HOPS Culture Now Open in Aspen

Hops CultureHOPS Culture, a craft beer focused restaurant in Aspen is now open for business. Visitors will have the opportunity to try great craft beer from around Colorado, the United States, and beyond. HOPS Culture is open for business daily from 11:30AM – 11:30PM.

From HopsCulture.com:

Craft Beer, Wine and Great Eats.
HOPS Culture is an exciting new craft-beer focused restaurant-bar on Aspen’s vibrant Hyman Mall. We feature 200 domestic and imported craft beers, 15 world-class wines by the glass, and an upscale American comfort food menu focused on grilled cheese sandwiches, mac n’ cheeses, gourmet salads and hearty soups.

Join us for exceptional craft beer, wine and great eats!

The Beer
HOPS Culture proudly features 200 unique craft beers and ciders from around the world, with 30 of them poured fresh on our state-of-the-art draft system. We aim to offer a diverse selection of beer styles from Colorado, the United States, and beyond. We constantly rotate our selection – please visit us to try something new and delicious!”

We take a great deal of pride in serving our customers the highest quality beer. We focus on every aspect of the beer that we serve from using the appropriate “Beer Clean” glassware, proper pouring techniques, and correct storage. Our staff has as much pride and passion in serving our guests a beer as the brewer takes in making the beer.

HOPS Culture
414 E. Hyman Ave
Aspen, CO 81611
info@hopsculture.com
970.925.HOPS (4677)

Snowmass Mammoth Fest: June 13-15, 2014

Snowmass-Mammoth-FestThe Snowmass Mammoth Fest, formerly Snowmass Chili Pepper & Brew Fest, returns for its 11th year on June 13-15, 2014 in collaboration with Snowmass Tourism. Tickets are on sale now.

The Colorado summer festival season kicks off in Snowmass Village at this year’s Snowmass Mammoth Fest. Snowmass Mammoth Fest is proud to announce that Chris Robinson Brotherhood, and Leftover Salmon, will headline the event this summer. Additional musical artists include Xavier Rudd, Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang, The Motet, Nathaniel Rateliff, Bonerama, Houndmouth, Royal Southern Brotherhood, Wheeler Brothers, The London Souls, Miner, and local DJs Berkel Beats, and Echo Da Funk.

Snowmass Mammoth Fest will include great music and food, but don’t forget about the brews! Come celebrate the Grand Tasting on Saturday, June 14th from 2:00pm to 5:00pm in the festival grounds where 25+ breweries will participate with over 50 different beers. Come sample some tasty brews from your favorite breweries on Saturday afternoon while listening to great music in Snowmass Town Park.

Mammoth-Fest-Brewery-ListThere are options of staying in a local hotel near the event, or you can camp at the event. Snowmass Mammoth Fest is coming up pretty soon, so be sure to check out avialability at local hotels here. Snowmass Mammoth Fest is a unique opportunity to be able to camp out at a festival with great music, food, and of course, craft beer. If you’re more interested in camping, check out the options here.

Snowmass Mammoth Fest – June 13-15, 2014
Snowmass Town Park
2835 Brush Creek Road
Snowmass Village, CO 81615

Black Sky Brewery: Ale of Yoto Release Party May 13th – 7 PM

Decorated Author Set To Release Book Themed Brew with Black Sky Brewery

Denver, CO – 13-time award-winning sci-fi/fantasy novel The Bane of Yoto, published by FiXT, is setting its sights on beer lovin’ taste buds. Author Joshua Viola has partnered with Denver’s Black Sky Brewery to create The Ale of Yoto, a blueberry wheat beer crafted by master brewer Harry Smith. Black Sky Brewery logo

According to The Bane of Yoto Author Joshua Viola: “The concept of creating a beer seemed like a natural fit amidst the crazy things we were doing in the world of Yoto. The idea originally came to me when a friend — Groovey of Groovey.TV — had a custom brew developed for his online personality. It was received well and I knew then, after a fan suggested a Yoto beer, I had to do it.” “Groovey introduced me to the wonderful people at Black Sky Brewery and the rest is history. Their talented brew master, Harry Smith, concocted the most amazing beer I’d ever tasted. Harry came up with the blueberry wheat idea after reading the book; paying tribute the protagonist’s blue skin tone.”

