The Full Sail Brewery has been an important contributor to the movement of modern craft beer within American. The beers they produce are accessible and still interesting while maintaining a sincere foundation of balance. The Session Lager may be the single greatest introduction as to what true lagers should be. The simple approach works best for Full Sail, beers true to style that can please the untrained palate while still being praised by the long-term experts.

Full Sail has also been smart as a progressive business, both for the fact that in 1999 they became a company that is independent and all employee-owned, but also for an understanding of how the microbrewery scene is evolving. The interest in bigger and bolder styles of beer is one of the defining fundamentals of many craft beer drinkers. Full Sail heard the voices and has answered the people by dedicating to a large barrel-aging program as well as releasing a distinctly American Double IPA.

Unita Brewing Company out of Salt Lake City has long been one of the only representations for out of state beer drinkers as to the craft beers scene within the state of Utah. The state is widely known for the strict laws concerning alcohol and the restrictions that make buy certain beers so difficult. It almost comes from a place of rebellion that Uinta would create the Crooked Line series of beers. All are bottled in 750 ml. bottles and each one carries a higher than usual alcohol level, especially for a brewery out of Utah. There are some beers that have rested in used Bourbon barrels, one that is highly hopped but for the heat of summer, the Tilted Smile Imperial Pils seems most appropriate.

Tilted Smile is a deceptive beer.  Pilsners are usually the clear colored, lightly flavored, simply produced and mainly mass marketed beers that many associate with bbqs and ball games. Although there are some wonderful beers being made traditionally in Eastern Europe, the American Pilsner is not a style that is highly regarded. Tilted Smile Condenses the stigmas and concentrates the base style into something much more interesting.

Jim Stinson
Rockyard Brewing Company

See the following links:

http://rockyardbrewing.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/buddha-nuvo/

http://www.focusonthebeer.com/2011/02/collaborative-buddha-nuvo-image-recap.html

http://www.focusonthebeer.com/2011/07/buddha-nuvo-is-bottled-and-almost-ready.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJxq1PRHxnM

http://www.justin.tv/saison_man/b/279407283

http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2011/07/buddha_nuvo_is_the_collaborati.php

Some may remember a  Green Manalishi  reference from back in the day. Mainly referring to one’s excess of green (money) and a desire to flaunt the said wealth.  Rude and uncompromising may be the attitude of these individuals within all their vanity and greed of the green.  Let’s say that some don’t find simple cash as being enough, and opt for another form of green.  A green that can display a similar sense of wealth without any form of currency, a green that is bold with volume and increases outside desire by any that care to look, a green found in beer and cherished by all those with a hankering for the bitter.

Hops, of course! Those amazing leaves that are dried and compacted into a smaller, more potent form hold their own sense of wealth to those that understand. Sometimes more isn’t always better, but many times MUCH more is just where you want it to be. Hoppin’ Frog’s Mean Manalishi is a beer that flaunts it’s outward bias for the hoppier the better. This beer clocks in at an off the charts level of 168 IBUS! Beyond comprehension by the human palate, this beer is nothing short of extreme hop bombardment. Dank on the nose, with grapefruit and bitter orange rind aromas smoldering out of the glass.  There is no mistake, this beer is ridiculously hop forward, and one can sense that without even taking a sip.

Located within the Bavarian region of Southern Germany, the Weihenstephan State Brewery is highly regarded as one of the world’s most important sites regarding the art of fermentation. The brewery was born out of tradition, one rich with history and an entity of current beer production that has very few equivalents. Originally created by a sect of Benedictine monks, many claim that the brewery of Weihenstephan is, in fact, the oldest still in production. Residing atop the Weihenstephan Hill in the Bavarian city of Freising, the created beer is as bright and focused as it has been for the previous near 10 centuries.

