Burning Can, Dogs, Bikes, and Running...All Packaged Together in One Festival

Last weekend we attended the annual Burning Can festival in Lyons, organized by Oskar Blues Brewery. In many ways the festival was unique and felt very much like it belonged in Colorado - we had the beer portion which celebrated canned beer from 35 breweries across the US, no bottles or kegs allowed, a 5k run beforehand, camping, a bike competition, dog competition and more. In fact, all these things were connected as part of the Lyons Outdoor Games. It all worked together in it's own Colorado way. Really though, the more I think about canned beer the more it seems to make sense in correlation with outdoor sports and lounging. I'll tell you what I mean...

Front Range Beer Trip Day 02: Longmont to Loveland and Back

Our Front Range beer trip continues. We had an epic first day, and on the second day we didn't slow down any. This day we drove from Boulder to Loveland and back down to Longmont where we spent the night. Keep track of the journey here. For some reason folks keep asking what the purpose of the trip was. There doesn't need to be any purpose for a beer journey, except to enjoy beer! Well, we also wanted to check out new spots, meet up with people we've been in contact with via email and twitter, and talk to breweries about some of the events we're putting on. We'll start this post with what was Colorado's newest brewery (at the time we visited).

City Star Brewing / Berthoud, CO

We had heard some really good things about City Star Brewing, and they'd only been open for 11 days when we visited. The brewery turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. They are a small brewery in the downtown area of a little town called Berthoud, in between Longmont and Loveland. During the first few days, they sold out of three of their six beers. By the time we got there, they were back up to four. We showed up before they opened though, so we didn't get to see it in full swing but the team of Whitney Taylor and brewer John Way showed us around and let us hang out.

Photos from an Oskar Blues Adventure

Oskar Blues Brewery and our local bar, Brewer's Republic, put together a field trip to visit a series of Oskar Blues venues, including the OB Hops and Heifers farm, the Oskar Blues production brewery, and OB Liquids and Solids. The bus came by early in the morning and picked up about 30 dedicated drinkers for what would prove to be not only an educational day, but one of the most memorable beer adventures we've had. 

Beer and Cheese, Yes Please!

Perhaps a longer post on the possibilities of pairing beer and cheese is in order. A year ago I wasn't keen on the idea of beer and food pairings, I just wanted my beer. But Another Pint, Trinity, and now the Melting Pot have been working away at me. I was given a ticket to the recent Oskar Blues and Melting Pot fondue dinner. For that reason I'll keep this brief so it doesn't sound like I'm only advertising to you. I'm not, I was really surprised at how well fondue and beer worked together.

Beer Weekend In Review

Last weekend wasn't entirely packed with beery happenings but there were a few goodies that we decided to attend individually and we thought we'd share our time.

Brewer's Republic hosted an event in collaboration with Oskar Blues Brewery and Common Cause Catering on Saturday afternoon. Zach Houlahan, the regional rep for Oskar Blues, was able to bring some rare treats for a special BBQ meal. Zach brought beef fed on spent grains from the Oskar Blues farm. Front Range BBQ then smoked the beef and created brisket and ribs for the event. Common Cause Catering created a wonderful BBQ meal from the beef that included beans, potato salad, and their special BBQ sauce. Zach was also able to get his hands on a rare keg of cedar aged Dales Pale Ale for the event along with kegs of most of their other beers. The cedar aged Dales was fantastic and well worth the visit. My only critique of the event was that there wasn't too many people taking advantage of this unique dinner. More advertising may remedy this next time. We didn't even know about it that far in advance. 

Cedar Aged Dales Pale Ale

Fine Dining Beer Dinner with Oskar Blues at Summit

For those of you looking for a finer beer dining experience in Colorado Springs, the Broadmoor is hosting an Oskar Blues dinner at the fine dining restaurant Summit. Five courses paired with five beers. The menu looks tasty, ranging from Ahi Tuna tartar to a honey spiced Muscovy Duck Breast. This will take place at The Summit, which is directly across the street from the Broadmoor hotel.

The timing is February 26th at 6pm. The cost is $79.00 and includes beer. Call Summit at 719.577.5896 to make reservations.

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Two Innovative Beers at Old Chicago Right Now

I was a huge fan of the Deschutes/Boulevard collaborative White IPA. I've had a few bottles of each version and I think I tended to like the Deschutes version a little more, although what do I know, the Boulevard version won a medal at GABF. The beer was different than most Belgian IPAs in that it didn't just take an IPA and use Belgian yeast, it took a Belgian Wit, with coriander, lemongrass, and sage and seamlessly merged it with a NW IPA. The beer was perhaps one of the most drinkable experimental beers of 2011. Well, I recently read that Deschutes will be releasing Chainbreaker White IPA into it's flagship lineup because the beer has done so well in Oregon. This version was actually an early attempt at the collaboration and is more hop forward than the one we got to try here. Sounds awesome! So, on twitter, I asked Deschutes when we'll get to see this beer and they said it's already here...At Old Chicago!

