In craft beer, the old adage of “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” doesn’t necessarily apply. Even the most successful breweries and industry events must continue to innovate in this most competitive and fast-evolving landscape.

Avery Brewing, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, is no stranger to change, moving from its humble industrial alley to a state-of-the-art, 5.6-acre campus in 2015 and, most recently, selling a minority stake to Mahou San Miguel in November. And even though the pioneer of high octane and barrel-aged beers has found tremendous success in both their Strong Ale Fest and Sour Fest, the Boulder-based brewery has decided to shift their festival strategy this year to replace the two with an entirely new concept.

Enter The Avery Invitational Festival, which will debut June 2018, aimed at bringing together some of the industry’s best producers without any restriction to style or ABV. “With over a dozen festivals happening each weekend throughout the summer, we realized that our festivals started to feel a little bland,” noted Rachael Burrell, Events Manager for Avery Brewing. “We always want to ensure that our festivals are exciting for our attendees, volunteers and participating breweries, so this year we decided to focus our attention on quality over quantity.”

The Avery team will also look to expand the overall footprint of the festival to incorporate approximately 200 beers poured at the event, whereas both the Strong Ale and Sour Fests averaged between 100-115 beers. Invitations for participation will begin rolling out next week but in narrowing the list of prospective breweries, the Avery events team tasked their employees to contribute their list of favorites.

“In our quest to narrow down an invite list, we decided to poll our employees and sent out a company-wide survey. Basically, we asked if there’s any beer you’d like to see here, just say it. It was a fun list, and it helped us make it a more democratic process,” noted Burrell. “There’s some big beer nerds here and some that just like to drink Coors Banquet. It was a cool way to get everyone involved and narrow our list.”

But aside from just growing their brewery list, Avery also drew inspiration from the industry favorite, the Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines Festival, with the intent to incorporate an educational component to the fest. “We’ve learned a lot from what Laura Lodge has built at Big Beers, so we are hoping to add a sensory tasting, have Travis Rupp discussing his Ales of Antiquity, and Andy Parker will likely be giving a barrel talk for starters,” said Walter Becker, former Events Coordinator at Avery Brewing.

General Admission tickets for the Avery Invitational are currently available for $40, with proceeds benefiting Colorado Water Trust, a non-profit that works with many diverse partners, including breweries, to keep Colorado’s rivers healthy, flowing and full of water.

The initial pour list was provided to us today, and fans of Avery’s past festivals should be assuaged by the mix of familiar local standouts as well a healthy representation by national standouts not usually available in the state of Colorado. As a reminder, this beer list is always subject to change, but does serve as a preemptive framework for what to expect.

We’re Giving Away a Pair of Tickets to Saturday’s Fest!

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As a quick breakdown of what we’re most excited to try and what not to miss: AleSmith’s Barrel-Aged Speedway Stout, Amalgam’s Secret Family Recipe, pretty much everything from Avery, but most notably 25th Anniversary (changes each year), Nestor’s Cup/Dead Sea Scrolls, Depuceleuse, everything from Bagby, everything from Brewery Bhavana, everything from Boneyard Brewing, Burial’s Deafening Song of Silence, Call to Arms’ Shirtless Putin Nuzzlin’ With Dolphins, Cellar West’s Song of the West, Cerebral’s Personal Day, not sure what’s coming from Commonwealth, but keep an eye out for this riser out of Virginia, Coor’s Banquet… because it’s the beer industry’s beer, Dark Sky’s High Country Brunch, Firestone Walker’s UnderCurrants, Founders’ KBS… we had to know a fellow Mahou owned brewery would bring their signature cult classic!, Funkwerks’ Oud Bruin, Great Divide’s Mexican Chocolate Yeti, Grimm Brothers’ 13th Door Barleywine, Half Acre’s Navaja Double IPA, Liquid Mechanic’s Pimm’s Yo!… perhaps the highlight of Collab Fest makes an appropriate return, everything from Paradox… seriously this is one of the most underrated breweries in Colorado right now, Ratio’s Loveless, Rhinegeist’s Barrel Aged Mastodon Belgian Style Dark Ale, everything from Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Strange Craft’s StrangeTail VII, everything from TRVE, and of course EVERYTHING from Trillium, WeldWerks’ Coffee Maple Achromatic and Mexican Medianoche, and Wiley Roots’ Vanilla Pseudonym and Packed with Peaches.

