Colorado Brewers' Festival: Everything you need to know
Jacob Laxen
Fort Collins' annual beer festival returns for its 28th year this weekend.
The 2017 Colorado Brewers' Festival is set to take over Old Town's Washington Park. Admission to the main festivities on Saturday and Sunday, with live music and food trucks, is free. A separate, ticketed event called The Summit features rare craft beer and kicks the festival off Friday.
The event, organized by the Downtown Business Association, debuted in 1990 with Colorado's 11 breweries. CooperSmith's Pub & Brewing co-founder Brad Page was inspired to create the festival after attending a similar event in Portland, Oregon.
This year's festivities features more than 25 of Colorado's nearly 330 total breweries. A few guest taps from out-of-state brewers will also be available.
Here's everything you need to know about the event:
Location and hours
The festivities are held in Washington Park at 321 Maple St. The main entrance is located near the intersection of Laporte Avenue and Mason Street. All attendees must show ID before entering. Bags will be checked.
The main event runs from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Parking is available on nearby streets or Old Town Fort Collins parking garages. Bike racks will be available near the main entrance. MAX Rapid Transit has a stop near the entrance on both days, and the bus company is running a special Sunday service for the event.
Note: For more information about Friday's The Summit kickoff event, scroll down.
Cost
Admission to the grounds is free. Those who want to drink beer must buy a tasting package, which includes a 16-ounce beer glass and 10 taster tickets — each ticket is worth a four-ounce pour, meaning you can fill your entire glass for four total tickets or try more small sample pours. Additional taster tickets will be available for purchase at the event.
You can purchase the tasting package three different ways:
- They are $25 each if you purchase in advance at Equinox Brewing, Gilded Goat Brewing, Maxline Brewing, Intersect Brewing, Rally King Brewing, Black Bottle Brewery, CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing, Zwei Brewing, Horse & Dragon Brewing, Snowbank Brewing, Prost Brewing, Wilbur's Total Beverage, Bad Daddy's Burger Bar, Mulberry Max, and Visit Fort Collins.
- They are $30 each if your purchase in advance online through the Downtown Business Association website. You can then pick up your glass and taster tickets in advance of the festival at The Group, located at 121 E. Mountain Ave.
- They are $35 the day of at the event box office.
You can also earn a free tasting package with five taster tickets if you volunteer to help work the event. The Downtown Business Association is still searching for Sunday volunteers. To sign up as a volunteer, visit the Downtown Business Association website.
The beers
The event features beers of all different styles and strengths. There will be everything from light lagers to sours to heavily-hopped IPA's to barrel-aged malty beers.
New Belgium Brewing is bringing its Belgian Trippel and Tart Lychee beer. Odell Brewing will bring its Drumroll and Brombeere.
The event will be one of the last times to try Fort Collins Brewery, which is phasing out its products next month. The brewery is bringing Red Banshee and a gose IPA called Double Down.
Also pouring from Fort Collins are Black Bottle Brewery, CooperSmith's Pub & Brewing, Equinox Brewing, Gilded Goat Brewing, Horse & Dragon Brewing, Intersect Brewing, Maxline Brewing, McClellan's Brewing, Prost Brewing, Rally King Brewing, Snowbank Brewing, Soul Squared Brewing and Zwei Brewing.
Breweries from Boulder, Denver, Poncha Springs, Windsor, Wellington and Longmont, and a few out-of-state brewers, will also be serving beer.
Non-alcoholic drinks
Bring an empty, refillable bottle to use free water stations.
Food trucks will also sell bottled water, lemonade, soda, smoothies, iced tea, Arnold Palmer drinks, coffee, espresso, mochas and cappuccinos.
Food
About 20 food vendors will be at the festival. Pretzel necklaces and kettle corn are classic salty snacks that pair well with beer. Standard food truck offerings like brats, barbecue, fish and chips, street tacos, pizzas and an array of sandwiches will be offered.
Regional influences like Belgian-style waffles, Maine lobster rolls, Greek gyros, Indian curry bowls, Argentinian empanadas and Philly cheese steaks are among other items.
Ice cream, artisan pops, Italian ice, gelato and snow cones are among frozen treats to help keep attendees cool.
Music
There will be a main stage at Washington Park. Here's the weekend schedule:
Saturday
Noon — Cary Morin
1 p.m. — Matt Mahern and Constitution
2:25 p.m. — Write Minded
3:30 p.m. — Maxwell Mud
4:45 p.m. — Mama Lenny and The Remedy
Sunday
Noon — Johnny & The Mongrels
1 p.m. — The 14ers
2:15 p.m. — Slow Caves
3:45 p.m. — Taylor Scott Band
Beer school
As with past years, the Colorado Brewers Festival will offer free beer education courses. Here's the beer school lineup:
Saturday
12:30 p.m. — "Positing yourself in a competitive market" presentation by Wibby Brewing of Longmont.
1:30 p.m. — "Carbonation of draught beer" presentation by Green CO2 Systems of Fort Collins.
2:30 p.m. — "The life of hops flavor" presentation by nomadic brewery called Nowhere in Particular.
3:30 p.m. — "Brewing the perfect cask ale" presentation by McClellan's Brewing of Fort Collins.
Sunday
1:30 p.m. — "Brewing the perfect cask ale" presentation by McClellan's Brewing of Fort Collins.
2:30 p.m. — "The life of hops flavor" presentation by nomadic brewery called Nowhere in Particular Brewing.
3:30 p.m. — "5 gallons to 10 barrels and back again" presentation by Pateros Creek Brewing, formerly of Fort Collins.
The Summit on Friday
The kickoff party is held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday on the same grounds as the main event. It's a ticketed party with unlimited food and drinks. Only a handful of the $50 tickets remain and are available for purchase at the Downtown Business Association website.
The beer lineup features rare varieties, none of which will be poured the rest of the weekend. There will be a number of barrel-aged beers and others with funky ingredients. Some breweries are pouring only during this portion of the weekend. A total of 29 breweries are pouring Friday.
Odell will bring its golden raspberry sour called Brazzle. New Belgium will feature a dry-hopped sour called Le Terrior. Horse & Dragon will bring a raspberry chocolate version of its coffee stout Sad Panda. CooperSmith's will pour a 112-IBU double IPA.
Food will be provided by Bad Daddy's Burger Bar.
Follow Jacob Laxen on Twitter and Instagram @jacoblaxen