A release party for the The Ale of Yoto will be part of the American Craft Beer Week celebration in Denver which showcases only the finest efforts from master brewers. Early taste testers have agreed that Black Sky’s Harry Smith knocked it out of the park. The Ale of Yoto has a smooth finish with just the right hint of blueberry and is perfect for the upcoming Summer season as well as for enjoying the blockbuster novel it was inspired from.

Ale of Yoto Release Party Tuesday, May 13th – 7 PM @ Black Sky Brewery
490 Sante Fe Drive | Denver, CO 80204

For More Information: 
http://baneofyoto.com 
http://www.blackskybrewing.com 
http://www.fixtonline.com

Steel City Brew Fest & Homebrew Competition Coming to Pueblo

The Steel City Homebrew Club announces the Inaugural Steel City Brew Fest and BCJP Homebrew Competition. Steel City Brew FestThe brew fest and homebrew competition will take place in Pueblo, CO. at the historic Riverwalk along the Arkansas River.

The Steel City Homebrew Competition will feature 21 American style categories and is BCJP certified. The cost is $5 per 2-bottle entry which must be received by a front range drop off location on 5/23/2014. Along with medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places, a 50lb bag of 2-row malt will be awarded to the show winner courtesy of the Colorado Malting Company. For more information and to register for the competition visit http://steelcitybrewers.com/blog

The Steel City Brew Fest will be held on June 7, 2014 from 6:00-9:00PM at Gateway Park on the Historical Riverwalk in Pueblo, Colorado. This event is part of the 14th Annual Boats, Bands and BBQ Festival, benefiting the HARP Foundation. The Steel City Brew Fest will be 300+ participants sampling beer from a variety of craft breweries from Colorado and across the U.S., as well as beer from Pueblos’ own Steel City Brewers. The tickets are $20 per person. For more information visit http://puebloriverwalk.org/steel-city-brewfest

Colorado Native Lager Offering Free Blue Spruce Saplings to Aid in Colorado Reforestion

AC Golden Brewing Company, the makers of Colorado Native Lager, are offering free Blue Spruce saplings to those interested in regrowing the state. For full details see the flyer and additional information below.

Colorado Native Regrow

Golden, Colo. – Colorado Native Lager, Colorado’s only homegrown beer, is offering free tree saplings to Coloradans who want to help regrow Colorado.

After several years of devastating wild fires and beetle infestation, and last year’s 100-year flood, the state’s forests and urban areas have lost millions of trees.

To celebrate Arbor Day, which is Friday, April 18 in Colorado, and to help regrow Colorado, locals can join Colorado Native’s club, The Brew Crew, and request a free Blue Spruce sapling be sent to their home for planting.

The Blue Spruce saplings, about 1½ years old, were grown by and purchased from the Colorado State Forest Service’s Seedling Tree Nursery in Northern Colorado.  The trees come ready to plant.  The Blue Spruce is Colorado’s state tree and is well suited to the local environment.

“As Colorado’s home grown beer, Colorado Native Lager is the perfect fit for helping Coloradans regrow the state, one tree at a time,” said Glenn Knippenberg, president and co-founder of AC Golden Brewing Company, brewer of Colorado Native. “Colorado Native is brewed with 100 percent Colorado ingredients, and is packaged and shipped only in Colorado. We reinvest 25 cents from every single case sold back into the state through projects like this one.  Colorado is our home and we feel strongly that our efforts and investments should benefit our beautiful state,” said Knippenberg.

To receive a sapling, go to www.ColoradoNative.com during April and click on Brew Crew.  There is no cost to join the club. Members receive free gifts and special offers like this one. Last month, Brew Crew members were able to join Colorado Native’s legion of volunteer hop growers and receive a free hop rhizome.  Members can grow and harvest their hops for inclusion in a Colorado Native brew in the fall.

About CSFS Seedling Tree Nursery
The Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) seedling tree program allows farmers, ranchers and rural landowners to obtain trees at a nominal cost. Its goal is to encourage landowners to plant new forests; to establish effective windbreaks that reduce erosion; to protect homes, cropland, livestock and highways; and to enhance wildlife habitat. The nursery has many outdoors acres and an 18,000 square foot greenhouse. It sells an average of one million seedlings annually.

