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Upcoming Events

Colorado Ladies Collaborate to Produce Calamity Jane Ale & Spirit

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Women Brew Beer

August 25, 2016
Berthoud, Colorado 

On International Womens Day, March 8th, women across the world brewed together for the Pink Boots Society’s Big Brew Day, raising the profile of women in the industry and raising the profile of beer to women. The City Star Brewing and Spirit Hound Distillers ladies brewed Calamity Jane, gose inspired ale with pink Himalayan sea salt, coriander and tart cherries at City Star.

In further collaboration the ladies distilled 2 kegs of Calamity Jane at Spirit Hound, producing just under 1 gallon of Calamity Jane Spirit. The finished product weighs in at 90 proof, featuring a floral brandy nose that leads to a taste of roses on the palate. There is  hint of malt and long lingering heat finish. Calamity Jane Spirit is a truly one-of-a-kind, delicate spirit and supply is extremely limited.

The fruits of their labor will be unveiled at the Calamity Jane Release Party at Lyons Fork on Thursday, September 1st 5-8pm. The final keg available of Calamity Jane Ale will be on tap. Due to the very limited supply of Calamity Jane Spirit it will only be available for sale at this event with purchase of a tasting ticket, and it is expected to completely sell out that night.

Release details:
Calamity Jane Release Party
Thursday, September 1st 5-8pm
Lyons Fork, 450 Main St, Lyons, CO
Tasting ticket: $10 at the door – includes 1oz Calamity Jane Spirit and 10oz Calamity Jane Gose Ale, live music, special pairings available, live music, and meet the brewers/distillers

Calamity Jane Brew Day Gals

Craft Beer Fueled Festival Raises $25,000 for Rescue Dogs in honor of Hero Dog Harley

150 150 City Star Brewing

July 12, 2016hops-harley-watermark-118
Berthoud, CO

City Star Brewing hosted the 4th Annual Hops and Harley Festival on June 25th, a sunny Saturday in Berthoud. Festival goers wandered through the tree filled park, craft beer in one hand and dog leash in the other. Guests enjoyed a round of corn hole and live music, took a run at the dog agility course with their furry friends, joined in yoga, explored the tiny home and vendors, and imbibed dog related beers from 14 Colorado breweries in the Brewery Dogs Tasting Tent. Unsurprisingly, the beer tent was very popular with many people wanting to sample the drinks. However, since this was a family-friendly festival, id laws were strictly enforced and parents were asked to keep an eye on their teenagers since they may have visited one of these fake id websites so that they could buy alcohol.

It can be a lot of work to take care of these dogs from the street. Many find that the animals have many more problems, be it healthwise or socially-wise, and so they end up needing more care than the average dog. Thankfully, whilst Pet Parents has more tips and advice on how to treat the conditions that may be found in these animals, many vets often help these centers and communities that want to help rehome these lost pups. It takes a strong financial backing to keep such locations operating, however. Plus, when the dogs to get to their new home, owners may find that their new canine companion struggles to adapt to life away from rescues. Should this be the case, people may wish to look into CBD oil for dogs, as this can really help to calm an anxious dog and help them settle into family life as quickly as possible.

Over 2,400 gathered at Hops and Harley from Colorado, across the country and as far away as Canada and Scotland. Fans of Harley, a little dog with a big dream, flocked to Berthoud in honor of his legacy and in support of the festival’s mission. 2016 Hops and Harley raised $25,000 for National Mill Dog Rescue. The Colorado Springs based non-profit’s mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home discarded puppy mill breeding dogs and to educate the general public about the cruel realities of the commercial dog breeding industry.

Learn more:
http://harleypuppymilldog.com.
http://milldogrescue.org/
http://www.hopsandharley.com

Colorado Dog Loving Brewers Serving Dog Inspired Beers Under One Tent

150 150 City Star Brewing

brewerydogs-for-website-eventJune 7th, 2016
Berthoud, CO

The Brewery Dog Beer Tasting to feature quintessential Dog inspired beers like Avery’s Ellie’s Brown alongside small batch brews crafted just for the event like Horse and Dragon’s Henri’s Wheat Grass Session IPA.