Weihenstephan’s roots are deep within the history of Germany. The grounds that currently house the brewing facilities were once home to an Abbey that also cultivated a hop garden in the year 768. The actual brewery was licensed in 1040 and it seems not much has changed. The sheer depth of knowledge passed on throughout the dozens of decades have allowed for a wide range of beer styles. None can be seen as more essential that that of their Hefe-Weissbier.

For those not familiar with Funkwerks, how can you easily describe what best represents your beers?

Funkwerks is about creating incredible beers that are crafted with knowledge, technology, and the best ingredients in a Farmhouse tradition.

Where did the the idea of starting a brewery that focused on the farmhouse styles of Belgium come from?

We are big fans of Farmhouse styles. So when my partner, Gordon Schuck, told me that he won a Gold Medal at the 2007 National Home Brew Competition for his Saison, it was apparent that we were going to build the brewery around this Saison recipe. From the start we knew we were going to focus. We feel that many breweries (especially in Fort Collins) are very good at creating pale ales, IPAs, and porters so there isn't a need in the market place for more of these.

Was it easy for you and your partner to decide on Fort Collins as the home of Funkwerks?

Very easy. We new that we needed to be in a beer epicenter like the front range of Colorado or Portland Oregon and we wanted a city that knows what a Saison is. That pretty much left us with Fort Collins. The beer population here is very well educated, and thanks to New Belgium, Fort Collins is one of the only cities in the US where you can ask some one on the street if they know what a Saison is, and they might answer yes.

Would you say that Farmhouse Ales and Saisons in particular are well recognized by today's average craft beer drinker?

No, but it is definitely growing. As the Craft Beer market matures we are seeing more people come towards the farmhouse styles, and for that matter, Belgian styles in general.

Can you give us a little more insight into the brewing process for Funkwerks? Do you take a more traditional approach or combine elements from a slightly more technical direction?

Our brewing philosophy is not traditional, but we don't just press a button on our brewhouse and beer comes out either. Our goal is to make incredible beer using healthy organic ingredients. Whatever technology or process it takes to do this well, we will do. One thing we do differently then many breweries is to use a  multi-step mashing process. Most breweries are only setup to do a single step mash, which for most styles doesn't make much of a difference, but for Saisons it does. By using a multi-step mashing process, we have more control over the resulting beer flavors, specifically the spicy aromas.


How do you feel your current bottles should be enjoyed? Are you an advocate of aging or cellaring?

I enjoy a fresh saison more then an aged bottle but everyone is different. We have cellar limits on each bottle. Some of our beers can be aged for a long time and it will make a difference, but others like the White will mellow too much in my opinion. For the White, this happens because the spices dull over time.

So far just the White and Saison are bottled, what can we expect to be part of a regular year-round lineup?

Our next beer to be bottled will be Mauri King. It is a Saison with Rakau hops from New Zealand. It has a lot of hop aroma and flavors, but it is by no means a bitter bomb. This has been a very big success in our tap room.

Regarding seasonal releases, will different times of the year represent different approaches to new recipes?

Very much so. As we get going we want to have at least one seasonal beer for each season. Each seasonal beer will try to capture the mood of the season. Our summer beers this year will be on our lighter side. While our winter beers will be darker styles that incorporate more dark fruit flavors and barrel aging.

Can you talk about the Organic origins of your ingredients as well as the difficulties that come with Organic certifications?

We try to use all organic ingredients in every beer but sometimes it isn't possible because certain hops and malts aren't available in organic form. Instead of being constrained we have chosen to use organic grains whenever they are available, but if an organic grain is not available we will not sacrifice the beer taste. Unfortunately this means we will not be able to be certified organic at this time. Though that might change in the future.

Where would you like to see your beers in the future? Any desire to distribute outside of Colorado?

Right now we are focused on Colorado and more specifically the Front Range. If we decide to leave the state it won't be for many years.

Can customers find your beers in any local bars or restaurants at this point? What can they expect if they arrive at the brewery?