About Arbor Day
Arbor Day is a nationally recognized day to encourage individuals and groups to plant and care for trees. It originated in Nebraska City, Nebraska in 1872.   National Arbor Day is April 24 this year however each state observes its own date to facilitate the best tree planting time.  Colorado’s Arbor Day this year is Friday, April 18.

About AC Golden Brewing Company
AC Golden Brewing Company, located in Golden, Colo., is a small-batch brewery specializing in handcrafted beers for discerning beer drinkers. Among its beers are: Colorado Native, an amber lager made with 100 percent Colorado ingredients; Herman Joseph’s Private Reserve, a German-style lager; Barmen, a German-style pilsner, and Winterfest, a Vienna-style lager shared only during the holidays.

Colorado Winners: 2014 World Beer Cup

The World Beer Cup is put on every other year by The Brewers Association, which is headquartered in Boulder, CO. The World Beer Cup is a popular event among brewers and brewing companies, as it brings together the best and brightest in the brewing industry. The 2014 World Beer Cup and Craft Brewers Conference took place in Denver, CO, and included a whopping 4,754 beers, 1,403 breweries from 58 countries and 94 styles of beer! Colorado brewers fared well at the World Beer Cup, bringing home 24 medals (10 Gold, 5 Silver, 9 Bronze).2014-world-beer-cup-banner

According to The Brewers Association, “The mission of the World Beer Cup is to create greater consumer awareness around the world about the quality and diversity displayed by the various beers of the world. The World Beer Cup is dedicated to recognizing both the traditions and innovations shared by the entire brewing industry as well as those customs unique to specific countries and regions. The World Beer Cup also promotes the responsible consumption of beer as an alcohol-containing beverage and urges beer producers and distributors to encourage beer enthusiasts to savor the flavor of beer responsibly.”

Colorado Winners @ The 2014 World Beer Cup:

  • Fruit Beer (57 entries) GOLD: Cherry Kriek, Strange Brewing Co, Denver, CO, SILVER: Apricot Blonde, Dry Dock Brewing Co Aurora, CO
  • Chocolate Beer (51 Entries) GOLD: Shake Chocolate Porter, Boulder Beer Co Boulder, CO
  • Coffee Beer (109 Entries) GOLD: Big Shot Espresso Stout, Twisted Pine Brewing Co – Boulder, CO
  • Indigenous Beer (37 Entries) GOLD: Wild and Crazy Rye, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery – Boulder,CO / Huntington Beach, CA
    BRONZE: Got Beer, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery – Boulder, CO / Huntington Beach, CA
  • Wood & Barrel-Aged Strong Beer (112 Entries) BRONZE: Bourbon Barrel Aged Mountain Man, Verboten Brewing – Loveland, CO
  • Baltic-Style Porter (44 Entries) SILVER: The Baltic Gnome, Rock Bottom – Denver, CO
  • American-Style Lager / Light Lager or Pilsener (53 Entries) GOLD: Coors Light, Coors Brewing Co Golden, CO
    BRONZE: Coors Banquet, Coors Brewing Co – Golden, CO
  • American-Style Amber Lager (34 Entries) GOLD: Winterfest, AC Golden Brewing Co – Golden, CO
  • Australasian-Style Pale Ale / International-Style Pale Ale (33 Entries)
    SILVER: River Runners Pale Ale, Eddyline Brewing Buena Vista, CO
  • French & Belgian-Style Saison (91 Entries) GOLD: Saison, Aspen Brewing Co – Aspen, CO
  • Belgian-Style Blonde Ale or Pale Ale (46 Entries) BRONZE: Jean-Claude Van Blond, Wit’s End Brewing Co Denver, CO
  • Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ale (41 Entries) SILVER: Deceit, Funkwerks – Fort Collins, CO
  • Ordinary / Special Bitter (37 Entries) GOLD: Sawtooth Ale, Left Hand Brewing Co – Longmont, CO
  • English-Style Brown Ale (49 Entries) BRONZE: No Name, Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co – Glenwood Springs, CO
  • Oatmeal Stout (57 Entries) SILVER: Pure Imagination, Verboten Brewing – Loveland, CO
  • British-Style Imperial Stout (42 Entries) BRONZE: Weapon of Self Destruction Imperial Stout, Riff Raff Brewing Co – Pagosa Springs, CO
  • Irish-Style Red Ale (46 Entries) GOLD: George Killian’s Irish Red, Coors Brewing Co – Golden, CO
  • Foreign-Style Stout (38 Entries) BRONZE: Devil Dog Stout, Red Leg Brewing Co – Colorado Springs, CO
  • American-Style Pale Ale (122 Entries) BRONZE: Featherweight Pale, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co – Golden, CO
  • American-Style Amber / Red Ale (90 Entries) GOLD: Runoff, Odell Brewing Co – Fort Collins, CO
  • World Beer Cup Champion Brewery & Brewmaster – Large Brewing Company
    Coors Brewing Company, Dr. David Ryder – Golden, CO

