What: Showcase of Denver’s best brews, selected by color.
Where: The Bindery on Blake 2901 Blake St, Denver, Colorado
When:1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., December 6
Cost: $35 per person
With the sun setting at a depressingly early hour and Thanksgiving only recently behind us, it is clear winter is in full swing. The Parade of Darks is what you need to raise your spirits until Christmas. It will help you take your mind off the cold, the occasional 14-inch-deep pile of snow you step in, and the approach of the next year. Porters, Stouts, and Brown and Black-style ales comfort the body in a way light beers can’t during the cold winter months. The heavy taste covers your body like a blanket from inside-out; as if Tom Hanks started his Survivor-island fire deep inside your gut, but with beer — dark, creamy, stouty, imperial beer. However, ‘Darks’ doesn’t mean only Porters and Stouts — there will be at least one IPA in tow: a Black IPA.
Photo by Delmy Gooch for 303 Magazine
You can also expect the beers to be named with wild abandon: You may be sipping on a Buck Beer when suddenly a Ye Olde Nipple Pincher catches your nose. Which to taste first can be a conundrum, but as with most tasting events, we recommend starting with the lighter fare and ending the evening with the darker heavier stuff. It makes napping in the passenger seat easier. There will be unlimited tastings of each beer and your ticket comes with a commemorative glass to enjoy all of them in. You can even bring it home and continue the dark beer party on your own (private party sold separately). Chocolates and desserts will also be provided at the parade courtesy of Shamrock Foods, which should be enough to tide you over until you can get some leftover Thanksgiving pie.
There will be ten breweries flexing their dark-brew guns: Denver Brew Co., Fiction Beer Company, Grist Brewing, J Wells Brewing, Jagged Mountain Brewing, Left Hand Brewing Company, River North Brewing, Strange Brewing, Tivoli Brewing, and Wonderland Brewing Company. The Parade is being hosted by Wynkoop Brewing and will take place December 6 at The Bindery on Blake. No word yet on if it is an actual parade. Will they be throwing candy into the crowd? Will average high-school bands be there? Probably just some clever public relations.
Unlike most parades, there will be a silent auction: A Peyton Manning jersey, sweatshirts from various breweries, and a ski vacation will all be available. The proceeds from the auction and the parade will benefit Metro CareRing, Denver’s most prominent hunger-relief program. Tickets are 35 dollars — join us next week for tasting notes and our best tips on drinking during a parade.