Only history books will be able to properly assess the mayorships of John Hickenlooper and Michael Hancock, and whose administration did more for Denver. But there’s one area in which Hancock will always be a step behind: beer. Still, the mayor will get his feet wet on Wednesday, possibly for…

It’s not the same recipe, but it’s close — and that’s all that mattered to an old beer drinker who tried out a new version of one of Denver’s most historic brews: Tivoli. “His face was ear-to-ear smiles. He kept saying, ‘This is it, this is it,'” says Corey Marshall,…

Barrel-aged beers have become a big deal over the past year or two as more and more breweries experiment with the idea of soaking their creations in wooden barrels that once held whiskey, bourbon, rum, red wine, white wine or even cognac. One of the draws of barrel-aging is that…

On Tuesday, we wrote about the debut of the beer milkshake at 460 Red Robin locations across the country and pointed readers to our 2010 list of places around Denver and Boulder where they could enjoy other beer milkshakes, floats and desserts. We also suggested the beer floats offered by…

The Great American Beer Festival is also a great American motivator. In previous years, it has driven local breweries to finish construction projects, open their doors, brew new beers, and generally get their acts in shape. And this year is no exception — see the Bull & Bush, which is…

The Denver Beer Co, which just celebrated its first birthday last month, plans to spill over into a separate, 1,700-square-foot space next door that will be called the Barrel Room at Denver Beer Co. The addition, scheduled for completion in December, will allow the brewery to expand its production capacity…

Greenwood Village-based Red Robin has introduced a beer milkshake, just in time for, um, winter. Luckily, this state’s hottest summer isn’t over yet. But rather than go with a Colorado brewery, as Smashburger — another Colorado-based fast-casual chain — did for its new beer-and-burger pairing menu, Red Robin is using…

Hops can make spicy foods spicier. Roasted malts complement the sweet tang of barbecue sauce. And coriander? It pairs perfectly with Mexican food. Smashburger, the fast casual chain that began on South Colorado Boulevard and has expanded to around 160 locations in 27 states in just five years, has introduced…

“We’re really well known for our strong ales and our forays into that genre,” says Avery Brewing spokesman Joe Osborne. “But we’re always innovating, period.” And innovating will take the Boulder brewery in the opposite direction from the massive, high-alcohol beers that it has specialized in when, probably sometime next…

Great Divide Brewing will tap its first-ever beer made with fresh Colorado hops tomorrow at 2 p.m., joining a growing list of brewers who use locally grown hops. Sticky Icky is a pale ale that has been soaked in a firkin with fresh Crystal hops from Misty Mountain Hop Farm…

The Great American Beer Festival sold out in minutes — possibly seconds — this year, stealing the breath away from many beer fans and crashing plans. But the festival-related events that surround the annual beerstravaganza, October 11-13, have risen to a level in the past two years that now equals,…

The answer to the question posed in the video above is, “Yes, freakin’ open already!” The three dynamos behind Black Shirt Brewing have been pouring their hearts and souls into this neighborhood brewery, set to open very soon (really), and they must have a lot of both because the place…

Yet another out-of-state brewery will test the Colorado waters in a few weeks, but this one has the backing of someone who knows how to run the rapids. No-Li Brewhouse from Spokane, Washington, plans to sell four of its beers in bomber bottles and possibly on tap here starting in…

Update, September 19: The beer will be a “hopped up brown” and in a brown can, so the Deuce references continue. Oskar Blues and Indianapolis-based Sun King Brewing are whipping up their second collaboration beer today in Longmont under a shroud of secrecy. “We’re keeping some suspense about style of…

The Great American Beer Festival doesn’t change much from year to year. It is always a massive draw, a tourism magnet and the place to be seen for breweries and beer lovers alike. But the Boulder-based Brewers Association, which hosts the festival, October 11-13, does like to keep it relevant,…

Wynkoop Brewing Company is gearing up for the Great American Beer Festival and recently tapped a couple of its rarest but most outstanding beers. Orville is a blend of a couple of unusual beers: a pale ale fermented with brettanomyces in four wooden barrels for six weeks, and the same…

Cigar City Brewing, a small Florida beer maker with a huge following nationwide, will pour some of its highly-sought-after beers at a handful of Colorado taphouses for the first time this year during the Great American Beer Festival. The Tampa Bay brewery doesn’t normally distribute outside Florida, but like Michigan-based…

After months of planning, the Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project finally has a spot where fans of its sour and wild ales can sit down, talk to the owner and share a beer with him. The unusual brewery, which moved its operation from Fort Collins to Denver in June, will…

Prost Brewing opens today in Lower Highland, serving up frothy mugfuls of German-style lagers and setting them down on the bar with a hearty thump. The brewery is one of nearly two dozen that will open this year in the Denver metro area, but is stands apart for several reasons…