We are at a few bars in Denver pretty consistently (Rackhouse and Freshcraft come to mind). We are always looking for new places that would be a good fit for us, our goal is not to be in every place, but be in the right places. When customers come by the tasting room they can expect to taste many different beers that are only brewed for the tap room. They might be experimental beers that may be bottled in the future, a tap room only seasonal, or just a beer that Gordon and I decided to have fun with.

What does the future hold for Funkwerks? Any new projects or concepts we should be excited for?

The Blaugies are a family of three (the wife being the brewer) and are best known for their farmhouse or Saison styled beverages. One of which is the La Moneuse Saison. Named after a local bandit and gang leader (who is actually a distant relative of the Blaugies family), La Moneuse can almost be seen as a tribute to times past. Rustic in nature with an abundance of yeasty, earthy aromas and flavors of dried herbs and wild flowers, this is a Saison that could easily have rivaled those that were created many decades ago.

Brad's Last Beer Tasting: March 8th 6:30-8:30pm at Lucky Strike Lanes - Belmar

March Wine Tasting: March 29th 6:30-8:30pm at Lucky Strike Lanes - Belmar

Importers have contracts with breweries outside the US.  Merchant du Vin is the only importer that started and still remains, focusing on styles of beer of folklore breweries.  MdV was the first company in the US to market beer by style, similar to wines.  Our portfolio is comprised of breweries that are the benchmarks for the styles they produce.   

We were founded in 1978.  Most of our breweries have over 25 years of history with us: Samuel Smith, Ayinger, Lindemans, Orval, Pinkus (the world’s first organic brewery), Traquair.  Our more recent additions are classic or innovative beers that fit into our portfolio: Westmalle, creator of the Tripel style & still the benchmark, 2004: Rochefort, brewer of one of the world’s most respected strong dark Belgian ales, 2005: Zatec, a historical and classic Czech brewery located in the heart of the Czech hop-growing region, 2006: Green’s, the only gluten-free bottle-conditioned Belgian ales.  In 2008, we introduced Samuel Smith’s Organic fruit ales, brewed at Smith’s tiny & historic Melbourn Brewery in Stamford, England.  We also sell beer in Canada, Australia, and, starting in 2009, China.

Oh man, I’d have to say Orval.  Yep, my eyes grow a little wider when I see an Orval.  However, I’m also partial to signature styles like Sam Smith IPA, because it’s not like American IPA’s that are super hoppy.  It’s more balanced, and a great example of the original IPA style.   Also, Ayinger Ur-Weisse, it’s a bit darker hefeweizen and there’s so much flavor involved in the beer. On a sunny summers day there’s nothing better.

Samuel Smith beers are now widely available in the US, which has provided an important sales channel to the brewery.  We are very proud to represent this historic, family-owned, benchmark brewery.   

Green’s Gluten Free Beers are referred to by many, as the best gluten free beers in the world so the sales are not a surprise.  We import three styles of Green’s from Belgium; an Amber, Dubbel and Tripel.  These styles are traditional to the Belgian beer industry. Thinking about it, what may be a surprise, is that Celiac and non-Celiac are enjoying these products.  I recall when “sorghum” gluten free beers began to hit the market.  At the time I was working for a wholesaler on the east coast.  We had the responsibility and obligation to taste the sorghum beers that we had in our portfolio. Let’s just say the difference in taste and quality from these beers, compared to Green’s is like night and day. 

Probably more than any other single word, the term Trappist means “quality” in the beer world.  Guidelines of the term “Trappist” are very specific.  For example,  they must be made within the walls of a monastery of the Cistercian order. Secondly, they must be brewery owned by the Cistercian community.  Lastly, profits from the sale of the beer are given to charity.  There is no such thing as a “Trappist-style” beer.  A non-Trappist brewery using the term “Trappist style” is either mistaken or trying to borrow mojo in a misleading fashion.