2018 Avery Invitational Initial Pour List

BREWERY BEER NAME BEER DESCRIPTION 4 Noses FRUITED BERLINER WEISS Modestly sour,easy drinking fruited wheat ale 4 Noses Whimsy New England India Pale Ale Aromas and flavors of oranges from the loads of Amarillo, Citra, and Jarrylo hops 4 Noses Orange Velvet Blood Orange Milkshake IPA 105 West Brewing Co Rocky Mountain Juice IPA American IPA 105 West Brewing Co Squirrel Nut Sipper Nut brown ale AleSmith Brewing Company Barrel Aged Speedway Stout 2018 Bourbon Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout with Coffee AleSmith Brewing Company Sublime Mexican Lager AleSmith Brewing Company Spezial Pils Almanac Hibiscus Ginger Lime Sour Barrel Aged sour blonde ale with hibiscus, ginger and lime Almanac Farmer's Reserve Blueberry Barrel aged sour blonde ale with blueberries and spices Amalgam Secret Family Recipe Bourbon Barrel-Aged Golden Sour Ale Refermented on Colorado Grown Peaches, Madagascar Vanilla Beans & Cinnamon Sticks Amalgam Freeform Solera Golden Sour fermented/aged in oak puncheons, refermented on 5 lbs per gallon of hand picked Danube Cherries from the western slope. Asher Brewing Company Hempin' Ain't Easy American Pale Ale brewed with 50 lbs of organic hemp hearts (seeds) Asher Brewing Company Ginger Bomb Ale Light amber style ale brewed with fresh organic ginger Asher Brewing Company Hippie Nectar Wheat Crisp, refreshing wheat ale brewed with organic wheat malt, oranges and limes Atom Brewing Co. Blueberry Harvest Barrel aged Farmhouse Ale aged on whole Blueberries Atom Brewing Co. Peach Sour Barrel aged Golden Sour aged on Palisade Peaches Avery Brewing Company White Rascal An authentic Belgian style white ale, this Rascal is unfiltered and cleverly spiced with coriander and Curaçao orange peel producing a refreshingly zesty classic ale. Avery Brewing Company Bug Zapper Avery Brewing Company Avery Lager Avery Brewing Company Go Play Avery Brewing Company Vanila Bean Stout Bourbon barrel-aged stout with Tongan, Ugandan, and Mexican vanilla beans added Avery Brewing Company Coconut Porter Bourbon barrel-aged porter with copious amounts of coconut added Avery Brewing Company Tangerine Quad Bourbon-barrel aged Belgian-style quadrupel ale with tangerine zest added Avery Brewing Company Apricot Sour Barrel-aged sour with apricot Avery Brewing Company Ginger Sour Barrel-aged sour with ginger Avery Brewing Company 25th Anniversary Avery Brewing Company Radler Avery Brewing Company Polyhymnia Avery Brewing Company San Juan Sour Avery Brewing Company Depuceleuse Ale brewed with sour cherries and aged in zinfandel barrels. 100% Brettanomyces fermentation Avery Brewing Company Tectum et Elix Sour ale aged in cabernet sauvignon barrels Avery Brewing Company Finer Things Avery Brewing Company Triple Dry-hopped Chowdah Avery Brewing Company Double Dry Hopped Maharaja Avery Brewing Company Nestor's Cup/Dead Sea Scrolls Avery Brewing Company Calipygian Stout aged in bourbon barrels with coffee, cocoa, cocoa nibs, and vanilla beans added Avery Brewing Company Sandy Claws Avery Brewing Company Staff Challenge Beer #1 Avery Brewing Company Staff Challenge Beer #2 Avery Barrel Tappings Coconut Porter Avery Barrel Tappings: Plank'd Avery Barrel Tappings: Vanilla Bean Stout Avery Barrel Tappings: Raspberry Trufffale Bagby Beer Company Boy Wonder Bagby Beer Company Like it like a Latte Bagby Beer Company Sweet Ride Ballast Point High West Barrel Aged Victory at Sea Imperial Porter- Coffee, Vanilla added, High West Rye/Bourbon barrels Ballast Point Gin Barrel-Aged Sour Wench Ballast Point Red-Wine Barrel Aged Three Sheets Barleywine Brewery Bhavana Grove Sunny, Citrusy Double IPA Brewery Bhavana Piglette Tart & Funky, Ultra Light Grisette Brewery Bhavana Brett Saison Solera Foeder-Aged Wild Ale Bierstadt Lagerhaus Eisbock Freeze distilled Doppelbock Bierstadt Lagerhaus Slow Pour Pils German Style Pilsner Boneyard Brewing Wooden Femur Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged English Style Barleywine Boneyard Brewing Barrel Aged Suge