Boulder Weekly beer tour

Avery to grow and closing time to stay the same

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State Rep. Crisanta Duran (D-Denver)

Bill on late last call is cut off

Sorry drunkies. Big Pappy Colorado says that bar hours will continue to end at 2 a.m., for now.

A proposal in the state legislature from Rep. Crisanta Duran (D-Denver) to allow municipalities to extend bar hours to as late as 4:30 a.m. was withdrawn by Duran herself.

Duran’s goal was not to turn Colorado into Vegas, but to find a way to help prune the congestion that happens at bar closing time. The theory goes that by extending hours, people will naturally trickle out earlier instead of exiting the bars en masse, creating traffic jams and increasing incidences of violence and crime.

But lacking current support to push it through, Duran pulled the bill to give it some more work and hopefully attract more votes. Boulder Weekly will follow this story as it develops.

Avery grows

Also developing is Avery Brewing’s new location in Gunbarrel. There will be a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, Feb. 21, for its new digs at 4910 Nautilus Court.

As previously reported in BW, the massive new facility is expected to cost $27 million and will be built in two phases. Once Avery’s new Brew Star is fully operational, it will be more than 96,000 square feet, with seating for 249 and the capacity to push out around half a million barrels of beer annually. Brewery reps have said that amount isn’t meant to expand as much as to meet current demand.

Avery also just announced a workshop it will teach on the science of brewing. Though the class isn’t until Wednesday, March 26, tickets aren’t likely to last. They cost $20, include beers, and are available at AveryBrewing.com.

Small-batch brews on tap

Also not likely to last are some of the small-batch special releases hitting local breweries this month.

For example, downtown Boulder’s West Flanders Brewing is going to be pouring a delicious-sounding coconut and cinnamon stout starting Thursday, Feb. 20, at 5 p.m. But there’s only one keg of it, meaning you gotta hustle to get any.

Jerks, right? WFB kind of makes up for it though, because the following Thursday they’ll be dropping a molé stout, though just a single keg of that as well.

Can’t make it?

Don’t worry. West Flanders puts out new single-keg brews every Thursdays.

Also fresh out this week is Drowning Shamrock Irish Red Ale from Boulder Beer. Drowning Shamrock is a red Irish dry hopped ale that Boulder Beer brewed exclusively for Old Chicago restaurants for Saint Patrick’s Day.

“The grammar cop in me hates to say this, but we’re calling it a red IPA,” says Dan Whitez, marketing director for Boulder Beer.

It will be on tap through March 17.

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