Mdv is approached by many breweries to come into our portfiolio.  We are very specific to who those breweries will be.  MdV will only take in breweries that are folklore and defines their style.  The youngest brewery in our portfolio is Sam Smith est. 1758.   You have Orval circa 1070.  Breweries like these, stand way far out of thousand upon thousands of European breweries.  That said, we do our best to let people know news as it occurs: www.merchantduvin.com; www.facebook.com/merchantduvin ;  www.twitter.com/merchantduvin .

• Stone Cali-Belgique - Belgian IPA - Singles
• Boulder Mojo Risin - Imperial IPA - Singles and 4pks
• 5280 Best of Colorado Variety 6pks
• New Belgium La Folie 2011 - American Wild Ale - Singles
• Augustiner Brau Edelstoff - Munich Helles Lager - Singles and 6pks
• Bolevard Irish Ale - 6pks
• New Planet Off Grid - Gluten Free Pale Ale - 4pks
• Timmermans Kriek - Fruit Lambic - Singles

Can you describe the history and inspiration for Ten FIDY Stout?

FIDY was originally brewed in Lyons in 2006. We had some time to do new, different beers that had a longer tank time and FIDY and Mama’s Little Yella Pils were made around the same time. FIDY was based on a homebrew recipe of another brewer who was working with us at the time.  

How is Ten FIDY made and what about this process reflects the price tag?

It’s a time-consuming, labor intensive process to make Ten FIDY.  FIDY is made with nearly 50% specialty malts like Munich, crystal malt, chocolate malt and roasted barley. These malts are all more than twice as costly as our base 2-row malt. As if that weren’t enough, we take only first runnings from TWO MASHES to fill the kettle. This means that we are leaving a lot of sugar that could be sparged from the grain, but it would dilute the high-gravity wort of the first runnings. If we had another kettle we could sparge the grain left after collecting the first runnings and make another beer from the wort we get from it, albeit a smaller gravity brew. The point is to get very high gravity (lots of sugar) wort in the kettle. After boiling the wort is concentrated further and we end up with a 25 Plato original gravity wort. Here’s the thing: that’s just half of a batch.  After that we perform two more mashes to collect another kettleful to make the other half. So we’re using almost three times the amount of grain we use for 100 bbls of Dale’s Pale Ale to make 100 bbls of FIDY.  Besides the extra expense for ingredients and labor the tank residence time of FIDY is longer, too. This gives it extra time to mature in tank before packaging.

Do you recommend aging Ten FIDY?

Once it’s in the can or keg you can drink it right away or you can cellar it. True fact. We don’t put a shelf life on it. We are archiving a certain amount of each batch to release in limited quantities at a later date. I have two cans of ’07 sitting on my desk right now. We recently tapped a few kegs of year-old FIDY that were amazing. It’s great to see how the beer matures over time. The intense roasted character subsides and blends with the big crystal malt in the beer. The alcohol fades into the background so you don’t realize the double-digit ABV as much. It rounds out nicely.

With Sour Cherry Ten FIDY aged in oak barrels, and Stranahan’s Whiskey Barrel Aged Selections of nearly every brew, it seems Oskar Blues has a bit of a barrel aging program happening behind the scenes.  Are there any plans to expand on this?

The Sour Cherry FIDY was just a single whiskey barrel full of beer. I filled that barrel with more FIDY after we emptied it. I haven’t tried it in a while to see if the bugs took to it, but when it’s ready I’ll throw some more cherries in there so we can have another small amount of the Sour Cherry FIDY. Mostly the beer will be available at the brewery and at Home Made Liquids & Solids.  We’ve aged our beers (all of them, including the Pils) in Stranahan’s barrels for the last few years. We’ve put the barrel aging program on hiatus for a while so we could focus more on the main business at hand. We just finished racking the barrel-aged ODB Barleywine and it’s pretty effing good. Any barrel-aged FIDY in house is minimal right now and may all end up getting cherries. Other than that, there is nothing else is in barrels right now. We’ve been oak aging all of our beers, though. They’re coming out quite nicely, with big, spicy oak flavor and vanilla. We’re looking at the possibility of getting new oak barrels and firing up the program again soon.  Where the beers end up I don’t always know. When they’re ready they always end up at our place.  

