Falling Rock Tap House Gets The GABF Week Going

Who has the biggest wall of beer taps in the Mile Hi City? The Falling Rock Tap House, hands down. This place is the holy shrine of suds in downtown Denver. When the Great American Beer Festival comes to town, Falling Rock kicks it up even more with a bunch of special beer releases, beer events and keg tappings each day.

Circle it in red. You gotta visit this Denver brew palace.

Last night, Falling Rock got the week rolling by tapping some wickedly crazy brews from Avery, Odell, Full Sail, Moylan's, Port, Russian River, Lost Abbey, Dry Dock, Great Divide, and Left Hand. The crowd's most popular seemed to be Great Divide's "Les" Claymore Sour Bourbon Barrel Scotch, Lost Abbey's Ten Commandments, Full Sail's Lupulin, Port Brewing's Older Viscosity and Odell Brewings Bourbon Barrel Stout.

Believe me. Each was an amazing brew. The low grade throbbing in my head tells me I must have done my dead level best to down at least a pint of each one.

And, the GABF hasn't officially even started, yet.

---Beer-vents Today---

Left Hand Brewing is tapping 2 year old Widdershins Barley Wine in the tap room of their Longmont Brewery, starting at 10am.

Avery Brewing in Boulder has another special tapping today. There are only two little 5-gallon kegs of Bad Sally '08 left in the world. This is Avery's Salvation Belgian Golden Ale that was aged in a Bookcliff Cabernet Sauvignon barrel and graced with a secondary Brettanomyces fermentation. Today, Avery will tap them both at a special tapping at 11am sharp in the tap room at the brewery.

Enjoy brews from Boulder Beer and other craft brewers at an "Underground" beer tasting at Denver's TAG Restaurant, 1441 Larimer Sreet in downtown Denver, beginning at 2pm.

Boulder Beer's head brewer, Steve Trese, hosts a "Meet the Brewer" Night with a special food menu designed around several Boulder Beers at The Rialto Café on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver, starting at 4pm

It's taken Bristol Brewing five years to create their newest Belgium Sour Ale, Skull N' Bones. Grab a pint at the release Party at the brewery in Colorado Springs. The tapping party is at 5pm.

Odell Brewing is hosting a beer tasting at Marlowe's Restaurant on the 16th Street Mall in Downtown Denver, beginning at 5pm.

You can do a "meet-n-greet" with Left Hand's brewers in Denver tonight at Duo Restaurant, 32nd and Zuni. $12 per person. 5-7pm

Wynkoop Brewing taps the first keg of Ba-dunkle-donk tonight. Cody Christman, the 2009 Beer Drinker of the Year, helped to put this puppy together. It's a Munich-style dark lager called a dunkles: rich and malty, served at cooler temperature.

Hungry AND Thirsty?

Avery Brewing is at Jax Fish House in downtown Denver tonight, hosting amazing evening at one of the top ten best restaurants in Denver (5280 magazine) $50.

Great Divide Brewing is at Osteria Marco in Denver, pairing their incredible beers with the delicious Italian creations of Chef-proprietor Frank Bonanno. The reception starts at 6:30pm. Dinner starts at 7pm. $40

Oskar Blues Brewing and The Corner Office, 14th and Curtis in downtown Denver are teaming up for a Beer Pairing Dinner tonight. $40. 6-8pm

Chilly Temps Put Me in a Nefarious State of Mind

Night time temperatures are dipping below 40 in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. That means my beer tastes go dark. Instead of the hoppys of summer, I find myself choosing a stout or porter instead.

