Vail Cascade Blog

May 13 – 19^th is the scheduled nationwide celebration of American Craft Beer (www.craftbeer.com).  The Declaration of Beer Independence begins  “I declare that these are historic times for beer, with today’s beer lover having inalienable rights, among these life, liberty, and the pursuit of hops and malt fermented from the finest of U.S. small and independent craft brewers …” and finishes with “I, therefore, declare to support America’s small and independent craft brewers during American Craft Beer Week and beyond…”

We’re making it easy for you to support America’s small and independent craft brewers by offering a 20% discount on all American craft beers on our list for the entirety of American Craft Beer Week. Join us in Fireside Bar for a terrific American craft beer & small plate or – better yet – enjoy our Atwater on Gore Creek “3 courses for $30” special and pair your dining experience with American craft beers. There’s no way you can go wrong! 

Keep Wednesday, May 29^th on your radar for the return of our Wednesday Craft Beer Tasting events! AC Golden will be kicking it off and Left Hand Brewing Co. will follow on June 5. The series will continue throughout the summer and into the fall… There’s nothing quite like a complimentary beer tasting to get over the hump every week! 

You got the good word about our Brewmaster’s Weekends and the new Sip, Savor & Brew program in last week’s emails, and this week we are pleased to announce that the Sip, Savor & Brew Weekend on September 6 & 7 will feature the following special guests of the Colorado Brewers Guild: 

• Steve & Leslie Kaczeus, Owners/Brewmaster, Bootstrap Brewing Co., Niwot, CO
• Charlie Berger, Brewmaistes/Owner, Denver Beer Co., Denver, CO
• Brian Lutz, Brewmaster/Owner, West Flanders Brewing Co., Boulder, CO 

Remember that Colorado Brewers Guild SOCIAL members get a free lodging upgrade for Sip, Savor & Brew weekends, so dig out those membership cards and get ready to be spoiled! If you need more information about the SOCIAL program, you can find it here:  http://coloradobeer.org/social 

Atwater Sweepstakes are going to be up and running for our newly scheduled Brewmaster’s Weekends as well, so stay tuned for the starting gun! You can enter for a free night’s stay and tickets for the Small Plates & Craft Beer Pairing for each weekend that you would be available. More in next week’s edition! 

New on the craft beer list this week is:

• Hofbräu München Hefe Weisse, Munich, Germany (draft) 

Our Flights & Bites promotion continues daily, and features the following Craft Draft Flight:

• Hofbräu München Hefe Weisse
• Alaskan Amber
• Eddyline Crank Yanker IPA
• Bonfire Tent Pole Porter
• Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Cider 

If you’d like to find quiet in the mountain air, this is a great time to join us! Our booking link for the craft beer zone - with great rates  - can be found here.   Come on up and relax! We never know what Mother Nature will bring, but the hospitality, hot tubs, infinity pool, fantastic food, great craft beer and amazing views are always available. 

Enjoy your week, and thank you for your support!

Laura Lodge
Craft Beer Program

The Big Beers Festival was a huge weekend for Atwater and Fireside, and the group blew through more than 25 eclectic, donated kegs (5 gal) from the generous participating breweries over the course of Thursday and Friday. Both Brewmasters’ Dinners, which are double beer-pairing dinners with two Brewmasters, were a tremendous sold-out success with tasty pairings by the Atwater culinary team. And, in spite of the Bronco’s play-off game being scheduled at exactly the same time as the Commercial Tasting, craft beer fans crowded the Conference Center for Saturday afternoon. (the game was shown at the event as well)

Back to a more normal schedule, our Wednesday Craft Beer Tastings resumed Wedensday night with Brian Dillon from Odell Brewing Co. Resort guests and locals enjoyed a wide selection of Odell libations, from Odell 90 Shilling and IPA to their brand new Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout and Cutthroat Porter. The current seasonal, the hoppy Odell Red, was a highlight as well. Next week come on in to join Josh Breckel from Left Hand Brewing Co. as he treats us to a variety of Left Hand products from Longmont, CO from 4:30–6:30pm on Wednesday evening.

February 8th and 9th will be the target dates for our Tommyknocker Brewmaster’s Weekend, so make sure to mark your calendars! Friday evening from 4:00–7:00pm will be the traditional open tasting in Fireside Bar, and then on Saturday beginning at 5:00pm the Small Plates & Craft Beer Pairing event takes over a section of Atwater on Gore Creek. The Tommyknocker team is currently selecting the beers for the pairing, and the culinary team will be working their magic shortly after. I’ll keep you posted with the beer selections, and then with the menu when it’s finalized! 

New on the craft beer list over the past 2 weeks are (lots of large format was sold over Big Beers!):

• Great Divide Hades, Belgian-style Ale,  Denver, CO
• Wynkoop B3K Black Lager, Schwarzbier, Denver, CO
• Boulevard Sixth Glass, Belgian Quad, Kansas City, MO (large format)
• Ska True Blonde Dubbel, Durango, CO (large format)
• Left Hand Barrel Aged Wake Up Dead, Russian Imperial Stout, Longmont, CO (large format)

Friday Night Flights this week will feature the Craft Draft Flight ($7) only:

• Bitburger Pilsner
• Upslope Pale Ale
• Oskar Blues G’Knight Imperial Red
• Sam Adams Winter Lager
• Anchor Porter

Sending warm, Fireside thoughts your way during this chilly January and looking forward to seeing you here soon! Remember that we always offer complimentary valet parking to our Atwater on Gore Creek and Fireside Bar guests.

Thank you – as always – for your support!

Laura Lodge
Craft Beer Program