Knite Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Stout Boneyard Brewing Notorious 3IPA Triple IPA Bootstrap Brewing Wreak Havoc Massively hopped Imperial Red Ale Boulevard Brewing Company Bourbon Barrel Quad WHISKEY BARREL-AGED BELGIAN-STYLE DARK STRONG ALE Breakside Brewery Err to Excess Bourbon-Barrel aged Stout with Sea salt, caramel, chocolate, and hazelnut Brewery Ommegang Brewery Ommegang Pale Sour Pale Sour is a mixed fermentation sour Brewery Ommegang Brewery Ommegang Rosetta Blend of old & young Flemish brown ale with a fruity kriek, cherry beer BRU handbuilt ales & eats Beezel Belgian Style Golden Strong Ale Belgian style strong ale made with honey and black pepper BRU handbuilt ales & eats Loch Wee Heavy Scotch Ale peated malt / fuggle hops The Bruery & Bruery Terreux The Wanderer The Bruery & Bruery Terreux Mash and Coconut The Bruery & Bruery Terreux Frucht Peach Burial Brewing Company Beacon of the Abyss Bright Lager Burial Brewing Company Deafening Song of Silence For those times when the utter absurdity of pure emptiness speaks at such a piercing shrill. Made with Honey and Oats. Double Dry-Hopped with Simcoe, Citra and Cascade. Call to Arms The Ballroom Beer Pure lager refreshment brewed with 1000% CO Rocky Mountain water. Call to Arms Shirtless Putin Nuzzlin' With Dolphins Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Baltic Porter W/ Coffee added Cannonball Creek Cannonball Creek Cellar West Artisan Ales Song of the West oak aged Super Saison with Oregon rye, Colorado wheat, and Brettanomyces Clausennii. Collab w/ Alesong Brewing and Blending. Cellar West Artisan Ales Dry Hopped Meager oak aged Table Saison with Brett and Dry Hopped with Galaxy Cellar West Artisan Ales Creek King wild blonde ale aged in oak barrels and refermented with Colorado tart cherries Cerebral Brewing Personal Day We took Work From Home and aged it for 12 months in Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrels then conditioned it on a rare cold-processed Colombian coffee from Middle State as well as Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans and cassia bark. Cerebral Brewing DDH Remote Island Brewed with oats and aggressively hopped in the WP and DH with Galaxy, Motueka and Hallertau Blanc at 10#/bbl. Notes of guava, ripe melon, white grape and a hint of pine. Cerebral Brewing Bird of Paradise - Passionfruit/Raspberry Soured with Lactobacillus and fermented with a clean American strain, then conditioned on lactose, passionfruit and raspberry. Commonwealth Marvolo Imperial Stout Commonwealth Big Papi DIPA City Star Widow Maker Imperial Stout City Star Scarlet Sour Barrel Aged Stout with Cherries Coors Banquet Crooked Stave L'Brett d'Apricot Crooked Stave Silly Cybies Crooked Stave Sour Rose Dark Sky Blood of My Enemies Hazy IPA with passionfruit and hibiscus Dark Sky Slice Berliner Weiss brewed with tangerine and dry hopped w citra and Mosaic Dark Sky High Country Brunch Imperial stout w coffee and maple syrup Dogfish Head 90 Minute Dogfish Head 2017 Olde School Barleywine Elevation Beer Company Arete America Barleywine Elevation Beer Company Signal de Botrange Chardonnay barrel-aged farmhouse ale Elevation Beer Company Double IPA Double IPA Finkle and Garf Barrel Aged Imperial Red Our Imperial Red aged in Rye Whiskey barrels. Finkle and Garf Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout Our BBA Imperial Stout aged on Cherry and Vanilla. Firestone Walker Brewing Company UnderCurrants Wild Ale fermented with Black Currants Firestone Walker Brewing Company Sucaba Barrel-Aged Barleywine Firestone Walker Brewing Company Bretta Rose Berliner Weisse aged in French Oak with Raspberries Founders Double Trouble An Imperial IPA that was brewed to turn your world upside down. Pungent aromatics up front pair with a malt-balanced backbone and a smooth, bitter finish. Founders Solid Gold Our take on a classic, Solid Gold is a drinkable premium lager brewed with the highest quality ingredients. Founders KBS An imperial stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates, then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish. Funkwerks