New in brew: Suds flowing down the Front Range

Two University of Colorado grads are coming back to Boulder, beer-wise that is. Sharing a passion for punk rock, Jason zumBrunnen and Scott Kaplan became fast friends at CU before co-founding Ratio Beerworks in 2015 in Denver’s River North district. Since, Ratio has established a sizeable community and following with beers like Dear You, a delightfully bright and bready French saison, and Genius Wizard — a spectacular Russian Imperial Stout with a supreme representation of roasted malts.

And as of August, Ratio Beerworks is now distributed around Boulder and will be the featured brewery at Rayback Collective for September. All month long there will be special tappings, so drop by for a pour of King of Carrot Flowers: a Belgian-style saison brewed with carrot juice and elderflowers.

Suave Fest (Raices Brewing Company, 2060 W. Colfax Ave., Denver) Sat., Sept. 14, 12 p.m. Diversity and inclusion are signs of a healthy and robust industry. The craft brewing world has made strides, but with only 0.6% of U.S. breweries Latinx-owned, there is still a long way to go. Thankfully, Suave Fest — the first Latino craft beer festival in the country — is getting the ball rolling.

Ten breweries will be pouring — including Dos Luches Brewing, a gluten-free brewery located in Denver — and the spirit of the festival will be lively with focuses on family and community. If you’re starting to feel like craft beer is getting too corporate, let Suave Fest be your salve.

Gravity Brewing’s Seventh Anniversary Party (1150 Pine St., Louisville) Sat., Sept. 14, 12-11 p.m. If you’ve never been to Gravity Brewing, it’s time to change that. The seating is copious, the pizza served at Gastronauts is excellent, the beer garden out back is a delightful place to have a conversation, and the beer is some of the best in the county. They’ll have seven new brews on tap for their seventh anniversary, and between the Mexican Bock (a strong version of their Mexican lager) and the Peanut Butter & Coffee Brown Porter, options abound.

Howdy Fest (The Post Brewing Co., 105 W. Emma St., Lafayette) Sat., Sept. 28 12-5 p.m. Named after their immensely drinkable Western pilsner, Howdy Fest is beer, food and spirited rodeo games galore. Tickets are $15 and get you entrance and Howdy Pilsner. Need more? The other four Lafayette breweries (Odd13, Liquid Mechanics, Cellar West and Front Range Brewing Company) will be pouring alongside Stem Ciders. And, there will be fried chicken. But, you probably guessed that already.

Wibtoberfest (Wibby Brewing, 209 Emery St., Longmont) Sat., Sept. 7, 11:11 a.m. Wibby is Longmont’s dedicated lager brewery, so it makes perfect sense that their fourth anniversary party is a kind of German Oktoberfest with celebratory firkin tapping, festivities and fun. It’ll also (unofficially) kick off a month of Oktoberfest-inspired drinking, but more on that next week.