City Star Brewing’s 4th Annual Hops and Harley festival will include the Brewery Dogs Beer Tasting 2-6pm on Saturday, June 25th in Berthoud’s Fickel Park. The Brewery Dogs tent will feature 14 craft breweries pouring beers inspired by their brewery dogs, some with brewery dogs in tow. For example, attendees can sample Copper Kettle’s Charlie’s Golden Strong and meet Charlie, a golden retriever/lab mix rescued by the brewery’s owners.  Participants of this unique and intimate tasting will receive a souvenir glass and 4oz tastes of each beer. Tickets to enter the Brewery Dog Tasting tent are $20 in advance or $25 the day of the event (Hops and Harley is a free event). Tickets can be purchased now at https://nightout.com/events/brewery-dogs-tasting/tickets.

What is a dog related beer? Brews like City Star’s Harley’s Honey Wheat, Copper Kettle’s Charlie’s Golden Strong and High Hops’ Brown Dog IPA. Some dog loving brewers are even crafting special releases and firkins just for the event.

Participating Brewers and Pour List:
• Avery: Ellie’s Brown
• Barnett and Son: Red Dog Ale
• City Star: Cowboy’s Golden Lager and Harley’s Honey Wheat
• Copper Kettle: Charlie’s Golden Strong
• Crow Hop: Larry’s Nut Brown Imperial Chocolate Brown Ale
• Echo Brewing: Kirby Kolsch
• Grimm Brothers: Pack of Scoundrels
• High Hops: Harley’s Hef
• Horse and Dragon: Sage Adweiss Berliner Weiss and Henri’s Wheat Grass Session IPA
• Liquid Mechanics: Kurly’s Kolsch and Dublin’s Chipotle Chocolate Brown
• Loveland Aleworks
• Snowbank: SchwarzDog Black Lager
• Upslope: Brown Nose Peanut Butter Brown Ale
• Verboten: PB&J Porter

City Star owner and event coordinator Whitney Way speaks to the originality of the event, “The Brewery Dogs Beer Tasting is the first of its kind. The brewers and event staff are excited to present such a unique cross section of beers to guests along with the brewery dogs’ stories. Attendees are going to get a very intimate experience with breweries they know and love and some they’ve never heard of.”

100% of the proceeds from Hops and Harley and the Brewery Dogs Beer Tasting benefit National Mill Dog Rescue, whose mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home discarded puppy mill breeding dogs and to educate the general public about the cruel realities of the commercial dog breeding industry. Learn more about National Mil Dog Rescue at http://milldogrescue.org/.

Hops and Harley Festival: www.hopsandharley.com
Read Harley’s Story: harleypuppymilldog.com

City Star Brewing Hosts Hops and Harley Festival to Raise Awareness about Puppy Mills in honor of Hero Dog Harley

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May 23rd, 2016
Berthoud, CO

Celebrating dogs and craft beer, Hops and Harley festival expects to draw guests to Berthoud, Colorado from as far as Scotland.

City Star Brewing will host the 4th Annual Hops and Harley Festival on June 25th at Fickel Park in downtown Berthoud, Colorado 11am-6pm.  The free community event features live music, craft beer, food trucks, dog agility course, vendors, puppy mill awareness and, new this year, the Brewery Dogs Beer Tasting tent featuring 15 local breweries pouring their dog related beers. 100% of the proceeds from Hops and Harley benefit National Mill Dog Rescue. In 2015 Hops and Harley attracted well over 1,800 people from across the US and raised $14,000 for National Mill Dog Rescue.

Hops and Harley was created in honor of Harley, a little dog with a big dream who has inspired so many people to do great things and fight for the freedom and humane conditions of canines everywhere. Harley passed away earlier this year but his legacy lives on. You can read about Harley’s story at harleypuppymilldog.com. His campaign, “Harley to the Rescue” has raised more than $150,000 for National Mill Dog Rescue to date.

Hops and Harley beneficiary National Mill Dog Rescue has saved more than 10,000 dogs from puppy mills in the last 9 years. Their mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home discarded puppy mill breeding dogs and to educate the general public about the cruel realities of the commercial dog breeding industry.  Located near Colorado Springs, they have a network of foster homes all across the Colorado Front Range, and they adopt dogs nationwide.  More information can be found at their website: http://milldogrescue.org/

Learn more about Hops and Harley at www.hopsandharley.com

City Star Brewing to Release “Damsel” a sour Belgian rye pale ale aged in oak rum barrels with Palisade Peaches

150 150 City Star Brewing

March 28, 2016
Berthoud, Colorado 

Sweep Damsel off her feet! The fourth and latest release in City Star Brewing’s barrel aged beer series is limited to only 441 bottles. Damsel is a sour Belgian rye pale ale aged 15 months in rum oak barrels with Palisade peaches.