Deceit Belgian-Style Golden Strong Ale Funkwerks Oud Bruin Belgian-Style Sour Ale aged in red wine and whiskey barrels Funkwerks Level 13 (needs) Barrel-Aged Belgian-Style Strong Ale Good River Beer Fu Fighter Belgian Golden Strong Big, bold, dry and drinkable Belgian Golden with complex fruit flavors. Good River Beer Class V (5) Big balanced double IPA with dry finish and great hop flavor. Good River Beer River Right Tropical wheat ale Great Divide Brewing Co. Mexican Chocolate Yeti Great Divide Brewing Co. Gosefaced Killah Great Divide Brewing Co. Sour Apricot Collette Grimm Brothers The Ballinderry Sword Blackberry Braggot with Clover Honey Grimm Brothers Barrel 29 Single Barrel Sour Grimm Brothers 13th Door German Style Barleywine Grossen Bart Chin Curtain A dank ass IPA Grossen Bart Handle Barley Midnight Wheat Wine Dark wheat beer brewed with all the wheats commercially available Grossen Bart Frida SMaSH Single Malt and Single Hopped Barley Wine Half Acre Brewing Company Navaja Double IPA Horse and Dragon Hopsweeper IIPA Hop-o-rama IIPA! Horse and Dragon Dragonfire Imperial Stout Horse and Dragon Maracuyá IPA Passionfruit IPA Jack's Abby Barrel Aged Framinghammer Bourbon Barrel Aged Baltic Porter Jack's Abby Graham Cracker Barrel Aged Framinghammer Bourbon Barrel Aged Baltic Porter...with Graham Crackers Jack's Abby Springdale Kriek Barrel Aged Golden Sour, finished on cherries Jessup Farm Barrel House Fancy Pants Dry-hopped, oak barrel-aged Brett IPA Jessup Farm Barrel House Jimmy Buffett Problem Rum and bourbon barrel-aged DIPA w/ Pineapple and Coconut Jessup Farm Barrel House Legal in Europe Whiskey barrel-aged Imperial Stout w/ cacao nibs, chiles, and cinnamon Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales iO Saison Saison with rose hips, rose petals, and hibiscus flowers Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales Bam Noire Dark Farmhouse Ale Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales Saison S Saison with notes of Brett, oak, and tropical fruit. La Cumbre Brewing Company Project Dank American IPA La Cumbre Brewing Company Fievre d' Abricot Apricot Saison La Cumbre Brewing Company Siberian Silk Baltic Porter Lefthand Brewing Travelin' Light Golden, crisp, dry and refreshing with herbal hops. Lefthand Brewing Good Juju A LIGHT ALE BREWED WITH FRESH GINGER TO CREATE A SPICY AROMA AND UNIQUE FLAVOR. Lefthand Brewing Left Hand IPA PALE ORANGE, LIGHT MALTINESS. HOP PROFILE OF ORANGE, PASSIONFRUIT, PEACH AND LEMON. Liquid Mechanics Pimm's Yo! Collab beer with Wiley Roots based on the Pimm's Cup cocktail. Cucumber, strawberry, mint, key lime and ginger. Liquid Mechanics Revolver v2.0 of our Lost Abbey Collab. Based on the revolver cocktail. Chestnut, coffee and orange In a 13% Bourbon BA RIS. Liquid Mechanics Coconut BBA RIS 13% RIS aged in Spirit Hounds whiskey barrels for a year, then we add toasted coconut. Melvin Brewing 2x4 Our flagship Double IPA, gold medal winner at GABF and World Beer Cup Melvin Brewing Hop Shocker 100% lupulin powder Double IPA Merchant du Vin Trappistes Rochefort 10 Belgian quadruple, great strength balanced with a complexity of flavors Mountain Sun Superkind Mountain Sun Nihilist Russian Imperial Stout New Belgium Le Kriek Noir 2018 Blend of Oud Beersel Kriek + NBB Oscar, aged in red wine barrels New Belgium Terroir Noir Dark sour dry-hopped with HBC 438 Odd 13 Saint Newcole Russian Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon barrels with Vanilla and Coconut Odd 13 Robot Librarian Collaborative Double IPA brewed with Cerebral, Fiction, and Weldwerks Odd 13 Codename: Superfan New England style IPA Odell Brewing Fee Fi Fo Fum Triple IPA! Hops hops and even more hops! Odell Brewing Barrel Aged Extra Special Red Imperial Red Ale aged in rye whiskey barrels Paradox B'aril Blood Paradox Arno Pommer Paradox Cafe Vibrante Paradox Salty Lemons 2018 Preserved Meyers lemons, then blended them into our mixed-fermentation sour golden ale with Sorachi Ace hops and Himalayan Pink salt. Ratio Beerworks Barrel-Aged