The 11th annual Denver Rare Beer Tasting returns with over 60 craft breweries, opening their cellars in support of Pints for Prostates.

Press Release

DENVER, CO – The 11th annual Denver Rare Beer Tasting will feature more than 60 of America’s leading craft breweries. The Oct. 4th event raises funds for the Pints for Prostates campaign.

 The prostate cancer awareness event takes place in Colorado during the same weekend as the Great American Beer Festival. The Denver Rare Beer Tasting 11 features the chance to sample rare, exotic and vintage beers from dozens of leading craft breweries and the opportunity to meet the men and women who made them.

“The Denver Rare Beer Tasting has become a tradition for both craft brewers and beer fans. We’re proud of this annual celebration of beer passion and what it helps to fund,” said Rick Lyke, founder of Pints for Prostates. “Many of the highest regarded American craft breweries will be serving a collection of the most unique beers on the planet. And it’s all for a great cause -- reaching men through the universal language of beer to fight prostate cancer.”

The provisional beer list for the event is nearly complete. Breweries have announced plans to bring these beers to the Denver Rare Beer Tasting 11:

• Alamo Beer, San Antonio, Texas*, Russian Imperial Coffee Milk Stout

• Alaskan Brewing, Juneau, Alaska, Barrel-Aged Cinnamon Amber

• The Ale Apothecary, Bend, Ore.*, Purple Rain

• Amalgam Brewing, Denver, Colo., Landscapes: Balaton Cherry + Vanilla

• Atom Brewing, Erie, Colo., Still Here!

• Avery Brewing, Boulder, Colo. Flavus Cattus & Promiscuus

• Bell’s Brewery, Comstock, Mich., Bourbon Barrel Aged Expedition Stout & Wild One

• Big Sky Brewing, Missoula, Mont., 2015 Old Bluehair Barleywine Ale

• Blind Faith Brewing, Littleton, Colo.*, Chardonnay Barrel-Aged Sour    

• Bottle Logic Brewing, Anaheim, Calif.*, Fundamental Theorem

• Boulevard Brewing, Kansas City, Mo., Sherry Puncheon-Aged Sour Ale with Blueberries   

• BrewDog USA, Columbus, Ohio*, Cosmic Crush - Boysenberry

• The Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, N.Y., Coup de Foudre

• Burns Family Artisan Ales, Denver, Colo.*, Solar Eclipse  

• Cape May Brewery, Cape May, N.J.*, The "Z" is Silent

• Cascade Brewing, Portland, Ore., Oregon’s Own & Dapper Plum

• Casey Brewing and Blending, Glenwood Springs, CO., ONE KEY

• Central Waters Brewing, Amherst, Wisc., Maple Barrel Stout

• Cerebral Brewing, Denver, Colo., Single Barrel Vanilla Rye Here Be Monsters

• Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, Fla., Xquic

• Cloudburst Brewing, Seattle, Wash.*, One of Our Wet Hop IPAs

• Coronado Brewing, Coronado, Calif., Ginger Julep Barrel-Aged Pilsner  

• Departed Soles Brewing, Jersey City, N.J., Rum Barrel Aged Pepper's Peppers

• Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Ore., Historic Oregon Super Juice & Black Butte3

• Drekker Brewing, Fargo, N.D.*, Supreme Bee

• Ecliptic Brewing, Portland, Ore., Wine Barrel-Aged Rastaban Oud Bruin with Raspberries and Cherries

• FiftyFifty Brewing, Truckee, Calif.*, Cognac Old Digs 

• Firestone Walker Brewing, Paso Robles, Calif., Los Leñadores  

• Forager Brewing, Rochester, Minn., Millerzzzzz

• Fremont Brewing, Seattle, Wash., Barrel Reserve Blend & 2018 The Rusty Nail  

• Funky Buddha Brewing, Oakland, Fla., Coquito

• Great Divide Brewing, Denver, Colo., Big Yeti Imperial Stout, Wood Werks #5: Spiced Sour Ale & TBD Sour

• Hair of the Dog Brewing, Portland, Ore.*, Matt

• Hunters Point Brewery, San Francisco, Calif.*, Three Out Of Five

• Jessup Farm Barrel House, Fort Collins, Colo.*, 2018 UB Funky finished on Amburana wood

• Kane Brewing, Ocean, N.J., Barrel-Aged Mexican Brunch

• La Cumbre Brewing, Albuquerque, N.M.*, Ryeot on Rye

• The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, Calif., Zinners and Saints 

• Moksa Brewing, Rocklin, Calif., Barrel-Aged Pastry Method

• New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, Colo., Guava Sour

• New Realm Brewing, Atlanta, Ga., Barrel-Aged Apricot Saison

• NoDa Brewing, Charlotte, N.C., Port Barrel-Aged Monstro & Citranomicron

• Odyssey Beerwerks, Arvada, Colo., Winter Solstice Saison

• Prison City Pub & Brewery, Auburn, N.Y., Cherry Poppins

• The Rare Barrel, Berkeley, Calif., Summer's Gonna Hurt You & The Kind You Find

• Rhinegeist Brewery, Cincinnati, Ohio, Kilonova Sixth Anniversary Cuvée

• River North Brewery, Denver, Colo., Barrel-Aged Double Avarice

• Rogue Ales, Newport, Ore., Barrel-Aged 20,000 Brews by the Sea

• Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Santa Fe, N.M., Grandissant - Black Raspberry

