Denver Rare Beer Tasting V | Re-Cap and Photos

Pints for Prostates and All About Beer Magazine teamed up once again to produce the fifth annual Denver Rare Beer Tasting. Held during the Great American Beer Festival, DRBT is easily one of the hottest tickets during GABF. This year’s event saw a location change from Denver’s Wynkoop Brewery to the historic McNichols Building — allowing an additional 150 tickets to be sold, bringing this year’s attendance up to 650. All proceeds from the DRBT went directly to Pints for Prostates, a non-profit founded by Rick Lyke after having gone through his own bout with prostate cancer in 2008.

Over 30 breweries from across the country brought their A-game to the event which featured some of craft beer’s most highly sought-after brews. The $100 price-tag included a catered lunch buffet sponsored by Breckenridge Brewery, a special event t-shirt, and commemorative glassware in addition to unlimited pours. TFP team had the good fortune of attending this event, which has been one of our GABF go-to’s for the past three years.

Crowds lined up well before the 1pm start time, eager with anticipation for beers like Crooked Stave’s Waelzblood and Prairie Artisan Ales’ Bomb de Balcones. Brewers and representatives were on hand to talk to guests about their limited edition offerings including California craft beer all-stars Bill Batten (Alesmith), John Martin (Drake’s), Patrick Rue (The Bruery), and Greg Koch (Stone). Colorado’s artisan beer-makers were also well-represented by heavy-hitters New Belgium, Great Divide, and Odell.

There were many stand-out beers ticked off our lists, with only a few misses here and there. Alesmith’s Bill Batten said it best, “Just because it’s rare, doesn’t mean it’s good.” Thankfully, the overall opinion was that these breweries showcased some of the finest beers of the week. Particular favorites amongst The Full Pint team included the aforementioned brews from Crooked Stave and Prairie in addition to Goose Island’s Napa County Stout, Cigar City’s 110K+OT Batch #6, and Wicked Weed’s Black Angel Cherry Sour. We look forward to revisiting this event in the year’s to come. Check out photos from this year’s event below and learn more about Pints for Prostates at www.pintsforprostates.org.