Ten FIDY is your only seasonal beer.  Can you tell us if there are more on the horizon, and if so what they might be?

We occasionally talk about that but there’s nothing in the works for now. We did just brew a big batch of Deviant Dale’s IPA which will be on tap at all Colorado Old Chicago locations starting January 24th. They’ll be the exclusive outlet for that beer until February 1st when we’ll tap it at our places.

Oskar Blues was the first craft brewery to put beer in a can, now there are more than 70 brewers canning, what are your thoughts on the trend continuing to grow?

It looks like it can only increase. There are established bottling breweries adding canning to their packaging and new breweries foregoing bottles altogether, choosing to can instead. With already reputable breweries moving to cans it’s giving more and more legitimacy to the fact that cans are the superior package for beer. We’ve done a lot of the work to help persuade the craft beer-drinking public of this, and we can all see how that has helped others move to cans as consumers become more accustomed to seeing craft beer in aluminum.

I've always thought it would be really cool if Oskar Blues produced "bombers" in larger cans.  It would also be a great way to set another example in canning craft beer.  Is this a possibility?

Certainly. We talk a lot about producing a big-ass can. Years ago we talked about going straight to 40 oz. As we grow and get more packaging equipment the possibility of seeing a 16 oz. or larger can from us will be greater.

Have you been surprised by the success of Gubna?  At Mile High alone, it is our 2nd best selling IPA, and one of the 20 best selling beer SKUs in our shop.

I’m really glad to hear how popular the beer is. It’s an aggressive, challenging beer so it surprises me somewhat to hear how well y’all have done with it but apparently you have an adventurous clientele. I think that the beer rating websites help people make more informed decisions about purchasing premium beers like Gubna. That, coupled with beer sellers doing in-store tastings definitely helps to make a $14 four-pack seem like a worthwhile venture.

Oskar Blues Home Made Liquids & Solids has been a huge success in Longmont.  What are the differences in the two locations, and Is the Lyons location still considered your home-base?

Yes! Lyons is where it all came from and it’s where it’s still happening.  Every Oskar Blues beer on tap in Lyons is brewed in Lyons. We brew Dale’s, Mama’s, Gubna, Gordon, Chub and FIDY in Lyons and serve them right there. We don’t filter the ales in Lyons, only the Pils. In addition to the main brands, we brew an ever-expanding list of specialty beers in Lyons that are available there AND at Home Made Liquids & Solids. We have a larger selection of beers at Home Made Liquids & Solids (43 taps) than in Lyons where we can serve up to 10. We serve every brand that we package at Home Made Liquids & Solids in addition to as many specialties of our own from Lyons that we can provide, sometimes up to 14 different Oskar Blues beers.  The unfiltered core brands in Lyons are a big draw for me. That’s how we’ve always done it there, and the beers are different and worth the trip. What you won’t find in Lyons is the assortment of other breweries’ beers. We haven’t had a guest tap there in a long time. It’s all Oskar Blues, all the time.

What's next for Oskar Blues?

Another big year of growth! We’re getting five 200-bbl fermenters and one 200-bbl bright beer tank delivered to the Longmont brewery so we can prepare for the increased production planned for 2011. We’ve added more people to our sales team both locally and out of state to help us grow and keep the beer fresh everywhere. Our brewing, cellaring and packaging teams are all getting ready for the challenge. We’re about to fire up our new keg washer/filler that we bought from Sierra Nevada last Fall and we’re adding new equipment to the brewhouse to help us get more brews per day. The addition of a wort receiver will add to our daily brewhouse throughput capabilities which will benefit all of us.

