On Saturday, February 16, Bristol Brewing Company hosts their 15th annual Firkin Rendezvous, an all Colorado, cask ale festival to benefit the Colorado Brewers Guild. The intimate event has a limited number of attendees and features local breweries with a focus on specialty beers to serve from a firkin, a small unit of measurement and vessel that ferments, conditions and delivers the anticipated pours.
“It’s been 15 years now and it’s really just to support the guild and to have everybody come together and highlight their beer,” says Kortney Reyes, events and promotions manager at Bristol Brewing Co. “There’s definitely going to be a few more sours than last year and a good chunk of dark beers, several stouts.”
The size of the fest fluctuates somewhat from year to year but Reyes says that the “tent model out front allows for a little more elbow room,” compared to year’s past, making it a comfortable setting to facilitate conversation and mingle with friends. This year Bristol anticipates approximately 450 people to include patrons, media and the brewers.
A big plus for Firkin is the inclusion of a substantial lunch, catered by the Ivywild School kitchen, as well as this year’s addition of a “big pretzel bar.” Reyes says that “everybody that enters” will receive a good-sized, carbo-loaded, salty snack to sustain them throughout the festivities.
All ticket holders can expect to taste from a rad, five-ounce revival glass and can experience any of Bristol’s four pours, which include a s’mores stout, a cherry and plum Belgian quad, a pineapple IPA and a dry hopped Compass IPA.
“I think this year is going to be extra special for us because it’s our 25th year as a brewery and we want to elevate every event,” says Reyes. “We want this to be something that people remember, allow you to spend time with your friends and family, enjoy some really good beer and create memories.”
VIP tickets • $65 • 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
- Early access to the beer tasting
- Collectible t-shirt
- Souvenir tasting glass
- Lunch & a pretzel
General admission tickets • $45 • 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
- Beer tasting
- Souvenir tasting glass
- Lunch & a pretzel
Designated driver tickets • $15 • 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
- Props for being a team player
- Lunch & a pretzel
***RMFR wants to see you there so we are hooking up the first 50 tickets with our secret special code: RMFR15 to receive 15-percent off general admission, knocking it down to $38.25. Get you some by clicking right here.
Participating breweries:
Boulder Beer Company
Burly Brewing Company
Cerberus Brewing Company
Chain Reaction Brewing Company
CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing
Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
Dry Dock Brewing Company
Fate Brewing Company
FH Beerworks
Florence Brewing Company
Fossil Craft Beer Company
Goat Patch Brewing Company
Great Divide Brewing Company
Horse & Dragon Brewing Company
Iron Bird Brewing Co.
Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery
Left Hand Brewing Company
Locavore Beer Works
Lone Tree Brewing Company
Mockery Brewing
Nano 108 Brewing Company
Oskar Blues Brewery
Pagosa Brewing Company
Ska Brewing
Smiling Toad Brewery
Station 26 Brewing Company
Strange Craft Beer Company
Tommyknocker Brewery
Elevation Beer Company
Black Bottle Brewery
JAKs Brewing Company
Telluride Brewing Company
Pikes Peak Brewing Company
Paradox Beer Company
Epic Brewing Company
*All images courtesy of Bristol Brewing Co.
***This event has been cancelled due to security and logistical issues and Bristol Brewing Co. issued the following press release on Saturday, February 9:
“Regretfully, we want to let you know that the Bristol team, together with the Colorado Brewers Guild, have made the decision to cancel this year’s Firkin Rendezvous, scheduled for Saturday, February 16. Due to logistics issues that were unforeseen and wholly outside of our control, both organizations feel that it would not be possible to provide the kind of experience you have come to expect at Firkin. This decision has not come easily. We looked hard at various solutions and only then came to the conclusion that cancelling is the best way forward. While we’re disappointed not to host the great beer lovers and brewers of Colorado in a celebration of independent Colorado cask beer for the 15th year in row, Firkin will be back next year and stronger than ever. We appreciate your understanding and are truly sorry for any inconvenience this might cause. Ticket holders should contact us at events@bristolbrewing.com
