Great Divide celebrates its fifteenth anniversary

When Brian Dunn organized his business plan back in 1993, he was worried about being late to the game. A half dozen other microbreweries had already started here, selling small batches of craft brew to the hops- and malt-loving denizens of downtown Denver. But it turned out Dunn was right…

A Bonacquisti toast to First Friday

As part of the ever-expanding effort to pump a little “spirit” into the venues that host Denver’s First Friday events in several arts districts around town, the Artwork Network showroom, 878 Santa Fe Drive, will sell glasses of wine and bottles from the Bonacquisti Wine Company, beginning with the First…

Blueberry Homo Martini at Mo’s

I could be a homosexual man trapped in a heterosexual woman’s body. The fact is, I love gay boys. I’m the quintessential “fruit fly,” formerly and less attractively known as a “fag hag.” And as such, I love a great gay bar. I hate to stereotype, but not only does…

Colorado’s highest-altitude brewery closes

Colorado’s highest-altitude brewery, Rosie’s Brewpub in Leadville, has served its last pint as of May 30, according to its website. “Unfortunately with the economy, we here at Rosie’s Brewpub must close our doors. This past winter has impacted us in the worst way possible. Thanks to the many that did…

There’s Beer Yoga brewing in Colorado Springs

Perhaps, in the distant past, beer drinkers looked down their red, shiny noses at alfalfa sprout-munching yoga lovers, while those body-mind-and-soul spiritual types disdainfully ignored the smelly hopheads. But not anymore. The Bristol Brewing Company has created a place for everyone to come together, first in the downward dog position…

The hangover Saturday brunch following a fuzzy Friday night

In apparent anticipation of The Hangover, a new movie going straight to DVD coming to a theater near you on June 5, the Northglenn-based Allied Advertising and Public Relations Group is trying to convince us that after lubricating ourselves with booze tonight, we’re going to wake up tomorrow morning (presumably…

More news for what ales you

Yesterday, we told you about a host of Belgian beer releases in Colorado, but the brew news just won’t quit… Tonight, Boulder’s newest brewery, Upslope Brewing Company, will hold a grand opening for its tap room, at 1501 Lee Hill Road in Boulder. Upslope, which cans its beers, will have…

May showers bring Belgian beer flowers

Spring is the saison for Belgian-style ales, in particular because the lighter, citrusy sweet flavors – which accompany many Belgian beer types — go so well served cold after a warm, flower-fragranced day. A couple of Colorado breweries have just released their seasonal Belgians, while a couple more are on…

Where for art thou, schooner?

Last night, the Edgewater Inn was the only bar I could find on the westside that wasn’t crammed ass to elbow for the Nugs game. I ordered a beer and the lady working the bar asked if I would like it sooner. Of course I would like it sooner, I…

Ink — and beer — in their veins

Suspicions confirmed: We are not alone. “Media workers are the heaviest drinking professionals in England, consuming the equivalent of more than four bottles of wine or more than 19 pints of beer a week, according to government research,” the Guardian reports here. “People in the profession drink an average of…

Get your Jew ‘fro onto the label of He’Brew

This is a message to all the Chosen: Remember when you were thirteen and you wore your hand-me-down,powder-blue, three-piece suit to celebrate becoming a man? When Aunt Esther pinched your cheek so hard it made your soul hurt? Obviously, your mother was taking pictures of all of this — and…

Old Chicago’s World Beer Tour begins in Colorado

Old Chicago will kick off a local version of its World Beer Tour tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. with six selections from New Belgium Brewing Company – four on tap and two in bottles. The Colorado Beer Tour, as it’s being called, lasts until June 14. Beer lovers (you!)…

Patios: 10 of our favorites

Patios are so popular in Denver that bars and restaurants fight for every square foot of turf or sidewalk where they can plant a table, a chair, a stool. As a result, this city is full of great places to sit outside — some spots garden-like and secluded, others street-side,…

Patio season approaches; share your favorite spots

Patios are so popular in Denver that bars and restaurants fight for every square foot of turf or sidewalk where they can plant a table, a chair, a stool. As a result, this city is full of great places to sit outside — some spots garden-like and secluded, others street-wide,…

Rhubarb Martini at Olivea

I couldn’t wait for Olivea to open, because I’d always liked the feel of the space when it was Aix — cozy and intimate without being claustrophobic — and I thought that the foursome behind Duo who’d bought it (Stephanie Bonin, Keith Arnold, chef John Broening and pastry chef Yasmin Lozada-Hissom)…

A Crush on Cans: Steamworks, Upslope and more

It’s American Craft Beer Week – seven days that even the United States Congress felt should be set aside for drinking micro brews. But Colorado’s beer culture is worth a deeper look, since 100 craft breweries operated here in 2008, producing 75,000 barrels of delicious beer. Of particular interest is…

A Crush on Cans: Ball Packaging

It’s American Craft Beer Week – seven days that even the United States Congress felt should be set aside for drinking micro brews. But Colorado’s beer culture is worth a deeper look, since 100 craft breweries operated here in 2008, producing 75,000 barrels of delicious beer. Of particular interest is…

An illuminating evening at the Candlelight

Once a seedy, smoky biker bar where rides (and ride-throughs) were welcome inside, the fifty-year-old Candlelight Tavern (383 South Pearl Street) now rocks higher-watt lightbulbs, stocks higher-shelf booze and attracts a higher-profile clientele — if you can call the swarms of University of Denver kids and alum who flood the…

A Crush on Cans: Wynkoop vs. Breckenridge

It’s American Craft Beer Week – seven days that even the United States Congress felt should be set aside for drinking micro brews. But Colorado’s beer culture is worth a deeper look, since 100 craft breweries operated here in 2008, producing 75,000 barrels of delicious beer. Of particular interest is…

It’s World Cocktail Week! Drink up with Jared Boller

World Cocktail Week ends today. So let’s raise a glass to Jared Boller, the award-winning mixologist who represented Denver in a recent article in USA Today that profiled a handful of alcohol alchemists around the country. Boller will be behind the bar at TAG, Troy Guard’s restaurant that opens in…

A Crush on Cans: Ska Brewing

It’s American Craft Beer Week – seven days that even the United States Congress felt should be set aside for drinking micro brews. But Colorado’s beer culture is worth a deeper look, since 100 craft breweries operated here in 2008, producing 75,000 barrels of delicious beer. Of particular interest is…