Oh Look! Another list of beers to try at Collab Fest

Tomorrow, at the Westin Westminster (try to say that five times fast), the Colorado Brewers Guild will be hosting this year’s Collaboration Fest. Since 2014, this has been a yearly tradition where breweries from all over Colorado (and beyond) match wits to make some killer brews. We’ve been attending since its inception, and have taken part in the Media Collaboration every year as well, which has been an incredible way for us blogging/podcasting people to rub elbows and break a sweat as brewers for a day. 

The fest runs from 2-6 pm for VIPs and 3-6 for General Admission, so there’s plenty of time to explore the oddities and curiosities that Colorado brewers dreamt up.

With over 175 beers available at the fest, it can get a bit daunting—even for a seasoned fest attendee—so Josh and I sat down and scoured the beer list to find our pre-fest favorites. These are the beers we’ll be seeking out, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be our favorites after the fest…only time will tell!

If you’re going to be at the fest, we hope to share a beer with you!

2018 had the best glassware, in our opinion…

Josh’s Picks:

Downhill Brewing, Los Dos Potrillos Cervecería, & Barnett and Son Brewing - Jam or Jelly?

Who can say no to donuts? These three breweries got together to brew a donut brown ale, which by the sounds of the name will be a jelly-donut-inspired creation. I’m always a fan of donuts and beer, so maybe combining the two will be great too!

Verboten Brewing & Peculier - Taste the Biscuit

I’ve always enjoyed what Josh Grenz and the team from Verboten has up their sleeves. This barrel-aged barleywine collaboration with Peculier should be no different. Expecting heavy biscuit notes to go along with the oak.

Two22 Brewing & Six Capital Brewing - Shiitake Bock

Seems like there’s quite a few mushroom beers this year, but the doppelbock from Two22 and Six Capital caught my eye because of their inclusion of nori and Sorachi Ace hops along with shiitake mushrooms. We’ll soon find out which mushroom beer reigns supreme!

Purpose Brewing & Primitive Beer - Primitive with Purpose

When two of Northern Colorado’s sour beer heavyweights get together, it’s going to be special for obvious reasons. Peter Bouckaert from Purpose is pretty much the godfather of sour beers here in Colorado and Primitive has been pushing the boundaries of the beer-in-a-bag “revolution” so their barrel-aged sour blend should be magical.

Ryan’s Picks:

Telluride Brewing Company & Live Slow Brewing - Long Time Coming

Alan Simons of Live Slow met the Telluride crew at the Brewers Rendezvous a decade ago when Alan helped Telluride’s co-founder Tommy Thatcher pack up all their gear after an ill-fated punch put Telluride’s art director John in the hospital. Long Time Coming is a West Coast IPA brewed with Thiolized yeast, which should be right up both Alan and Telluride’s alley.

Phantom Canyon, OCC Brewing - My Brother’s Keeper (Hey! Amburana)

You say Biere de Garde, I say yes please. Phantom and OCC teamed up to brew a Biere de Garde aged on Amburana wood, which if you didn’t know naturally gives off vanilla-like scents and provides a spicy/sweet flavor to beer. Native to Brazil, Amburana can grow to be over 100 feet tall, and is quickly becoming a new favorite for aging beer.

Los Dos Potrillos & River North Brewery - Father Figure

Usually when you think of thiol beers, IPAs come to mind first and foremost, but Los Dos Potrillos and River North are bringing those amazing thiolized flavors and aromas to a pilsner this year. This will be one that I will seek out and might be my pre-fest favorite.

Jade Mountain Brewing & WeldWerks - Plum Blossom

Weldwerks usually brings some crazy beers to fests, like last year’s Ice Cream Stout, but this year they’re crossing the pacific—so to say— with an Asian-inspired imperial sour ale brewed with Chinese preserved plums, gelatinized glutinous rice and more. 

Primitive Beer & Novel Strand Brewing - Jewish Space Laser

This one caught my eye from the name alone, borrowed from a now-infamous rant from a certain GOP congresswoman. Jewish Space Lasers is described as a “SponTEAneous Sparkles” beer which makes me thing there will be glitter and tea. 

Novel Strand Brewing and the Beer Media (That’s us!) - Unnamed Sources

The Colorado Beer media got together to brew a beer with Novel Strand Brewing and we made a unfiltered hoppy beer with experimental hops! Mostly, the media stood around and watched Tamir from Novel Strand work his magic, but some of us got our hands dirty too…brewing isn’t just a lot of standing around, right?