Beer Calendar: Parties at Grist, Fermaentra, Upslope and Mockery — Plus Bacon

"Are you tired of this election? Have you had to block friends on Facebook? Are the polls, 'rigged'?" asks Boulder's Fate Brewing. Then it's time to vote — with your beer. The brewery has concocted two choices and will use sales of the beers to predict the winner of the presidential election on November 8.

In the red corner is "a sour and bitter ale that is VERY orange in color. This beer is very big in alcohol, in fact HUGE, really. Believe me, everyone is saying that this is the beer to drink. This beer is not shy about grabbing your palate without permission, and always excites its followers. You may think this style has very little experience in the market, but ONLY this beer can solve global warming (wrong!), create world peace (wrong!), cure cancer (wrong!) and just guarantee satisfaction of anything in life you desire."

In the blue corner is "an approachable American blonde ale that has a little bit of spice. Inspired from all its international travels and experience, it is infused with tea, which is the perfect ingredient for boosting stamina. This beer delivers slightly different each time you drink it, but fits into as many desires of the mainstream drinker as possible. A dry finish with a dose of feminism, one could likely consume this beer for years to come. Drink too much, however, and you might be motivated to hide the details of the night. (Whether you love or hate this beer, please don't email us.)"

Now, cast your vote.

Here are this week's beer events.

Wednesday, November 2
Join New Image Brewing in Arvada, Brewed Food,and White Labs for a collaboration dinner between Brewed Food chef Jensen Cummings and New Image chef Darian Maclin, who have each "created two unconventional dishes which showcase yeast and fermentation integrated into each plate," the brewery says. "They are joined by New Image Brewer/Owner Brandon Capps and Erik Fowler, White Labs Education Coordinator dialing up unique pairings celebrating the microorganisms’ [yeast] flavor dynamics." Go to New Image's Facebook page for the menu, pricing, tickets and other details.

Rock Bottom in downtown Denver will celebrate 25 years of beer today. Although the brewery is part of a much larger chain now, it was one of the only places to find locally brewed beer back when it opened in 1991. To celebrate, house beers will be priced at $2.50 per pint, and there will be a Taste of Rock Bottom in the evening with food-and-beer pairings. At 6 p.m., Rock Bottom will tap its Anniversary Ale, a Dortmunder-style lager that has a "clean character with notes of biscuity malts." The Moses Jones Band will play from 6 to 8 p.m.

Black Shirt Brewing will tap a version of its Stringbender Saison that has been "gently resting" in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels for the past sixteen weeks and was then "blended back together. The beer is filled with delicious bourbon character, of course, but is also exhibiting bright tangerine and juicy apricot notes," says the brewery.

Thursday, November 3
Call to Arms Brewing will tap Costermonger Barrel-Aged American Apple Ale today at 3 p.m. The beer is part of the brewery's Carriage House series of small-batch, barrel-aged, wild and sour ales and lagers, but unlike the other Carriage House release, this one will only be available on draft rather than bottles. "The beer is unlike anything we've ever made, and it will be the first beer out of our new puncheon oak barrels," the brewery says. "We started with a grain bill of Pilsner, Dark Wheat, Caraaroma and Munich Type II, skipped on hop additions altogether, and instead added Lactobacillus Delbrueckii and 65 pounds of fresh Colorado Winesap apples from YA YA Farm & Orchard in Longmont... The finished beer has complex layers of deep, ripe apple and pear alongside soft vanilla and cinnamon notes, with a mellow tartness and acidity, and low- to mid-level sweetness. Costermonger was the name for fruit merchants in Victorian-era England, and coster (or costard) itself stems from a now-extinct variety of apple. And while this style of beer/cider hybrid could be referred to as a graf or graff, it also falls in line with an antiquated style of English Apple Ales. We'll only have a limited amount of this beer available."

In celebration of International Stout Day, Black Shirt Brewing will tap Black Beacon Sound, its beloved Imperial red rye stout.