One of my favorites comes from the Ska Brewing bunch in Durango, CO. Never mind what you will find inside, you could like their Nefarious Ten Pin Imperial Porter just for its packaging. Under its blue wax coated bottle top, its label is guarded by a really pissed off gold crowned skeleton brandishing a bowling pin and ball sceptre. Open it up and pour it into your pint glass and you will find yourself holding a dark, almost midnight black brew topped with a tight, khaki colored head. Nefarious is a rich, bold brew that is loaded with coffee, chocolate and sweet fruit flavors. I am thinking a couple bottles of Nefarious would go perfectly with a big bowl of stew, a thick, chunk of heavy German bread and a roaring fire on a snowy Colorado evening. And, with Nefarious Ten Pin Imperial Porter's powerful 8% ABV, if I drank a couple 22 oz. bombers of this brash brew, I am pretty sure I’d be nefariously off to bed as soon as the dishes were done.

*****On Tap Today*****

Looking for work? The "werk fer us" job fair continues for Oskar Blues' new brew bar and restaurant, The Homemade Liquids & Solids restaurant. 9am-12pm and 3pm-6pm at The Tasty Weasel, 1800 Pike Rd. Longmont, CO. Get an application online at http://www.oskarblues.com/

Avery is teaming up with some of Boulder's best for the Cultiva, Growing Gardens dinner at the Harvest House, in Boulder, CO. 5pm tonight. http://www.averybrewing.com/

Left Hand Brewery hosts the The Indian Peaks Alers, Longmont’s homebrew club, in their tasting room tonight at 6pm. http://www.lefthandbrewing.com/

Lonesome Traveler brings bluegrass to Oskar Blues in Lyons, CO. 8pm. http://www.oskarblues.com/

Glove Trucker plays at Odell Brewery, Ft. Collins tonight. http://www.odells.com/

And, speaking of Ft. Collins, the brew bunch at Ft. Collins Brewery are getting firked up. Today they add firkins to their Tap Club Series. First up, a tasty Cherry Cream Ale made with 3 pounds of cherries from Grant Farms CSA. Get it quick, a five gallon firkin is gone freakin' fast. http://www.fortcollinsbrewery.com/

Here's To You, Old No. 7

Yo Jackie D! Happy birthday, my whiskey brother. As they say, "Hells to the yeah, Jack Daniels, put on the birthday hat and party like a rock star!"

Jack Daniels...and, there really was a Jack Daniels...was born in September, but we don't know on which day. There was a fire in the courthouse that destroyed all the records and anybody that knew his birthday has passed on to that great distillery in the sky.

So, we celebrate his birthday all month long.

There is a funny story about Jack Daniels, not about how he was born, but how he died in 1911.

"As the story goes, Mr. Jack arrived at work early one morning and tried to open the safe in his office.
Thing is, he couldn’t recall the combination. In his frustration, he gave that safe a good, solid kick. The blow broke his toe and infection set in, leading to the blood poisoning that would take his life in 1911.
Because he never married or had children, he deeded the Distillery to his hard-working nephew, Lem Motlow. Some people say Jack Daniel not only left his Tennessee Whiskey behind, he left us all a valuable lesson as well: Don’t go to work early."

(from http://www.jackdaniels.com/)

So in the spirit of our dearly departed friend, who's birthday we celebrate each and every day of the month of September, let's all raise our right hand and take this solumn oath.

"I ____(your name here)_____ promise to love the ones around me, help others when I can and use my turn signal at all times.

I also promise that I will never get to work early and I will avoid kicking any thing harder than a football. Amen."

****On Tap****
Today, Sunday (Sept. 6th)

**Beer and Yoga? Sure, why not! Robyn, The Bristol Beer Ninja, leads a yoga session at Bristol Brewing in Colorado Springs on Sunday. Don't sweat it...it is guy friendly, too. $10 gets you the session, bottled water and a post yoga beer. BYOM (bring your own mat) http://www.bristolbrewing.com/
**Didn't make it yesterday? That's ok, the Oskar Blues pig roast in Lyons, CO continues today, 2-6pm. Then, enjoy country AND western when Halden Wofford & The Hi-Beams brings their honky tonk out starting at 6pm. http://www.oskarblues.com/
**Catch Hot Club Sandwich at the Mountain Sun Pub in Boulder. http://www.mountainsunpub.com/