Photos from Oskar Blues Meet the Brewer

We're running a little late on these but just wanted to post a few nice photos from the Oskar Blues Meet the Brewer event a couple weeks ago. Stay tuned for more Meet the Brewer events in the future, they are seriously a ton of fun. At this one we had eight Oskar Blues beers on tap at Another Pint, three of which were specialty beers. Dave and Dale both spoke and then Dave took the guitar and started singing songs. Afterwards they walked around and talked to people about beer.

Beer Filled Events Starting Thursday

Thurs. Jan. 12th / 5pm
Bristol Releases English Old Ale
At Bristol Brewing

Bristol Brewing is kicking it up a notch with their new specialty releases and their new designs and we are really stoked for them. Be there when the beer is released to the public. Here's some notes from the brewery: a huge and hearty winter warmer that has been bottle conditioning since August 2011. This very traditional ale is medium-bodied and singularly malty, supplying sweet caramel undertones and age-related character at every turn.

Oh! and that reminds me...the general and VIP tickets to this year's Firkin Rendezvous just went on sale. This is definitely one of the better festivals of the year and I give it a high recommendation. The event is set for Feb 18th at Bristol, call 719-633-2555 x11 to reserve.

Fri. Jan 13th / 5pm
Black Fox Release Somnombulance
At Bristol Brewing

On your way to the Meet the Brewer event later in the evening you should stop by the Bristol Brewing taproom and try the newest batch of Somnombulance. This is one of Black Fox's famous beers, absolutely cherished by the locals and guaranteed to sell out quickly. A description of Somnombulance: A very rich Belgian brown ale brewed with coffee beans, vanilla beans and Ghirardelli caramel.

Fri. Jan 13th / 7pm
Meet the Brewer (and owner): Oskar Blues
At Another Pint: 13860 Gleneagle Dr.

Then on Friday night you've gotta head up to Another Pint for the special opportunity to meet the brewer as well as the owner of Oskar Blues. You can hang out and ask them questions...or just stare at them. They'll be bringing three specialty beers with them along with an old classic. We are co-sponsoring this event so we'd love to see you there!.

Sat. Jan 14th / 5pm
New Beer Released at Pikes Peak Brewing Co.
At PPBC - 1756 Lake Woodmoor Dr, Monument

PPBC created a special beer, 4319 Smoked Red Ale, to benefit the  Firefighters from Local 4319. The beer, loosely based on Devil's Head Red but with a lower hop profile and the addition of smoked malt. Come to the party and a portion of the proceeds will be donated.

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Meet the Brewer (And Owner!): Oskar Blues

Meet the Brewer: Oskar Blues
Friday, January 13th / 7pm
Another Pint / 13860 Gleneagle Dr., Colorado Springs
Facebook Event Page

Hope your holidays were fantastic! We thought we'd start the New Year off strong so we are partnering up with Another Pint for what will be an incredible Meet the Brewer event on Jan 13th. This time, we've got the ever popular Oskar Blues and we have both Dave Chichura (Head Brewer) as well as Dale Katechis (Owner) driving down from the Lyons/Longmont area to visit us. This will be a sweet opportunity to meet the folks who made canning craft beer popular! But that's not all...They're bringing some special beers with them. We'll already have the classic Mama's Little Yella Pils on tap but we'll also see Deviant Dales, Belgian Smidy, and Velvet Elvis.

Deviant Dales is an extraordinary IPA, originally released through the Old Chicago exclusive contract but will soon become one of Oskar Blues most sought after beers. It won the Silver Medal in the largest-ever category at GABF this year and it hasn't been available in Colorado Springs since it's debut at Old Chicago in October 2010. Booya! Belgian Smidy...hmm, that sounds familiar doesn't it? Smidy was one of the beers at our Anniversary Part a month ago and is a beer made from the second wort runnings from the popular Ten Fidy...this version is different though as it has been turned Belgian. Finally we'll see Velvet Elvis, which is an American Stout named after a guy who looks and sounds like Elvis and is only released here and there at specialty locations.

Beers will be available to sample and purchase by the pint. Dale and Dave will give some brief talks and will come around and answer questions personally.

So come out and help the growing Meet the Brewer series become increasingly popular. It will be something you'll be sorry to miss:

Meet the Brewer: Oskar Blues
Friday, January 13th / 7pm
Another Pint / 13860 Gleneagle Dr., Colorado Springs

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