Ursula Brewing, which has a soft spot for Ohio, will tap a peanut-butter-and-chocolate stout called Colorado Buckeye tonight at 6 p.m. It's a salute to all Buckeye fans everywhere, the brewery says.

As promised, WeldWerks Brewing in Greeley is "ramping up production of not just Juicy Bits, but also its variants," like the Alpha Bits series, which the brewery says was inspired by its popular New England-style IPA, Juicy Bits. Alpha Bits "will serve as both our playground and proving ground, where we can test different brewing techniques and trial new and experimental hop varietals, with the goal of pushing our hop boundaries even further with each iteration. In an effort to get unbiased feedback about the hops themselves, we do not plan to disclose the varietals for each iteration of Alpha Bits. This valuable feedback from each batch will help us determine which varietals we use in future beers and decide to contract." For Alpha Bits 1, the brewery made some significant hops changes, increasing the bitterness a touch. The beer will be available on draft and in Crowlers to go at 2 p.m. They don't anticipate selling out for a few days.

Saturday, November 5
Denver Beer Co will roll out the red carpet today for Drama Queen, which just won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival. The 8.3 percent ABV barrel-aged beer has notes of plum, raspberry, pear and peach derived from five months of aging in a mix of French cabernet, merlot and malbec oak barrels, the brewery says. "The base saison was made with wheat and malted barley and fermented with a blend of Belgian and French yeasts to achieve a dry base beer to balance the sweet fruit flavors and oaky undertones provided from barrel aging." DBC will sell bombers in a very limited quantity starting at 11 a.m. in the taproom; line up early to make sure you get one. Limit of four bombers per person.

"A block party in November, why the hell not?" asks Mockery Brewing, which will celebrate its second anniversary today with limited barrel-aged beer releases, more than twenty beers, free screen-printed koozies and commemorative glassware. There will also be live music, food trucks and giveaways.

Fermaentra Brewing will toast its second anniversary today with a huge tap list (details TBA), including ERinyes and Kicker Twister, firkins, barrel-aged strong ales, and the release of its MMXVI Anniversary Blend in bottles (only 100 are available). The first 100 people will also get a commemorative glass to keep with their first pour. Quiero Arepas will be there for lunch, and Roll It Up Sushi for dinner.

Grist Brewing in Highlands Ranch will celebrate its third anniversary starting at noon today with beer tappings, food trucks (ChurnandBurn and Jessie's Smokin' NOLA), a cornhole tournament and raffles. The beer tappings will take place every hour: Mosaicism Session IPA at 1 p.m.; Old Ale at 2 p.m.; Giant Rabbit Belgian Quad at 3 p.m.; Virgil's Reserve French Cabernet Barrel-Aged Belgian Strong at 4 p.m.; Hoppy Red collab brew with Living the Dream Brewing at 5 p.m.; Whiskey Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout at 6 p.m.; Citra Pale Ale at 7 p.m. and Oktoberfest at 8 p.m. In addition, Grist will be releasing a limited-edition bomber just for the anniversary: Whiskey Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout. There are only thirty cases. The brewery will also release its latest seasonal six-pack, Basilia Baltic Porter.

The fifth annual Denver Bacon and Beer Festival returns today from 2 to 5:30 p.m. at the Glitter Dome, 3600 Wynkoop Street, courtesy of EatBoston and Two Parts. It includes mouthwatering and innovative dishes from Denver restaurants and a large range of beers from Colorado craft breweries (participating restaurants will be announced later, but some of the breweries include Alpine Dog, Boulder Beer, Breckenridge Brewery, Call to Arms Brewing, Cerebral Brewing, City Star Brewing, Colorado Cider Company, Comrade Brewing, Goldspot Brewing, Great Divide, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, and Left Hand Brewing). Proceeds benefit Project Angel Heart and Metro Caring. The winning restaurant and brewery will each have a $750 donation made to the local nonprofit of its choice. Tickets, ranging from $50 to $70, can be found at TwoParts.com.