Damsel features New Haven Peaches from the Palisade region of Colorado provided by our local Hays Market.  Damsel aged with peaches for 4 months. The resulting brew is complex and intriguing with a bit of mystery on where the flavors will take you next.  This well balanced sour offers some pucker without overwhelming your taste buds. As it warms a delicate peach aroma and subtle sweetness will dances across your palate and leave you eager for the next sip.

Damsel will only be for sale in City Star Brewing’s taproom and will retail for $18 per 22oz bottle. Each bottle is dipped in peach colored wax and hand stamped with the City Star Brewing seal. With only 441 bottles available make sure you sweep your Damsel off her feet while still available!

“With each barrel aged beer release I grow more excited about the possibilities in barrel aging. Our taproom is currently undergoing an expansion that will include a barrel cellar room, allowing us to expand our barrel aging program.” – John Way (Owner, Head Brewer)

City Star Brewing to Release “Buccaneer” Rum Barrel Aged American Strong Ale

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buccaneer-3December 3rd, 2015
Berthoud, CO   

Ahoy:  Buccaneer has crashed ashore in land locked Berthoud, Colorado.  Buccaneer is the third release in City Star Brewing’s barrel aged series and will be available at the City Star taproom in Berthoud, Colorado on Saturday, December 12th at noon.Buccaneer is an American Strong Ale brewed with wildflower honey and aged 9 months in oak rum barrels.  The alcohol by volume for Buccaneer finished at 12.6% with a flavor profile that is malt forward with notes of caramel, toffee, raisin, vanilla, and of course honey.  This strong ale goes down pleasantly smooth in contrast to its abrasive name and will steal away your worries and make your stress walk the plank at the end of a hard day.  (Is that too many pirate references? We don’t think so!)

The rum barrels used in the aging process for Buccaneer are from two different worlds: two rum barrels were acquired from local friends Spirit Hound Distillery in Lyons, CO and two barrels traveled over 3,000 miles from the Flor De Caña Distillery in Nicaragua bringing an exotic twist to this American Strong Ale. The aged beer from all four barrels was blended together to reach the desired flavor.

City Star Brewing co-owner and head brewer John Way says, “We’re happy to release our newest specialty beer for the holiday season.  Buccaneer truly embodies so many qualities that I feel capture what this season is about.  Friendship new and old, coming together, sharing and cheer.  With this beer, we worked with Spirit Hound Distillers who we have had a strong relationship with for years, and we were able to use barrels from the world renown Flor De Caña bringing in some tools from people we’ve never even had the pleasure of meeting in person.   We combined all of our work together and what came out is a beer I think is perfect to share with friends.  We named the beer Buccaneer specifically because of the rum barrels used and dipped the bottles in gold wax so every bottle feels like you’re holding your own special treasure.  Maybe that’s a little cheesy, but I know looking down at a case of these beauties certainly makes me feel like we hit the jackpot.”

Buccaneer will only be for sale in City Star Brewing’s taproom and will retail for $18 per 22oz bottle. With just around 1,000 bottles available make sure you catch your bounty of this rich golden capped treasure before someone else steals it all up.

City Star Brewing Wins Medal at the Great American Beer Festival®

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September 28th, 2015
Berthoud, Colorado

City Star Brewing’s Night Watchman takes a bronze medal home at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival competition. A GABF medal is among the most coveted in the brewing world.

City Star Brewing claimed a bronze medal at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition. Presented by the Brewers Association, GABF is the largest national beer competition that recognizes the most outstanding beers produced in the United States. The top three winners in the competition’s 92 beer categories were announced September 26 at the Great American Beer Festival awards ceremony held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado.

City Star Brewing was recognized in the robust porter beer-style category for its Night Watchman. The approachable dark porter features dark chocolate and coffee flavors with a sweet finish. Its name is derived from the brewery building’s 100 year history: in the 1920’s a night watchman provided building security. Today the taproom features reclaimed wood from the “night watchman’s quarters” and City Star works closely with the Berthoud Historical Society to preserve the building’s rich history and the Town of Berthoud’s history as well.

