We had the opportunity to attend the Denver Only Beer Festivus last Saturday. This is a new (and hopefully recurring) beer festival that was presented by Denver Off The Wagon and Imbibe Denver. The event was held at the recently renovated McNichols Building at Civic Center Park in Denver and featured ONLY Denver breweries (all 18 of them!). Despite having sold out weeks ago, the inaugural Festivus had no lines, great beer, a DJ and dance area, plenty of room to move about and brewers working their booths and supporting their craft beers. At one point, my wife whispered in my ear “This might be my new favorite beer festival”. It was truly a Festivus Miracle!
TRVE Brewing just keeps getting better and better. Owner / Brewer Nick Nunns was pouring Diotima, a Smoked Tea Saison and Stout O))), a thick and roasty American Stout. Stop by the brewery and give these brews a try if you haven’t already. Stout O))) was one of my favorite beers of the night. It’s a hearty brew and perfect for those cold winter nights that lie ahead.
Crooked Stave brought the funk and crushed it as usual. No shocker there. Amazing brews.
There was a Yeti sighting at the Great Divide table. They brought Oak-Aged Yeti, Titan IPA, Hibernation Ale and their upcoming Belgian Tripel called Orabelle. Keep an eye out for Orabelle in 12oz. bottles sometime in January.
Prost is awesome, but you already knew that.
Strange Brewing always brings a great lineup and the Festivus was no exception. Head Brewer Tim Myers brought his “Beers Made By Walking” release called Eldorado Juniper Bel-Jin Dark, along with the very tasty Pumpkin Porter and Le Bruit du Diable Farmhouse Ale.
I geek’d out for a good 20 minutes at the River North Brewery table. They brought some big and impressive beers for all the geeks in the house. They were pouring a barrel-aged version of Avarice (Belgian-style Imperial Stout), along with Quandary (Quadrupel) and Hoppenberg Uncertainty Principle (Belgian-style Double IPA). Awesome stuff.
The standout of the night for me was Black Shirt Brewing and their Imperial Red Rye IPA. This a hop heads wet dream. Man, I was blown away by this beer with its’ full and complex flavor profile. I also tried their Saison and Red Ale, both of which were really tasty. There was reportedly a keg of Red Hubbard Squash Saison, but it was so popular that they ran out before I got a pour.
Black Shirt Brewing Co-Owner Branden Miller has been really helpful with providing information and answering questions for the blog and it was nice to finally meet and taste his beers. Guys, I’m excited about this one. Black Shirt Brewing looks to be the real deal. Miller said that going forward, they plan to open every Saturday, so check the Weekend Beer Buzz for updates on what they’ll be pouring in the Tap Room.
And that’s just a few of the many great breweries that were in attendance at the Festivus. Don’t forget Our Mutual Friend, CAUTION, Denver Beer Co., Wynkoop, Wit’s End, Renegade and on and on! Denver is lucky to have so many great, young brewers that are crafting some awesome beers these days. It’s really impressive to see so many high quality beers coming out of places that are so new to the brewing community. I can’t wait to see where we’ll be in 5 years.
So that’s just a quick recap on the Festivus scene and the many great beers that were flowing. Again, awesome, awesome time. Thanks again to Denver Off The Wagon and Imbibe Denver for hosting a great event. Now, on to the pictures.
Cheers!
