And the winners are...not announced yet.

Sorry for no newsletter last week. I have been working on a new podcast, tap&table with Matthew Schniper and writing a newsletter escaped me. That first episode will be out this week, so stay tuned!

Focal Pint Local Picks are being tabulated…

Trophy with mountains and rays of light coming out from behind it

By the Numbers

Vote-wise, numbers were down from year’s past when we did similar contests, but the difference may be due to some people stuffing the ballots previously, as opposed to being unique voters.

We ended up with just over 100 ballots cast, with a wide range of consumer’s preferences considered, but this year wasn’t just a straight-up popularity contest. I was genuinely surprised by some of the results, too!

We used a different type of voting system called “ranked choice” to more accurately pick winners based on every voter’s top preferences in each category.

Here’s why:

Our brains are wired to rank things, but we also navigate the options automatically, like when your favorite IPA isn’t available—you pick the next best. That’s, in a nutshell, what ranked choice voting does.

So, in terms of this year’s voting, if your most preferred brewery in a category isn’t gets the least votes overall and is eliminated, your vote counts for your second ranked brewery. If THAT brewery gets eliminated, your vote counts for your third ranked choice and so on until one brewery reaches a majority amongst the voters.

I used a platform called RankedVote, and it was pretty simple to setup and get rolling, so if you’re looking to run some sort of voting contest, I’d recommend checking them out!

So who won?

I know I’m a bit late on announcing winners, but part of the plan was to reveal those as part of the first episode of my new podcast venture with Matthew Schniper, which we recorded at Streetcar520 this weekend. I’m still editing the audio and video, so expect to see that episode and a list of winners later this week. I still have a lot of work to do creating the plaques for each winner, so if you’re included in the announcement, expect to see me coming around by the end of the month with something special you can hang on the wall.

My hope is to keep this going with similar awards every year, too, so places can start racking up the hardware. I’ll be including a poll in the coming weeks, so we can adjust the categories as the community sees fit too!

The tap&table podcast will be available on YouTube (video, yay!) and all the major platforms where you normally get your audio podcasts!

Make sure you follow our Facebook page in order to get updates on episodes!

Tigers and Goats

In honor of Colorado College's upcoming 150th anniversary, the institution has collaborated with Goat Patch Brewing Company to rebrand its popular blonde ale as a CC beer, creating a unique and celebratory beer, fusing tradition with innovation.

Colorado College community members and the public will have the chance to decide the first-ever CC beer’s name through an online voting site from January 19th to February 18th, with the winning name announcing at the end of March. The newly branded beer will be served along with other Goat Patch beers at CC events, Goat Patch Brewery, and other Colorado Springs dining and bar establishments.

Hopefully, this doesn’t become some sort of “Beery McBeerface” debacle with giving the rebranding decision to the community…

Dryanuary Releases

As my wife’s former podcast The Little London Show coined it, Dryanuary is upon us, and I’m really enjoying all the NA options breweries are putting out there.

Maybe we can get LLS to start back up this year.

For Pikes Peak region breweries, Pikes Peak Brewing just released their TrailWater sparkling hop water which is pretty darn tasty. If you’re keen to giving it a try, Cheers has it for a killer deal, so head there to stock up.

Looking further North (and hopefully soon to the Westside), WestFax Brewing Co announced their Mountain Water, a new hop water. Mountain Water is now available in the WestFax taproom as of Friday, January 5.

After careful experimentation, WestFax owner and head brewer Anthony Martuscello adjusted his hop water process by reducing the dry hopping time from trial batches to prevent an overly harsh bitterness. He selected the combination of Amarillo, Azacca, and Eukanot hops specifically for their uniquely layered citrus flavors and herbaceous spice-forward aromas. “Mountain Water moves across your palate in an exciting way” says Martuscello. “It begins with lots of bubbles, before giving way to a lemon/lime and fresh cut grass profile from the use of the Amarillo hop and finally finishes clean and effervescent. I’m thrilled with the result and looking forward to experimenting with additional flavor profiles”.

Denver’s Call to Arms is excited to announce the return of its non-alcoholic hop water, The Essence of Wetness. This zero-proof, zero-calorie hop-infused seltzer water features bright citrus notes rounded out with a crisp tropical, effervescent finish.

Inspired by the desire to offer a greater diversity of non-alcoholic options and the growing popularity of non-alcoholic beers, Call to Arms’ Essence of Wetness is a non-alcoholic seltzer water featuring a cryo hop blend from YCH Hops. 

“While our focus has been and always will revolve primarily around beer, we also love experimenting with beer-adjacent beverages,” said Chris Bell, co-founder of Call to Arms Brewing. “We’re incredibly supportive of the decision to take a break from alcohol as well as the importance of providing non-alcoholic options for those who don’t imbibe. The Essence of Wetness is the perfect substitute for hop heads who enjoy the flavor of hoppy beers, but might be abstaining.”

The Essence of Wetness is now available in 16oz cans from Call to Arms Brewing and in liquor stores throughout the state of Colorado.

New Brewer Stickers incoming

We’ve done Airman.

We’ve done Biff.

Can you guess who’s next?

Coming soon…if you guess correctly in the comments, you win one.

Cheers!