Besides the usual maintenance of buildings with a storied past like that of City Star, stakeholders would also need to make sure the structure adheres to local health and safety guidelines. This could be as basic as putting up clear-cut and compliant messaging to warn of potential hazards to upgrading emergency exits, fire safety installations and first aid facility; learn the facts here now, if interested.

“As the field of craft breweries continues to grow, the Great American Beer Festival is increasingly competitive. This prestigious award is truly an honor. Winning two GABF medals in 2013 helped put City Star Brewing on the craft beer map. Winning GABF bronze for Night Watchman further validates the high caliber of our beers.” said John Way, co-owner and head brewer at City Star Brewing.

The 2015 GABF competition winners were selected by an international panel of 242 expert judges from the record number of 6,647 entries, plus 91 Pro-Am entries, received from 1,552 U.S. breweries.
“American brewers continue to create innovative, flavorful high quality beers. That was on full display at this year’s Great American Beer Festival,” said Chris Swersey, competition manager, Great American Beer Festival. “The Great American Beer Festival continues to showcase the best this country’s brewers have to offer, with the competition growing and becoming ever more competitive. Congratulations to all participants and especially this year’s winners.”

For more GABF competition information, including the 2015 winners list and photos, visit http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com. View the Brewers Association Press Release at https://www.brewersassociation.org/press-releases/2015-gabf-award-winners/.

GABF-Slide

Berthoud Flap Jack Day a Success… Best in 50 Years

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Flap-Jack-DaySeptember 8th 2015
Berthoud, Colorado

This Labor Day City Star Brewing brought Flap Jack Day back to life from the dusty pages of Berthoud’s history books: 1,000 Flap Jacks flipped, $1,000 raised for the Berthoud Historical Society and the first Flap Jack Queen crowned in over 50 years.

Community members devoured 1,000 free flap jacks at City Star Brewing on Labor Day. Flap jacks were prepared by Diane Levy and flipped by local volunteers (Diane’s secret buttermilk pancake recipe will be auctioned off at the Berthoud Historical Society’s Pioneer Heritage Gala on 9/19). Hays market provided complimentary breakfast sausage and Da Bean served free coffee. Inside the taproom patrons enjoyed a flap jack theme flight of beers: Coffee Stout, Peach Belgian Pale Ale, Hazelnut Brown Ale, Strawberry Golden Ale, and Cask Conditioned Maple Brown Ale. Flap Jack Day raised $1,000 for the Berthoud Historical Society.

Caitlin Ascher was crowned 2015 Flap Jack Queen in a contest with 10 other ladies. The contest to devour 5 flap jacks the fastest was complete in under 1 minute. Caitlin’s win was sweetened with prizes from Berthoud Inn, Brookside Gardens Spa, Renaze Salon, Colorado Aromatics, and Rosalee’s Pizza.

City Star Brewing co-owner Whitney Way comments on Flap Jack Day, “It was a privilege to return Flap Jack Day to the Berthoud community. We are honored to have this opportunity, and we really enjoyed building upon what was once a great event in our little town. 1955 Flap Jack Queen Lewann Jensen even made an appearance this year. Lewann was one of dozens to thanks us at City Star for bringing back Flap Jack Day. Thank you for allowing us to Berthoud!”

Save the date for the next Flap Jack Day: Monday, September 5th.

A bit of flap jack history courtesty the Berthoud Historical Society… from 1948 to 1958 the local Lions Club and Chamber of Commerce hosted a Flapjack Day in Berthoud Town Park that drew hordes of people to “The Garden Spot.” On the first Flapjack Day (1948) an estimated 1,000 persons descended on Berthoud to devour 5,000 free pancakes. By 1949, The Berthoud Bulletin announced that 3,700 visitors from 21 states downed a whopping 7,400 apjacks. Over its eleven-year span, Flapjack Day grew to include the crowning of a Flapjack Queen. spike-driving, swimming and diving contests, a baton twirling competition, pet-and-doll parades, a pig catching scramble, a tractor driving challenge. The last Flapjack Day was held in 1959 when the Chamber of Commerce decided to cancel; the event due to the high cost of hosting such a spectacle.