Genius Wizard Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout Ratio Beerworks New Wave Strawberry Berliner Weisse Ratio Beerworks Loveless Barrel-aged sour saison with raspberries and blackberries Rhinegeist Truth Intensely hopped, dry IPA with Centennial, Citra, Amarillo and Simcoe hops. Rhinegeist Knowledge Extreme additions of American hops lend notes of resinous pine to this dry, crisp Imperial IPA. Rhinegeist Barrel Aged Mastodon Belgian Style Dark Ale aged 10 months in bourbon barrels & 3 months in red wine barrels. Rowley Farmhouse Ales Mixed Dubbels Curling Sour dubbel aged in rum barrels and finished with plums Rowley Farmhouse Ales Notorious BdG - Apple Brandy Biere de Garde Rowley Farmhouse Ales If You Must Berliner Weisse Ska BHC (Bad Hop Contract) Lucious, juicy, hop overload, tropical DIPA Ska Pink Vapor Stew Beets, carrots, apples, ginger kettle sour Ska Decadent Citrus aroma, mounds of fresh hops and malt Imp DIPA Short's Brew Vieux Rouge Mixed Fermentation Sour Red Ale aged in bourbon barrels for two years Short's Brew Bourbon barrel-aged Ben's Asthma Imperial Oatmeal Stout brewed with beet sugar and Medjool dates Short's Brew Batch 8000 Quadrupel IPA brewed with raspberry Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Original West Coast Pale Ale with Whole Cone Cascade Hops Sierra Nevada Hoptimum Triple IPA Triple IPA providing a blend of Tropical and citrus hop aroma Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Cult classic barley wine style, strong, robust, bruiser of a beer Stone Scorpion Bowl IPA Fruit forward, tropical IPA Stone Double Bastard Ale Amped up strong Pale Ale Stone Xocoveza Charred Bourbon barrel aged Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout Strange Craft 1000 Barrels Imperial IPA very hop forward but drinkable Summit hop showcase Strange Craft 2016 Dr. Strangelove Barleywine GABF and World Beer Cup winner Strange Craft StrangeTail VII Red wine barrel aged IPA with Brettanomyces Telluride Fishwater Project Double IPA aged in Knob Creek Barrels for 6 months Telluride Tripel in Stillwater Belgian Tripel The Lost Abbey Red Poppy Brown ale base aged in oak barrels wtih sour cherries The Lost Abbey Bourbon Barrel-Aged Serpent's Stout Bourbon-barrel aged imperial stout TRVE Coffee Funeral Imperial stout with Huckleberry Roasters cold brew TRVE Starving Gods of Old Foeder saison with Colorado peaches TRVE Sonoran Depravation Brett IPA Trillium Permutation 37 Weizenbock Trillium Fruit Salad Wild Ale Trillium Dialed In Double IPA Upland Boysenberry Barrel-aged fruited sour ale Upland Oak & Rose Barrel-aged fruited sour ale Upland Little Wheat Lies NE-style IPA Upslope Dry-Hopped Brett Saison Upslope Barrel Aged Coconut Porter Upslope 2018 Experimental IPA Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project Strange Little Smile Bourbon Barrel-Aged German Chocolate Cake Imperial Milk Stout Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project Somebody to Love Extra Brut IPA. Champagne IPA with Hallertau Blanc, Azacca, and Galaxy Hops Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project MM3 Mountain Man w/Barrel Aged Coffee & Barrel Aged Maple Syrup WeldWerks Brewing Co. Extra Extra Juicy Bits WeldWerks Brewing Co. Tropical Punch Berliner WeldWerks Brewing Co. Coffee Maple Achromatic WeldWerks Brewing Co. Mexican Medianoche Westmalle Westmalle Trappist Tripel Belgian Tripel, herbal aroma, malt sweetness balanced with powerful drinkability Wibby Brewing Rum Barrel Aged 9 Toed Nihilist A Russian Imperial Lager Aged in a Rum Barrel Wibby Brewing Wibby IPL IPA-Style Lager Wibby Brewing Lightshine Helles Helles Lager brewed with Centennial hops Wiley Roots Vanilla Pseudonym Laws Secale Rye Barrel Aged Imperial Stout w/ Papua New Guinea Vanilla Beans Wiley Roots Packed With Peaches Barrel Aged Golden Sour With Palisade Peaches

We’re Giving Away a Pair of Tickets to Saturday’s Fest!

To enter, subscribe to our newsletter by e-mailing [email protected] with your First and Last Name in the Body of the E-mail & AVERY in the Subject Line.