• Sierra Nevada Hoptimum - Imperial IPA - VERY LIMITED SINGLES
• Dry Dock Vanilla Porter - Singles
• Dry Dock Hefeweizen - Singles
• Funkwerks Saison - Singles
• Avery duganA - Imperial IPA - Singles
• Great Divide Grand Cru - Belgian Strong Dark Ale - Singles
• HeBrew Vertical Jewbelation - Strong Ale aged in Rye Whiskey barrels - Singles
• Port Wipeout - American IPA - Singles
• Shiner Dortmunder - Dortmunder Export Lager - 6pks

• Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad - Just got a few more cases!
• Dogfish Head World Wide Stout - Imperial Stout - Singles
• Deschutes Hop Henge - Imperial IPA - Singles
• Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball - American Strong Ale - 6pks
• Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial - Dark Farmhouse Ale - Singles
• Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca - Oak Aged Witbier - SIngles
• Sprecher Winterbrew - Bock - 4pks
• O'Fallon Smoke - Smoked Porter - 6pks
• O'Fallon Cherry Chocolate Ale - Fruit Beer - 6pks
• Santa Fe Happy Camper - American IPA - 6pk Cans
• Santa Fe Imperial Java Stout - Imperial Stout brewed with coffee - 6pk Cans
• Avery New World Porter - Black IPA - 6pks
• Sam Adams Noble Pils - German Pilsner - 6pks

• Dogfish Head is Back! 60 Minute, 90 Minute, Indian Brown, and Raison d'etre now in stock.
• Russian River Consecration - American Wild Ale - Singles
• Dieu du Ciel Aphrodite - American Stout with Vanilla Beans and Cocoa - Singles
• Mikkeller Chipotle Porter - Singles
• Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast - Imperial Oatmeal Stout - Singles
• Mikkeller Simcoe Single Hop - American IPA - Singles
• Mikkeller I Beat yoU - Imperial IPA - SIngles
• Mikkeller/Brewdog I Hardcore You - Imperial IPA - Singles
• Ommegang Zuur - Flemish Sour Brown - Singles
• Odell Avant Peche - Imperial Porter with Peaches - Singles
• Odell Red Ale - Hoppy Amber Ale - 6pks
• Chatoe Rogue Dirtoir - Black Lager - Singles
• Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti - Russian Imperial Stout - Singles
• Great Divide Belgica - Belgian IPA - 6pks
• Achel Trappist Extra - Belgian Strong Dark Ale - Singles
• Cantillon Grand Cru - Unblended Lambic - Singles
• Cantillon Classic Gueuze - Gueuze - Singles
• De Cam Oude Lambiek - Unblended Lambic - Singles
• Green Flash Barleywine - American Barleywine - Singles
• Green Flash Double Stout -Imperial Stout - Singles
• Green Flash Le Freak - Belgian IPA - Singles

From the beautiful island nation of Sri Lanka comes Ceylon Brewing Co.’s Lion Stout. In the beer universe it is known as a Foreign Export Stout, for reasons which will become evident. Sri Lanka has had a long and tumultuous history as a European colony. Because of the country’s strategic location within the trading routes of the East Indies, it was claimed by the Portuguese and then by the Dutch until the British ultimately wrestled control. For the purposes of this beer it is the British we are most interested in. The British found that the fertile fields of the idyllic island were perfect for growing the tea they so dearly treasured. And being so far from home they longed for the beer they were accustomed to in their native United Kingdom. So in the 1800’s Sir Samuel Backer set up Sri Lanka’s first brewery, Ceylon Brewing. More than a century later it evolved into a Sri Lankan export. The term Foreign Extra Stout refers to a style which is brewed bigger than normal to ensure the beer loses nothing on an export voyage which will typically be longer than most. Sri Lanka is much further away than Bend, Oregon.

