Diebolt Brewing opens in Sunnyside

Diebolt Brewing in the Sunnyside neighborhood opened quietly this past weekend with limited hours and just two beers on tap. But owner Jack Diebolt and his parents, who moved to Denver to help, plan to ramp things up significantly over the next couple of weeks. Located on residential Mariposa Street…

Squire Lounge to close for renovations — will the classic dive go upscale?

The Squire Lounge, the legendary Colfax dive bar will be closing its doors for about a month. The owners have extensive renovations planned, and the bar will likely never be the same. For some patrons, these renovations mean cleaner, more private bathrooms, classier cocktail options and a friendlier ambience. For die-hard Loungers, however, this remodel represents the end of an era. Westword caught up with Squire bartender Cam Omlid, on the final tuesday night open mic before the revamp to get a sense of how people feel about the Squire Lounge getting all respectable.

Hogshead Brewery turns one; beer fests abound this weekend

This week USA Today announced the results of its hunt for the “best” craft brewery in America. Experts whittled the list of this country’s 2,538-plus breweries (the latest number from the Brewer’s Association) down to 72 nominations, and those went to a vote of the readers. More than 11,500 people…

Jason Patz, bartender at Williams & Graham, wins last night’s Campari competition — and shares his recipe

Twelve local bartenders — Randy Layman (ACE), Ryan Layman (Steuben’s), Ken Kodys (Breckenridge-Wynkoop), Alex Kady (Epicurean Catering and Entertainment), Derrick Mund (Breckenridge-Wynkoop), Anika Zappe (Coohills), Les Baker (Tom’s Urban Diner), Mark Baldini (Cruise Room), Chad Gray (Lou’s Food Bar), Holland Rock-Garden (Green Russell), Jason Patz (Williams & Graham) and Luke…

Hops, hops and more hops for IPA Day, harvests and more

Arvada’s Voss Farms, which supplies hops for Black Shirt Brewing and other local beer makers, is already picking it’s sweet-smelling produce, and you might be able to help. Like last year, Voss is looking for volunteers (although space is very limited). For details, email Andrew at VossFarmsColorado@Yahoo.com. Hop farmers in…

Colorado represents at Tales of the Cocktail

Tales of the Cocktail is a yearly gathering of bartenders, distillers and spirits professionals that takes place in New Orleans every July. It features seminars, competitions and a ton of parties, and finishes with a gala awards ceremony that recognizes the world’s best in our industry. I attended my first…

Great American Beer Festival tickets: gone in a flash

Tickets to the Great American Beer Festival, which takes place October 10-12 at the Colorado Convention Center, sold out in less than twenty minutes this morning, according to message on Twitter from the Boulder-based Brewers Association. (Update: BA addresses scalping issue below.) The speed with which they disappeared was no…