 for the Urban Assault Ride, which promises a compelling mix of beer, bikes and big wheels that starts and ends at New Belgium Brewing Company. While not strictly a beer festival, this event certainly earns our respect for its mission (having fun) and its method (a free-form race of pedal-pushing teams vying to ride through a series of checkpoints in the least amount of time, with lots of cold, tasty beer at the finish line). Sign up before the event here.
If you’re still thirsty after all that bike riding, the fifth annual Summer Brew Fest at Mile High Station promises - you guessed it - more beer. From 6pm to 10pm, on July 23, you’ll get a crack at over 40 beers, mostly from Colorado, and get to feel nice about it all, knowing your consumption is benefitting the Swallow Hill Music Association. The group also runs the Winter Brew Fest as well, and you’ll find out more by clicking here.
No Ales Allowed.
The Manitou Craft Lager Festival means what it says: No Ales Allowed. Now in its ninth year, this year’s two-day event (August 14th and 15th) promises to bring together brewers from across the US who will pour lagers and only lagers to about 1500 happy festivarians. The team-brewed Warning Sign Eisbock will be tapped for all to enjoy, and Live music, BBQ and over thirty brewers fill Manitou Spring’s Memorial Park. August weather often includes a late afternoon thundershower, so keep a rain poncho handy. You’ll be drinking to a good cause (open space and parks in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs) and can sip smug in the knowledge that this is the first all-solar-powered beer festival in the country.
The Colorado State Fair gets a bad rap from a lot of folks, who often wonder why it’s held every year in Pueblo. Well, because that’s where the Fairgrounds are, and you can’t have a Fair without a Fairgrounds. It really is a remarkable event, conducted in dozens of separate venues over 11 days (this year from August 27 to September 6). Where else are you going to find baby bunnies, Charlie Pride, roller derby, Colorado craft beer and corn dogs in one place? And the 7th annual Foamfest at the Colorado State Fair is a real gem of a beer event. From 6pm to 10pm, August 28, you’ll be able to sample dozens of beers and judge for yourself if the State Fair awardees in the Craft Brewer and Homebrewer competitions meet your own exacting standards. If you’re going to enter the competition, you have until August 14 to get your beers “in”. More info is here.
Mike Laur - DG2C
The Great American Beer Festival.
Of course, if its beer competition you’re after, you’ll be attending the Great American Beer Festival. GABF will be a great toast to the end of summer, as this year’s event is being held a little bit earlier than usual: September 16-18 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Last year, 49,000 attendees had a chance to sample 2104 beers from 457 US brewers at GABF. It still holds the Guiness World Record for “most beers tapped in one location”, and tickets go on sale early (June 22) and usually sell out before the event starts. The “Super Bowl of Beer” is big, loud, roudy and the only place in the world where you’ll find such a huge variety of great beer. Our advice is to spring for a little more fun and go to the “connoisseurs tasting” on Saturday afternoon. That’s when they give out the awards, and you’ll tend to find more brewers and fewer drunks in attendance. Check out the GABF website for more details, and we’ll see you there.
Like we said, this is not the Be-All/End-All list of summer beer events. And you certainly don’t need to go to a event to enjoy great Colorado summer beer. All you really need is a little curiosity, a few bucks, and a little encouragement from your local brewer or liquor store owner to try out the cool, refreshing goodness found in summertime brews.