2013 Top 50 Craft Breweries List: Includes 6 From Colorado

CBP13_Top_50_ BreweriesThe Brewers Association recently released their list of the 2013 Top 50 Craft Breweries in the U.S. For the 2nd year in a row, 6 Colorado breweries are on the list. The 6 on the list include; New Belgium, Oskar Blues, Odell, Left Hand, Rock Bottom & Breckenridge. These 6 are the same as last year, but a few of them have moved spots on the list from 2012. Left Hand Brewing Co. made the biggest jump, moving up 5 spots from #43 to #38. Oskar Blues moved up 3 spots from #27 to #24. On the other end of the spectrum, Craftworks Restaurants & Breweries (Rock Bottom) dropped 7 spots from #32 to #39.

6 Colorado Breweries listed in the top 50 Craft Breweries in the U.S.

  • New Belgium Brewing Co: #3 (no change from 2012)
  • Oskar Blues Brewery: #24 (up 3 spots from 2013)
  • Odell Brewing Co: #34 (down 1 spot from 2012)
  • Left Hand Brewing Co: #38 (up 5 spots from 2012)
  • Craftworks Restaurants & Breweries (Rock Bottom): #39 (down 7 spots from 2012)
  • Breckenridge Brewery: #40 (up 1 spot from 2012)

Of the 6 Colorado Breweries listed in the top 50 Craft Breweries, 4 of them are also listed in the top 50 overall brewery list!

4 Colorado Breweries listed in the top 50 overall:

  • New Belgium Brewing Co: #8 (no change from 2012)
  • Oskar Blues Brewery: #33 (up 3 spots from 2012)
  • Odell Brewing Co: #44 (no change from 2012)
  • Left Hand Brewing Co: #50 (1st time on the list!)

2013-Top-50-Brewery-List

Colorado Craft Beer Week – March 21-29, 2014

Tomorrow marks the start of the annual Colorado craft beer celebration, Colorado Craft Beer Week. The celebration consists of a collection of events featuring local brewers, restaurants and pubs that serve Colorado craft beer. The next nine days will be a great time to try a new brewery, or check out a taphouse or pub you’ve never been to. There are quite a few different opportunities during the week to learn more about the ever growing Colorado craft beer industry.

ColoradoCraftBeerWeekColorado Craft Beer Week is run by the Colorado Brewers Guild. As they describe it, “Colorado Craft Beer Week is a nine-day celebration of Colorado’s craft brewers, pubs and restaurants. Dozens of events will showcase brewers and educate beer lovers about Colorado’s unique craft beer community.”

There are too many events to list them all, so here are the featured events for the week:

