Castro 12/3/17 Castro 12/3/17

Holiday Flea: Where Mile High Makers & Easy Goin Vibes Reign Supreme

For someone who tends to shy away from anything that draws a massive crowd, I found myself absolutely smitten with the Friday night party for Denver's Holiday Flea. Taking over Broadway's legendary Sports Castle building for the weekend, the Flea hosted floor upon floor of Denver creative entrepreneurs & their finely crafted wares, six boozey bars serving up holiday cheer, & fitting tunes that kept that party goin.

Holiday revelers shopping threads from Shinesty (Photo Cred: Meesh Deyden)

Featuring about 190 makers from in and around the Mile High, the Flea brought local fare from new hustlers like Very Cool Club, with their typography-focused tongue-in-cheek clothing line, to more established brands like B. Fresh and 14er Posters. One could trek Sports Castle from top to bottom and find everything needed for the holiday season-- Keenan's Killer K-Sauce to douse on every underflavored appetizer you encounter at your slew of holiday parties; witty and colorful thank you cards from Mountains vs Plains & Parcel Paper Co. you belatedly send friends and relatives for all those fruit cakes, tamales, and socks; slick new leather wares you'll inevitably show off to everyone from Colored Red; and of course, winter-ready gear that screams Colorado from Mountain Standard.

Not only was I impressed with the sheer talent & business acumen this shopping extravaganza showcased, but I was positively barreling over in laughter with how silly and happy most attendees appeared. Every time I went to take a candid crowd shot, I was delightfully bombarded with profesh photo-bombers or pose-ready models just waitin for me to press the shutter. Thank you all for making my job easy, and my night that much lovelier.

So, if you didn't make it this time around, check out our photo gallery below and see all the fun we had without you. JK, we love you, and you were probably doing something cool, too. Besides, there's always next year, babes.

Guest User 3/20/15 Guest User 3/20/15

Lifestyle | Breckenridge Brewery Partners With The East For Colab Fest

Oh! Collaboration Fest! The finest Fest of all the Fests in town. Who doesn't like to see breweries working together in perfect harmony, singing, brewing and drinking like the blood brothers we are. One of our local favorites, Breckenridge Brewery was making frenemies with the East while we were enjoying our frigidly warm winter. Are we about to see a Tupac and Biggie showdown? Or will they work together to create something that Big Poppa and 2Pac himself would imbibe? We think the latter. If history has taught us anything, it's that beer can solve any and every feud. And we'll drink to that!

Who: Starr Hill Brewery and MadTree Brewing Company.

The Results: Two recipes to be proud of, two days of brewing with new friends and two incomparable and wonderful beers to share.

MADTREE + BRECKENRIDGE BREWERY = SAISON RIDGE

The goal was to create a beer that represented each state through its ingredients. Jimmy Walker, head brewer for Breckenridge Brewery's brewpub in Breckenridge teamed up with Jeff Hunt, head brewer of MadTree Brewing. Together they came up with a short list of ingredients that included Ohio spice bush berries, Colorado spruce tips, and Colorado honey.

“Carrying 10 pounds of super fragrant spice bush berries through airport security to bring a piece of Ohio to the beer was just the beginning of a great partnership with Jimmy and the Breck crew,” shared Jeff. “We had fun coming up with a beer style, brewing something that plays well with these unique ingredients yet is still refreshing for the spring.” Jimmy added, "Both spruce tips and the spice bush berry can be easily overdone with their very potent flavor profiles. We attempted to err on the side of subtlety and keep the beer true to style.” Saison Ridge is the outcome of their meticulous efforts - a dry, refreshing, spicy and drinkable saison with subtle and complex flavor nuances from the native ingredients.

STARR HILL BREWERY + BRECKENRIDGE BREWERY = SNOW YOUR OATS

Todd Usry, Brewmaster and Director of Brewing Operations for Breckenridge Brewery, co-created the second collaboration with Robbie O'Cain, Brewmaster of Starr Hill. “Starr Hill was an easy pick for this collaboration. Its founder, Mark Thompson, is an old friend from brewing school. I was born and raised in Virginia and love the Blue Ridge Mountains where Starr Hill is based. It doesn't hurt that Starr Hill is renowned for its stouts and other beers; I've always wanted to create something with them.” Robbie came to Colorado to brew a collaborative stout at Breckenridge Brewery's Denver brewery. He shipped ahead malt and barley used in Dark Starr, Little Red RooStarr, and other great Starr Hill stouts, and he carried with him locally sourced Virginia oats. To round out the 50 barrel brew, Breckenridge threw in 200 pounds of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory dark chocolate, the same chocolate brewed in its 72 Imperial Chocolate Cream Stout.

Denver was barraged with snow the day they brewed, inspiring the name “Snow your Oats.” How appropriate that the resulting full-flavored, chocolate oatmeal stout is one that will soothe the soul and satisfy the palate during any given storm. “After a great experience brewing and sharing knowledge with the Breckenridge team, I can’t wait to show off this beer at Collaboration Fest," said Robbie, who is flying back to Colorado this weekend to help launch Snow Your Oats. "It will be a blast when Todd and Breckenridge make the trek east to Virginia later this year to brew a new collaboration with the Starr Hill team for our fans on the East Coast.”

Come drink the fine elixirs on March, 21st at Sports Authority Field @ Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado from 3pm-7pm.

Get yo tickets here: http://www.imbibe-events.com/event/2015-collaboration-fest/

Guest User 3/6/15 Guest User 3/6/15

Lifestyle | FELLOW Magazine Pop Up Event | March 5

We would have expected nothing less from Fellow Magazine. They transformed a rather empty warehouse into a hipster haven. There was everything from candles hanging from the ceiling in mason jars to tiny cups of cotton candy and a folky band with such exquisite beards that even Nick Offerman would envy. But beyond the decor there was something more to the evening. A sense of camaraderie among us, the feeling that we were all in this together (cue the Disney music). But really, everyone in attendance understood what it was like turn down a desk job or say, “no” to the 9-5. To simply write, draw and create for no other explanation than because we had to. An eternal testament to the city we live in and the people that make Denver unique. FELLOW Magazine has captured the heart of our generation on a 1950s Polaroid camera.

We are Generation C, we collaborate, connect and create. FELLOW understands this and celebrates Colorado’s differences. Their magazine gives artists a chance to express and expose themselves so they can really make it at their trade. A publication that leaves the “click bait” alone and really sets out to create something that captures the people that inhabit the forests, ghost towns and high rises of Colorado.

I read through volume 03 at a voracious pace and soaked in everything from crazy cocktails and ice fishing adventures to beautiful prose. What sets this volume apart is the writing, anyone with a knowledge of the English language can feel the story brewing in the writer’s veins as they read. Two of my favorite articles were, “Riding The Rails” and “ Birds In The Backyard.” Tales simple enough to be told in a few moments or less, but intricate enough to curl up and take home in your mind.

This review does not do the evening or the volume any justice. Head over to: http://www.fellow-magazine.com/ and pick yourself up a copy. We guarantee that it will be your coffee table staple long after your grow out of your studio apartment.

-McClain Morris