City Star Brewing Releases Fresh Hop IPA Brewed with Local Hydroponic Hops

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Fresh HopsAugust 11, 2015
Berthoud, Colorado

City Star Brewing’s Hydro-Pony Express HYPA will be one of the first fresh hop beers to be released this season and one of the first commercial brews in the country to employ the use of hydroponic hops. 

On July 29th Colin Clark and his team at Hydro Hop Farms began harvesting fresh hydroponically grown Colorado hops at 5:30am.  After the hops were picked they traveled down the road to City Star Brewing in Berthoud, Colorado where the “wet” fresh hops were added to the brew kettle by 10:30am. While most fresh hop beers won’t be available until mid-September, City Star Brewing will release Hydro-Pony Express HYPA in their tasting room on Saturday, August 22nd. How’s that possible? Hydro Hop Farms owner Colin Clark explains,

“Our early hops are made possible by two factors; climate control and advanced growing techniques.  Being in a greenhouse we can control our ambient temps above and beyond what Mother Nature gives us.  This means that when most hop growers are waiting for that last frost to pass prior to planting we are already weeks into growing.  On top of that we can “spoon-feed” our hops the exact amount of water and nutrients that they require to thrive.  So when putting both of these things together we are able to have a large jump start on our growing season.”

Hydro Hop Farms’ state of the art 5,000 square foot hydroponic greenhouse emphasizes quality hops. They can fine tune specific nutrients to maximize oil content, resulting in a high quality hop cone in terms of total oils. More hop oils means more flavor and more flavor means tastier beer.  The benefits of utilizing these high quality hops is exponential in the practice of fresh hopping a beer. Hydroponic hops require fewer precious resources, are grown without the use of pesticides, and the yield per acre is much higher than hops grown with traditional farming methods.

Fresh hopping is a method of brewing with hops that are harvested fresh and added to the brew kettle in under 24 hours.  “Wet” fresh hops are harvested at the peak of ripeness and are neither kiln dried nor processed.  Fresh hops are unique in the fact that the flavor they impart can be described as grassy, delicate, and multi-dimensional. Brewing with fresh hops is labor intensive but adds a unique flavor profile to the finished beer. Since it’s only possible to brew a beer like this during the fall harvest in the Northern Hemisphere it is well worth the extra effort for a chance to introduce a flavorful, one-of-a-kind seasonal beer.

Over 30 pounds of freshly harvested Columbus and Centennial fresh hops were used in the whirlpool and hop back additions of the 7 barrel brew of Hydro-Pony Express HYPA. An additional 12 pounds of Centennial fresh hops will be added directly to the finished beer to amplify that fresh hop flavor before being poured into your glass. Hydro-Pony Express HYPA will be released in City Star Brewing’s taproom at noon on Saturday, August 22.

City Star Brewing Plans First Bottle Release with Whiskey Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

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outlawFebruary 24th, 2015

Berthoud, CO

Warning: Outlaw on the Loose! Keep a look out for Outlaw, the first in City Star Brewing’s barrel aged series and the first City Star brew available in bottles. Outlaw will be released at the City Star taproom in Berthoud, Colorado on Saturday, March 7th.

Outlaw weighs in at 13.25% alcohol by volume and has spent 1 year “doing time” in Breckenridge Whiskey barrels waiting for the chance to bust out. While incarcerated Outlaw mellowed nicely and includes flavors of dark chocolate, toffee, dark fruit, oak, vanilla, and of course American whiskey.

Outlaw is a rare limited release (only 970 bottles) specialty beer and the first City Star brew available in bottles.   Each 22oz bottle has been sealed in red wax and individually numbered.  Outlaw will be available for purchase exclusively in City Star Brewing’s taproom starting Saturday, March 7th at 12pm. Bottles will be sold for $18 each (plus tax) with a one case (12 bottles) limit per person.

Catch this Outlaw before it escapes again and put it where it belongs… in your belly.

City Star Brewing co-owner and head brewer John Way says, “We’ve been barrel aging beers since year one and we are excited to have Outlaw be our first bottled beer. The imperial stout base beer used for Outlaw is amazing on its own, and then we introduced this big, delicious brew to age in whiskey oak barrels for one year. The barrels impart a very complex dark chocolate and charred oak body with a very bold whiskey aroma that turned this phenomenal beer into something very special that can be aged for years to come.”