• Samuel Adams Brewery, Boston, Mass., Utopias Aged on Cherries & Barrel-Aged Double Bock

• Scratch Brewing, Ava, Ill., Barrel-Aged Chanterelle Turmeric

• Side Project Brewing, Maplewood, Mo., 5 Candles

• Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico, Calif., Up Stout Kriek 

• Societe Brewing, San Diego, Calif.*, The Swindler

• Speciation Artisan Ales, Comstock Park, Mich.*, Spontaneous Generation

• Stone Brewing, Escondido, Calif., Water Lily Barrel-Aged Sour Ale

• Sun King Brewing, Indianapolis, Ind., Magpie Muckle 

• Surly Brewing, Minneapolis, Minn., 2018 Bourbon Barrel-Aged Cherry Vanilla Darkness & 2008 Barrel-Aged Smoke

• 3 Floyds Brewing, Munster, Ind., 2018 Dark Lord

• Uinta Brewing, Salt Lake City, Utah, Alpenglow Golden Wild Ale

• Vonseitz Theoreticales, Smithville, Tenn.*, Ghoul de Jour

• WeldWerks Brewing, Greeley, Colo., Coconut Brandy Medianoche & Medianoche is My Safe Word

• Westbound & Down Brewing, Idaho Springs, Colo.*, Double Barrel Louie & Blender's Insurance + Nectarines   

• Wiley Roots Brewing, Greeley, Colo., Anonym & Funk Yo Couch - Nelson

• Yazoo Brewery, Nashville, Tenn., Brett's So'Hem Adventure 

• Zillicoah Beer, Woodfin, N.C.*, State Fruit

(* First Denver Rare Beer Tasting appearance.)

 In addition to the beer and silent auction donations made by participating breweries, Craft Beer and Brewing is the media sponsor for the Denver Rare Beer Tasting 10 and logistical support is being provided by MicroStar.  Additional sponsorship packages are available for companies that wish to take part in this boutique tasting.

Tickets for the event go on sale Father’s Day, June 16th at 10 a.m. (MT) via Universe.com. There are some changes to the event format this year. There will be a single class of ticket for the tasting and the total number of tickets being sold is being reduced by 24 percent. Tickets will be $200, including all ticket service and credit card fees. The event will run from 12-4 p.m.  Each attendee receives beer samples, buffet lunch, collectible tasting glass, t-shirt, program and pen. Included in the ticket price guests will have the chance to meet the men and women who brewed the rare beers being served, be entered in a drawing to win an amazing beer trip, bid in an exciting silent auction that includes a variety of unique beer experiences and collectibles, and participate in the Brewers Health Initiative, a free men’s health screening.

“We launched this event in 2009 with the idea that the Denver Rare Beer Tasting would be a special experience for beer fans and brewers. Tickets have completely sold out each year and our annual guest surveys tell us people love the event,” said Lyke. “We’ve sold the same number of tickets for the event each of the last five years, but as the craft beer scene has evolved, we’ve seen changes in what beer fans want and how they approach events like ours. We felt it important to make some changes that would maintain the reputation of the Denver Rare Beer Tasting as one of the best craft beer events in the U.S.”

This year there will be a single admission format with a four hour session for all ticket buyers. The number of available tickets have been reduced by 200, with just 650 tickets available to the public. Additionally, a third floor of breweries is being added. Each of these moves are designed to create less crowding and more space for people to relax while sampling the beers. A hallmark of the Denver Rare Beer Tasting is the fact beer fans get to taste a collection of beers that few people have the opportunity to enjoy, while rubbing elbows with some of the world’s most talented brewers. While fewer tickets will be available, for those lucky enough to attend these changes will mean a more enjoyable experience.

The first 10 Denver Rare Beer Tastings sold out several weeks in advance. The event will be held this year on three floors of the McNichols Civic Center Building at 144 W. Colfax Ave.

Pints for Prostates is a 501(c)3 non-profit charity and all net proceeds from Denver Rare Beer Tasting go towards the group’s awareness mission and help to fund the education and support programs of the Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education and Support Network, and free prostates cancer screening programs provided by the Prostate Conditions Education Council.

About Pints for Prostates

Pints for Prostates reaches men through the universal language of beer to encourage them to take charge of their health. The group was founded by prostate cancer survivor and beer writer Rick Lyke in 2008. The grassroots effort raises awareness among men about the importance of regular men’s health screenings by making appearances at beer festivals, social networking and pro bono advertising. According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 165,000 new prostate cancer cases were diagnosed in 2018 in the U.S. More information is available at www.pintsforprostates.org. Pints for Prostates also has a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@pints4prostates).