Oskar Blues will release the highly anticipated Barrel-Aged Ten FIDY and Barrel-Aged Java Ten FIDY when its Tasty Weasel Taproom opens today. The beer will be sold in 19.2-ounce stovepipe cans ($12.50 each) and in Crowlers ($25 each); it will also be available on tap. No limits.

Upslope Brewing will celebrate its eighth anniversary in Boulder today from 2 to 8 p.m. with a party at its Flatiron Park location. Upslope will take over the parking lot to make room for live music (Coambient, Reckon, Guerrilla Fanfare, the Pamlico Sound), food trucks (Rollin' Bones BBQ, Sancho's Authentic Mexican Restaurant, Rocky Mountain Slices, and Schnibs Pretzels), and more than fifty different beers on tap, including vintage favorites, collaboration brews, specialty styles and core classics. There will also be photos, games and other fun.

Tuesday, November 8
105 West Brewing in Castle Rock will begin a weeklong celebration of its one-year anniversary today with the first of several parties. The brewery will tap Quadraphenia, "a bold glass of dark brown 9.8 percent quad with notes of dark fruit, raisins, dates, and thick molasses. This belly-warming glass of autumn welcomes the change in weather and finishes with layers of dark bread crust." They will also tap Spicy Nuts, a version of the brewery's peanut-butter-and-hazelnut beer, but with ghost peppers. There will be food from Streetz, including candied bacon, Cubanos, green chile, fries, tacos and burgers.

Wednesday, November 9
Renegade Brewing will tap a new beer today at p.m. called 1916 Colorado Lager. "Why have a pint when you can have a twenty-ounce mug of this delicious authentic brew?" the brewery asks. The first 25 people to order a twenty-ounce mug of the beer get to the keep the glass.

105 West Brewing in Castle Rock continues its anniversary celebration today by tapping Crowfoot Coffee Porter, made with Crowfoot Valley Coffee. It's also mug night if you have a 105 West Mug. And there will be food from Cheffin's Cheesesteaks and Cubanos.

Thursday, November 10
105 West Brewing continues its anniversary celebration today by tapping Pumpkin Saison. There will be food from Lante Bräu-Casa, and the fire pit will be going.

Friday, November 11
Today is the entry deadline for home brewers for Días Oscuros, ‘Dark Days,' the Fermentologists' annual Day of the Dead-themed home-brewing competition using 2015 BJCP style guidelines for dark beers. "All entries for the competition must be registered and dropped off at designated locations before close of business on November 11.... There is no limit for entries; however, brewers may not submit more than one entry per subcategory. There are 54 categories this year, counting subcategories," the club says. The competition and award ceremony will be held at Copper Kettle Brewing Company on November 19.

Saturday, November 12
Hops & Pie needs to clean out its beer cellar from GABF, so it's having a cellar party today starting at noon. The pizzeria will be tapping beers from Cigar City, Pipeworks and 21st Amendment, among others.

River North Brewery will host a dual bottle release today, starting at noon. The first beer is Funk the Man #4, a barrel-aged sour with white tea and rosehips. Aged for 32 months in barrels, this is the brewery's lengthiest project to date. Only fifty cases are available. The second beer is Mr. Sandman, the 13.5 percent ABV non-caffeinated sibling to Nightmare Fuel. There will be food all day from Mexican Street Grill.

Join Cerebral Brewing for a special bottle release of Chardonnay Barrel-Aged Dreamy Thing during its first-anniversary weekend. "Originally brewed for Collaboration Fest with Our Mutual Friend Brewery, Dreamy Thing is a 100 percent Brettanomyces-fermented farmhouse pale ale that recently took home a silver medal in the Brett beer category at the Great American Beer Festival," the brewery says. For today's rendition, Cerebral took a portion of the base beer and aged it in Chardonnay barrels for six months before dry-hopping it with a blend of Citra, Centennial and Sterling. There will be 500 ml bottles ($14 each with a limit of four per person) for sale starting at noon. A small amount will be on tap. King of Wings will be outside from 2 to 10 p.m.

