Bacon and Beer | A Celebration of Food and Community

Cheers to bacon and beer. (photo Credit: Robert Castro)

This past Saturday we visited a magical land – one where beer was king and bacon lovers held hands and rejoiced in unison. What is this mythical place you ask? Well, it is the Bacon and Beer Festival! And it was a celebration fit for any self-respecting foodie/beer enthusiast. 

Managing Editor Mcclain managed to grab this shirt for her yoga workouts. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

The event boasted 20 + breweries and over 15 restaurants – all debuting their bacon inspired dishes and beverages. The food ranged from Thai to brunch to the good ol’ American burger. Most breweries stayed true to their brand but, some rolled out bacon inspired libations. A personal favorite of the Ultra5280 staff was the Bacon Bourbon from Ol' Major which took the pairing to a whole new level. They even went so far as to add a mesquite salt chaser – which was absolute perfection. 

Where do we get the bacon flavored salt? (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

We love seeing events that celebrate our local scene, when there’s OMF (Our Mutual Friend), Ratio Beerworks and Call To Arms Brewing Co. on the same ticket – you can count us in. Moving outside of Denver’s coveted local watering holes we were elated to taste such classics as Breckenridge Brewery, Left Hand Brewing Company, Great Divide Brewing and Boulder Beer Co.  The Fest offered a nice gluten free option (although why a gluten free person would attend a Bacon and Beer Fest is beyond us) by adding some ciders to the mix. Stem Ciders and Colorado Cider Company were holding down the fort for our wheat challenged bacon lovers. Side Note: Beer and cider is an amazing combination… future festival idea? TM

Serving up amazing beer our friends from Ratio were on hand. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Bacon was the ideal sponge for soaking up our beer filled bellies. Some stand out dishes were the Bacon Wontons from Aloy Modern Thai, The Lobby’s bacon-brunch bite, Little Man’s ice cream and from what we’ve heard The Regional had a mean chicken fried bacon dish (sadly they ran out of ingredients before we made the rounds).  The food was unique, tasty and answered every day-drinker’s wildest dreams and wishes.

Lovey bits of bacon morsel goodness compliments of Interstate Kitchen and Bar (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

We wish we could have bottled up the scent emanating from the Glitter Dome this past Saturday – it was a scent filled with bacon fumes, hops and love. To quote our girl Taylor, there are just some things that never go out of style – and bacon and beer will forever be one of them. 

Lifestyle | GABF Events | Your Guide to Denver's Drunkest Week

Drunks of Denver.... ASSEMBLE!!! Forget the majestic Rocky Mountains and our 300 days of sunshine, we have beer. Pure North American, craft beer. So great that men and women from around the globe gather here once a year to rejoice in it's sweet, golden triumph. And we could not be more honored to be a part of this year's GABF celebration of all things beer. 

(Image: www.breckbrew.com)

(Image: www.breckbrew.com)

This week there will be: tap takeovers, beer releases, album + beer releases, weird ingredients Bud Light would not approve of, amazing food for our inevitable "drunchies" and more drunks under one roof than you can count. Alongside the programmed set of events there will be an extensive list of after-parties, private off-site brewery tours and special tastings open to the public. So even if you forgot (read: did not buy your GABF tickets the second they went on sale), do not fret! You will still be able to ride the coat tails of this monumental event.

Many Denver breweries are throwing their own GABF events. Take a look at what some of our local favorites are getting into this week:

New Belgium:  http://www.newbelgium.com/Events/CO/GABF.aspx

Oskar Blues:  http://obordeal.tumblr.com

O’Dells:  https://odellbrewing.com/events/

Breck Brew:  http://www.breckbrew.com/events

Left Hand Brewing:  http://lefthandbrewing.com/blog/2015/08/left-hand-gabf-2015/

Ratio Beer Works:  https://www.facebook.com/ratiobeerworks

Denver Beer Co:  http://denverbeerco.com/events/

Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery:  http://www.jaggedmountainbrewery.com/gabf-week-at-jagged-mountain/

Our Mutual Friend Brewing Company: http://www.omfbeer.com/events/2015/9/23/beers-made-by-walking-fest-2015

Former Future Brewing Company:  http://www.omfbeer.com/events/2015/9/23/beers-made-by-walking-fest-2015

Epic Brewing:  http://www.epicbrewing.com/news-and-events/item/6907-3rd-annual-50-firkin-fiasco-and-gabf-events

Crooked Stave:  http://www.crookedstave.com 

Declaration Brewing: http://www.declarationbrewing.com/events/mancan-128-launch-event/

Great Divide Brewery: http://greatdivide.com/event/great-american-beer-festival/

Check out Brewtally Insane for a day by day comprehensive list of daily events as well.

