Denver Beer Fest
Denver has a reputation as one of the greatest beer cities in the world. It will be obvious why during the first ever Denver Beer Fest (www.DenverBeerFest.com), as businesses all over the city combine efforts with local breweries in order to provide an unique perspective on the world of beer brewing. The festival takes place between September 18th and 27th, 2009, nestled in between the two weekends of the Oktoberfest in Denver, which is centered on Larimer street.
The Denver Beer Fest is a celebration of quality brews that lasts for 10 days and is full of beer tastings at bars and restaurants, dinners matched with quality beers, beer tappings, trips to breweries, opportunities to meet brewers, and other beer-related events.
This festival for beer lovers serves as a lead up to the famous beer competition event, the Brewers Association’s Great American Beer Festival
Check out some of the other events supported by VISIT DENVER that take place during the festival:
** John Hickenlooper, the current mayor of Denver and one-time brew pub proprietor, will kick off the festivities at 4pm on September 18th by tapping the first beer cask and announcing the start of the Beer Fest.
** A variety of restaurants, including Rioja, Stubens, Elways, Oceanaire, Duo, Vesta Dipping Grill, TAG, Rialto Café and others will be providing hungry and thirsty celebrants with dinners matched to choice brews – in many cases the actual brewer will be on hand as well
** At Wynkoop Brewery, twenty rare and unique beers will be offered for the tasting by awareness group Pints for Prostates
** Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret will feature tastings from Avery Brewery and an opportunit to meet the brewmaster during an event called “Beer and Burlesque, Tastings and Tassels”
** The hard to fine beer called Coor’s Barman will be offered up in various events at the Golden Hotel
** A Winter Park excursion sponsored by Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Café
** A “brews cruise” will be running all day long, starting with a healthy breakfast *
** Two nights of tastings and three-course meals paired with the right beers at WaterCourse Foods
According to Richard Scharf, president of VISIT DENVER, explained that Denver is sometimes referred to as “The Napa Valley of Beer,” and it offers plenty of beer-related landmarks and events during the Great American Beer Festival. He noted that combining them under the Denver Beer Fest label was just a natural thing to do. Scharf explained how in the past, none of these beer-related events were unified, so people had trouble finding information about them.
Devner Beer Fest has a centralized home on the Web at www.DenverBeerFest.com , which serves as a hub for information on beer events during the week. Scharf referred to a similar event that takes place annually in Philadelphia that grew exponentially just a year after it was first launched.
Two key events mark the beginning and ending of the 10-day festival:
Larimer Street Oktoberfest: A traditional celebration in Denver, Oktoberfest takes place from September 18th to 20th and again from the 25th to the 27th. Taking its inspiration from the real deal in Munich, Germany, Denver’s Oktoberfest pays homage to this classic tradition. It features musical performances from groups on tour, concerts with accordions, stunning dance acts from around the world, events for the kids, a 10K/5K run and the Long Dog Derby. That’s not to mention all of the great customary food.
The 28th Annual Great American Beer Festival sponsored by the Brewer’s Association: This festival runs from September 24th through the 26th and takes place at the Colorado Convention Center. Noted by the Guinness World Records organization as offering the largest variety of beers in the world. Nearly 50,000 beer lovers visit each year, along with a slew of notable beer critics. The event features over 2,000 distinct beers from 400 breweries.
Scharf explained that in 2004, VISIT DENVER kicked off Denver Restaurant Week in order to bring more attention to the dining options in the city. Over the course of those years, the event grew from featuring just 84 venues to over 200 last year. All in all, almost 300,000 meals were presented, and at lower than usual prices. Denver Beer Fest is looking to replicate that level of success, and get the word out both to Colorado residents and people across the country that Colorado has great beer and great breweries.