Further west on Colfax, Alpine Dog Brewery will also celebrate an anniversary — its second — by tapping a new Brettanomyces Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, along with a blackberry version of it. In addition, Alpine Dog will tap a Cherrywood Smoked Porter and a firkin of Smoked Porter aged on raspberries. There will be limited-edition anniversary glassware, free until it runs out. Judah's Island Shack food truck will be on hand serving tilapia tacos and other island-inspired food.

Join Breckenridge Brewery as its celebrates the first tapping of this year’s Christmas Ale and Holidale, which the brewery has been making since 1993, today from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will include a local photographer who will be taking free holiday family photos in the Farmhouse’s natural backdrop; gift bottles of both beers that you can buy as presents; live music by singer-songwriter Sarah Christine; vintage tractor hayrides; hot cocoa and cider; an ice-carving demonstration; and a commemorative Christmas Ale glass giveaway. Christmas Ale hits shelves November 1.

Locavore Beer Works is celebrating its two-year anniversary today from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and plans to tap Fireside Winter Spiced Ale, Santa’s Secret Sauce, an orange-spiced milk stout on nitro, and Sassy Fireside, which is the winter ale aged in a sassafras barrel. The Dollhouse Thieves and the Fabulous Boogienauts will perform back-to-back live music sets from 2 to 9 p.m. Brad's Pit BBQ will also be on hand.

Quietly making some of the best barrel-aged beers in the state, Loveland's Verboten Brewing got some love this year at the Great American Beer Festival, where it won a bronze medal for its Little Nonsense Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout. Today the brewery will host a bottle release for the 11 percent ABV beer, which will be sold in 22-ounce bottles. They have bottled 35 cases of it.

Also in Loveland, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse will release Midnight Strikes Black Lager today at 1 p.m.

Left Hand Brewing's Nitro Fest — the only festival featuring exclusively nitrogenated beer — returns to Longmont's Roosevelt Park today from 6 to 10 p.m. for its third incarnation. Featuring more than forty breweries from across the country pouring rare nitro styles, Nitro Fest also boasts a circus-like atmosphere. It is "a swanky, steampunk escape pairing supe- smooth ales with Beats Antique, a genre-warping, electro-acoustic odyssey setting the sonic storyline," Left Hand says. "With general-admission and VIP tickets available, guests are invited to don their best threads and join a collection of the best breweries in the nation for a transcendent evening of unlimited tasting alongside live performance art." There will be fire dancers, stilt walkers and aerial artists, along with food from Samples World Bistro, La Momo Maes, G-Spot Food Truck, Flavor of India and Hefe’s Tacos. Breweries include BrewDog, Melvin, Founders, Dogfish Head, Grand Teton, Firestone Walker and more. For tickets, $30 to $85, and more information, go to pourhard.com.

Sunday, November 13
Station 26 Brewing will host its monthly Bluegrass Brunch today starting at 11 a.m. There will be beer, live music from Turkeyfoot, doughnuts from Glazed and Confuzed Doughnuts, and barbecue from Turn-In BBQ.

Sunday, November 20
Avery Brewing will host a brewery-only release of No. 41 in its Barrel-Aged Series – Dui Cochi. "This festive holiday porter has been aged in bourbon barrels with coconut, spices and pumpkin added," the Boulder brewery says. "After crossing the Pacific Ocean in 1521, Magellan landed in the Philippines and was given the gift of two coconuts (dui cochi) by the natives as a symbol of their hospitality. Magellan was eventually hit by a poison arrow and left to die, but Dui Cochi is our gift to you." The beer will go on sale at 1 p.m. There is a limit of one case per customer ($12 per bottle). It is likely to sell out.