• Maui Coconut Porter - American Porter - 4pks
• Maui Big Swell - American IPA - 6pks
• Maui Bikini Blonde Lager - Munich Helles - 6pks
• Left Hand Fade to Black Volume II - Smoked Baltic Porter - 6pks
• Left Hand Barrel Aged Wake Up Dead - Imperial Stout - Singles
• Avery Mephistopheles' Stout - Belgian Imperial Stout - Singles
• Deschutes The Abyss - Imperial Stout - VERY LIMITED Singles
• Elysian Avatar - Jasmine IPA - Singles
• Elysian Immortal - American IPA - Singles
• Elysian BiFrost - Winter Warmer - Singles
Rogue Mogul Madness - Winter Warmer - Singles
• Rogue Old Crustacean - American Barleywine - Singles
• Sam Adams/Weihenstephan Infinium - Bière de Champagne - Singles
• Upslope Brown Ale - American Brown Ale - 6pk Cans
• Victory Old Horizontal - American Barleywine - Singles
• Dogfish Head World Wide Stout - Russian Imperial Stout - Singles
• Joseph Spelt Ale - Gluten Free Beer - Singles
  • Augustijn - Tripel - Singles
  • Gavroche - Bière de Garde - Singles

• New Belgium Vrienden - American Wild Ale - Singles
• Dogfish Head World Wide Stout - Imperial Stout - Singles
• Boulevard 21st Anniversary Fresh Hop Pale Ale - American Pale Ale - Singles
• Boulevard Harvest Dance - Oak Aged Wheat Wine - Singles
• Boulevard Tank 7 - Saison - Now in 4pks
• Boulevard Sixth Glass - Quadrupel - Now in 4pks
• Boulevard Dark Truth - Imperial Stout - Now in 4pks
• Ommegang Adoration - Belgian Strong Dark Ale - Singles
• Ommegang Cup o Kyndness - Belgian Strong Dark Ale - Singles
• Full Sail Wreck the Halls - American IPA/Winter Warmer - Singles
• Home for the Holidays - Oak Aged Brown Ale - Singles
• Great Divide Old Ruffian - American Barleywine - Singles
• Lost Abbey Devotion - Belgian Pale Ale - Singles
• Mikkeller Ris a la Male - Ale brewed with Cherries and Almonds - Singles
Mikkeller Santa's Little Helper 2009 - Ale brewed with Spices and Cocoa Powder - Singles
• Mikkeller From To - Imperial Porter - Singles
• The Bruery Three French Hens - Belgian Strong Dark Ale aged in Oak - Singles
• Affligem Noel - Belgian Strong Dark Ale - Singles
• Breckenridge Christmas Ale - Winter Warmer - 6pks and 1 liter bottles
• Willialms Brothers Brewing Gift Set - Variety pack of ancient Scottish Ales

The Second Annual Mile High Wine and Spirits Rare Beer Tasting will be held at the Rackhouse Pub on November 9th. This will be a small, more intimate tasting that will allow you to sit back and enjoy some excellent beer at one of Denver's best bars.  We will be offering two different tasting sessions, the first from 5:30-7:30pm and the second from 8:00-10:00pm.  You can register for either tasting session or both if you wish.  We will have dozens of excellent rare beers for you to sample, but here are a few highlights: try Avery's Rumpkin, an Imperial Pumpkin Ale aged in Gosling's Rum barrels at our 5:30 session or Zeke's Belly Up Stout, our Bourbon barrel aged collaboration with Golden City Brewing at the 8pm session.

Registration:

To secure your spot, visit Mile High Wine and Spirits and make a $20 per person cash or check donation to WeeCycle. 

Don't delay, each tasting session will be limited to the first 50 people who register.

• Great Divide
• Funkwerks
• Dry Dock
• Avery
• Stone
• Boulevard
• Leopold Brothers Distillery

Bavarians have been celebrating Oktoberfest by drinking Märzen for centuries.  Märzenbier (or March beer) originated in the 16^th century as a response to a German ordinance stating that beer could only be brewed between the months of October and April due to increased danger of fire during the dry summer months.  Therefore, brewers would produce large amounts of beer in March, and set them in cold caves to be lagered and enjoyed throughout the summer.  Whatever was left in the month of September is celebrated at Oktoberfest.