**A Taste of Colorado Continues-downtown Denver. http://www.atasteofcolorado.com/

Monday, Sept. 7th (Labor Day)
**Come celebrate the labors of Doug and the Odell Brewing when they roll out their Bourbon Barrel Stout. The keg tapping and tasting starts at 1pm in at Odell Brewing in Ft. Collins. http://www.odells.com/
**Another new brew is coming out. New Belgium Brewery just announced that Hoptober Golden Ale, their new autumn brew is on the way. This puppy is described as “...a Hop Lover’s dream within the Belgian idiom.” http://www.newbelgium.com/
**A Taste of Colorado-downtown Denver-Last Day. http://www.atasteofcolorado.com/

What A Weekend For Us Beer Lovers.

Ah, Labor Day....one of the biggest weekends of the year for bodacious brew stuff to enjoy. So, let's get to it.

Tonight, (Friday Night, Sept. 4th), you can kick off the weekend with equal parts folk, country, blues and bluegrass. The Kort McCumber Band performs at Oskar Blues in Lyons. The show starts aboout 9 and it'll cost ya 5-bucks to get in. http://www.oskarblues.com/

Close your eyes and you might think you are hearing Joni Mitchell and the Counting Crows, but Jill Cohn has a sound all her own. Catch her free concert tonight on the Patio at Carver Brewing in Durango. It starts at 8:30pm. http://www.carverbrewing.com/

Speaking of the Four Corners, this is the weekend for the The Four Corners Folk Festival. Grab yourself some great Breckenridge brew and enjoy the live tunes. It happens all weekend at Reservoir Hill Park in Pagosa Springs, CO http://www.folkwest.com/

The Boulder Hometown Fair is this weekend, too. You might wanna chill out in the Boulder Beer beer garden with a Cold Hop or Mojo. http://www.boulderbeer.com/

It's the Taste of Colorado in downtown Denver this weekend. Go people watch, then head over to Great Divide, or Breckenridge, or Wynkoop, or the Falling Rock Tap House and wash that turkey leg taste out of your mouth with a good brew. http://www.atasteofcolorado.com/

Saturday, (Sept. 5th)
It's Fat Tire Time! Head to the New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins for the Tour de Fat. I just wish I'd kept my old Schwinn Rocket. http://www.newbelgium.com/

Oskar Blues in Lyons pigs out! They have a pig roast going Saturday and Sunday. And, after you've porked yourself on Saturday, hang around for The Dan Treanor Bandis free concert starting at 9pm. http://www.oskarblues.com/

Sunday (Sept. 6th)
Beer and Yoga? Sure, why not! Robyn, The Bristol Beer Ninja, leads a yoga session at Bristol Brewing in Colorado Springs on Sunday. Don't sweat it...it is guy friendly, too. $10 gets you the session, bottled water and a post yoga beer. BYOM (bring your own mat) http://www.bristolbrewing.com/

Didn't make it yesterday? That's ok, the Oskar Blues pig roast in Lyons, CO continues today, 2-6pm. Then, enjoy country AND western when Halden Wofford & The Hi-Beams brings their honky tonk out starting at 6pm. http://www.oskarblues.com/

DVS 3 plays at The Vine Street Pub in Denver. 10pm. Catch Hot Club Sandwich at the Mountain Sun Pub in Boulder. http://www.mountainsunpub.com/

Monday, Sept. 7th (Labor Day)
Come celebrate the labors of Doug and the Odell Brewing when they roll out their Bourbon Barrel Stout. The keg tapping and tasting starts at 1pm in at Odell Brewing in Ft. Collins. http://www.odells.com/

Another new brew is out. New Belgium Brewery just announced that Hoptober Golden Ale, their new autumn brew is coming out. This puppy is described as “...a Hop Lover’s dream within the Belgian idiom.” http://www.newbelgium.com/

Whoa.