There's a reason everyone calls Denver the Napa Valley of craft beer and it's because we have more innovative breweries per capita than any other state. Our hearts go out to all of our hardworking hometown heroes. We know you'll bring home the gold.

See you by the taps, Denver! Don't forget to chant on your fellow GABF goers. Everyone can use some words of encouragement every now and then. 

Lifestyle | Great Divide Brewery's 21st Anniversary Party

Yeti sighting #1

Yeti sighting #1

It's a special moment in Colorado Craft Beer history when one of the local breweries turns as old as 21. Not only can they drink legally and spend all of their money chasing tail at the bar, but they can say that they've beaten the odds. It is not an easy feat to turn a side hobby into a craft beer empire... it takes guts, but mostly it just takes brewing delicious beer. And Great Divide definitely has both of those things, tenfold.

The brewery in itself is an institution. Most likely the biggest storage container warehouse we've ever seen. The anniversary party was held outside adjacent to the brewery, so sadly we were not able to peek inside upon our craft beer heaven. We can only imagine that it would have involved a lot of open mouth breathing and some stalkerish stares on our part.

The Party:

The weather listened to our beer soaked pleas and it was a beautiful, sunny day in downtown Denver. Everything about the event was flawless, from the bike check in the beginning to the coffee lid surprise at the end. Side Note: When a drunk person receives something that turns an otherwise normal beer pint into their Monday morning challis for coffee, it is single handedly the most exciting thing that has ever happened in their life (speaking on behalf of a friend).

The anniversary party had everything from roaming yetis to a photo booth to beer floats and jumpy Twister to everything else in between. We wouldn't be surprised if sorcerer magic was used to get inside the heads of drunks and analyze what a perfect day of beer drinking would look like. On top of all of the games and events, there was great local music and delicious food from Denver food trucks. We were able to see one of Denver's newest local artists, Brent Coles (former lead singer of You, Me and Apollo) sing his heart out on stage. We'll be darned if the range on that boy is not the craziest thing you've heard this year. Then there's the Gin Doctors... they're your 90's wet dream rolled into one absurd and rowdy band. There is nothing more spot on than serenading a bunch of drunk people to 90's throwbacks. Ultra5280 Disclosure: Blink 182 was sung along to in tones and volumes that we are not proud of, we are sorry for any discomfort and trouble this may have caused you. Oakhurst closed out the night, (at least for us) with their upbeat bluegrass and had the entire crowd dancing along, stomping their feet and spilling their beer.

The Beer:

Although the party revolved around beer, the golden craft gets its own section. The two stand out beers for us, would have to be, of course, the Port of Meow and the Strawberry Rhubarb. The Port of Meow is a wily cat... at first she'll snuggle up on your legs and bat at your yarn, but... as soon as you let your guard down it will leave you alone in the alley wondering where your wallet is and if you're adopted. The strawberry rhubarb was enticing and quizzical. Upon the first sip it tasted slightly dry and bitter, (most likely from the rhubarb) but upon further inspection it grew into a full bodied beer with sweet undertones and a smooth finish. Definitely intriguing and one of the most interesting and diverse beers we've ever tasted. The lines may have been long, but the beer was strong and we were drunk so it didn't matter anyways.

Brent Coles and Port of Meow

Brent Coles and Port of Meow

We are so proud of our craft brewery scene and feel honored to call this mecca our home. Great Divide continues to push boundaries and break through ceilings when it comes to crafting up delicious beer and we're sure that 21 is just the beginning... So, cheers to hoping they grow out of their new brewery relatively quickly so we can attend another one of their wonderful parties!