  • Collaboration Fest: March 22, 2014 – This event will showcase the release of over 20 Colorado collaboration beers, all being unveiled at the event! Each beer featured at Collaboration Festival will be created by at least one Colorado Brewers Guild member, with other participating breweries coming from near and far.
  • Escape to Colorado: March 21-29, 2014 – All week long, Epic Brewing will be donating $.25 per pint sold in the tap room of our much-loved Escape to Colorado IPA to the Colorado Brewers Guild. Raise a glass to the CBG for all the work they do for Colorado’s craft breweries.
  • Colorado Craft Beer Week Classic: March 25, 2014 – In celebration of Colorado Craft Beer Week, Lou’s Food is teaming up with four of Colorado’s top breweries to host a 5-course beer dinner. Featured beers provided by Avery Brewing Co., Left Hand Brewing. Upslope Brewing Company and Prost Brewing.
  • New Kids on the Block: March 27, 2014 – New Kids on the Block is a beer-centric event celebrating Colorado breweries under 2 years old. Come in your finest 80s duds to this all-you-can-drink event! The event will include unlimited beer tastings, 80′s jams, a beer-themed buffet and a costume contest.
  • Hops & Handrails: March 29, 2014 – Left Hand Brewing is excited to announce the return of Hops & Handrails Beer Fest & Rail Jam, on March 29th in Longmont, Colorado. The hybrid winter event will feature the finest craft breweries alongside a 25’ high ski ramp at Left Hand Brewery. Hops & Handrails will bring the best Colorado has to offer in a family friendly winter wonderland loaded with snowboards and craft beer!

There are quite a few more events going on during Colorado Craft Beer Week. To find out more, check out the event calendar. Have a fun week checking out Colorado craft beer, and be safe out there!

AC Golden Announces Special Release from Hidden Barrel Collection

Golden, CO – Framboise Noir, an oak-aged sour from AC Golden Brewing Company’s Hidden Barrel Collection, goes on sale today in limited quantities in the Denver area. Framboise Noir - AC Golden

Framboise Noir was aged in oak barrels for two months with blackberries from the Western Slope of Colorado. The result is a dry, yet creamy, red wine-colored sour with a complex taste of fresh plums, maple and oak, caramelized toffee and blackberry jam.

The beer is packaged in 750 ml bottles with a cork and cage seal and a unique, wooden label. The label material, from Avery Dennison Label and Packaging Materials, is made of real cherry wood, which is backed with a special liner and adhesive to adhere to glass.  Because the labels are real wood, each one is uniquely grained. No two labels are exactly the same.

“We thought a real wood label would be perfect to represent our Hidden Barrel Collection, since most of those offerings are aged in wooden whiskey and wine barrels,” said Glenn Knippenberg, president and co-founder of AC Golden Brewing. “It was a bit of a challenge but we have a great labeling partner in The Smyth Company of St. Paul, Minnesota. Smyth has been literally “posted up” on the leading edge of packaging innovation for as long as we have been associated with them.  It is fun to be one of the very first to use this new type of label.”

The label material was introduced by Avery Dennison about a year ago.  The challenge of producing wood label material that’s ideal for printing is to create a uniform thickness and smooth surface, while not losing the real grain of the wood. The label designs were created by Conor McMahon at The Integer Group.

About 89 cases of Framboise Noir are available in about 20 craft-centric liquor stores in the Denver metro area.

Framboise Noir is part of AC Golden’s Hidden Barrel Collection, which displays the brewer’s passion for experimenting with a variety of brewing materials and production methods. Other recent releases from the Collection include: Ctayt (Russian Imperial Stout), Peche, Apricot, Kriek and Checkpoint Charlie.

AC Golden Brewing Company, Golden, Colo., is a small batch brewery specializing in hand crafting beers for discerning drinkers. Among its beers are: Colorado Native, an amber lager made with 100 percent Colorado ingredients; Herman Joseph’s Private Reserve, a German-style lager; Barmen, a German-style pilsner, and Winterfest, a Vienna-style lager shared only during the holidays.

Colorado Homebrew Suppliers and Resources To Get Started

HopsAre you interested in brewing your own beer? Many people think brewing is too difficult to try, and leave it to the professionals. Don’t get caught up in thinking brewing is too difficult for you. There are certainly steps to learn, and there is a fair amount of science involved. At the same time, there are many great resources available to help those that are interested in homebrewing. Colorado is home to a great deal of craft breweries, mostly due to the many beer lovers that enjoy freshly brewed craft beer. Join the thousands of Colorado beer lovers that are brewing their own beer! Check out our list of Colorado Homebrew Suppliers to get started.

Here are some more resources that may come in handy in as you get started in homebrewing. You will find there are many places to find information on homebrewing. These are just a few to get you started. Happy brewing!