We were more than a little excited about attending Collaboration Fest this year. Shockingly, I had never been, and I knew it was popular with brewers (the Colorado Brewers Guild hosts it). In the past, we went to so many beer festivals that I’d always let this one slip away and not apply for media tickets.
We hadn’t been to a beer festival this year, so I decided we needed to go. I booked a room at The Westin Westminster, and we were set. I knew I liked this hotel, as I have stayed here a handful of times. It is 25 years old this month, which is surprising because it feels modern.
By the way, our total room rate for one night was $145, which is great for the caliber of this hotel. There was a room rate for the festival attendees, but we had to stay for two nights, and I just wanted to book one. With a delicious onsite restaurant, Kachina Southwestern Grill, The Westin is a fun staycation option for those of us who live on the Front Range and need a night at a nice hotel.
On Saturday morning, we donned our brewery gear, dropped the dog off at boarding, and headed to Collaboration Fest, only about 45 minutes from Loveland. We had both decided to wear brewery gear from breweries in Bellingham, Washington (we met there in the late 1990s). We are heading back in July because Boundary Bay, the brewery I credit with my love of craft beer, is closing in September. They are calling it quits after an awesome 30-year run, and I had to visit one last time.
I wore my “Save the Ales” Boundary Bay Brewing sweatshirt, and Ryan wore his Stones Throw Brewing t-shirt. Stones Throw is located in Fairhaven, which is a neighborhood in Bellingham, where I lived in 1996. Also, Fairhaven is where our first date occurred.
Ryan and I have been going to breweries together for our entire relationship, which is approximately 26 years old, maybe 27 (I’m not very girlie at this stuff). I’m pretty sure one of the reasons he liked me was that I drank beer; the main reason, however, was that I love football.
So, back to Collaboration Fest 2025. I don’t usually write about a beer festival after it happens, but I need to tell you about this beer adventure so it’s on your radar for next year.
Standing in line for the VIP Entry, we were genuinely giddy. I had poured over the beer list many times and even saved a list to my Google Drive (like a beer nerd). Among beer collabs that caught my eye were Smooth Crimini-Ale by Lady Justice and Old 121, Peanut Butter Sriracha Imperial Porter by Gravity and Verboten, and more. I wanted to try some because I loved the breweries involved, like the Kettle Sour from Ska and Steamworks called Mom’s Vacation. In general, I’m not a fan of sours anymore, but these two Durango breweries make some damn good beer.
Collaboration Fest is exactly what it is billed as—a festival of collaboration beers between two or more breweries. The categories were intriguing: Weird, Sour, Hops, Light, Dark and International.
And “Weird” means weird. A Bit Twisted Brew Pub & BBQ in Aurora, partnered with Monolith Brewing in Denver to make Bad Ass which was a Smoked Pulled Pork Stout described like this, “A Bit Twisted smoked several pork shoulders and tossed them into the whirlpool portion of the brewery process. They also used smoked grains from Troubadour Maltings. This will be the same collaboration recipe as last year, but instead of using smoked brisket, we will be using smoked pork.”
We didn’t try last year’s, but this collaboration was surprisingly good, even though it sounded kind of gross. The way it’s made reminds me of Pachuga, which Ryan likes but I do not. It’s a type of mezcal poured over meat in the distilling process.
My verdict on this event was that it’s worth it for beer nerds like us. If you enjoy being the one who gets to taste an intriguing collaboration by breweries you love, this is the event to go to. I do think there were entirely too many West Coast IPAs—an overwhelming amount in my illustrious opinion. In my twenties, I drank a lot of those. I still love a good West Coast IPA, but they are just too dang popular right now. Of course, it was New England IPAs, so I guess this will run its course before some other style is all the rage.
That’s why I give props to Los Dos Potrillos in Parker and Rio Claro, the one Mexican brewery at Collab Fest. They made a No Coast IPA, and it was crushable. I mean, at 7.5 ABVs, I wouldn’t recommend “crushing it,” but the drinkability of this juicy yet clear IPA is something I’d have with tacos. Los Dos Potrillas is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, by the way. I’ve only been to Highlands Ranch, Colorado, but it’s worth the wait. I mean, they have a tortilla-making room!
Mythmaker is brewing some of the most interesting beers in Northern Colorado right now. When we make it in (it’s kinda far from us), their tap selection is always creative. Zwei is always dependably good and one of our frequented breweries. By the way, in Fort Collins, Purpose Brewing & Cellars is a must-stop for beer nerds.
Shout out to Timnath Beerwerks and Verboten North for doing an ESB—the only one at the fest. Ryan’s a huge fan of ESBs, and I enjoyed the Cold IPA from Timnath and Gilded Goat. This is not surprising as Timnath’s Cold IPAs are one of my go-to beers with a Taco Man taco (the best Northern Colorado food truck). It’s there on Saturdays!
This year, Collaboration Fest hit records when it came to the number of breweries involved. There were an incredible 180 breweries represented, with 31 from out-of-state and one from Mexico. We enjoyed this Collab Fest. It felt a little old school because of the creative beer. One thing that has become an annoyance for me at beer festivals is the lack of creativity by breweries. They bring their flagship beers, and usually we’ve already had them.
I’d highly recommend putting this one on your radar for next year. Stay tuned to CollaborationFest.com and the Colorado Brewers Guild for information about next year’s event.
