by Brent New
Writer for and on behalf of the City of Glendale
Infinity Park at Glendale, Colorado
Glendale is throwing a beer festival alongside a prestigious rugby tournament at Infinity Park.
How the two will ultimately mix? Where better to find that answer than inside one of Colorado’s flavorful craft breweries.
“I think rugby and beer are perfect together because beer actually has all eight amino acids,” Post Brewing Co. Director of Sales AJ Boglioli weighed in. “Perfect for a postgame sip.”
Hmm. Well, all right then.
The event on August 27, dubbed “Glendale’s Bruises and Brews Beerfest,” will give attendees the chance to sample from breweries and distilleries while taking in the second day of the three-day Serevi RugbyTown 7s Tournament (August 26-28).
More than 20 breweries will showcase their top beers, liquors and hard ciders. Admittance — and unabashed acceptance — is $35.
“It seems like two passionate groups of people coming together — people who are passionate about rugby and people who are passionate about beer,” said Boglioli, whose brewery will make its first appearance at the event.
“It just makes sense,” he added. People are working up a sweat and watching a sport that they love, and then they get to sit back and chug some delicious beer that they like to drink.”
And hey, the whole rugby part should be pretty good, too.
The Rugby 7s tournament — called 7s because of two seven-minute halves and seven players on each side — will feature teams from five nations, including teams from each branch of the United States Armed Services.
It comes on the heels of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, where 7s will make its fast-paced, hard-hitting debut.
The tournament purse is $10,000.
“In my opinion it’s an all-around really good event for everybody,” said Annette Gilman, the owner of Scrum Enterprises, the liquor concessionaire for Infinity Park. “People like it. They come, they sample beer, they go down and watch some rugby, they come back. … It’s great.”
Gilman said she expects between 22 and 24 breweries and four distilleries.
Expected beverage providers include 3 Freaks Brewery, Boggy Draw Brewery, Blank & Booth Distillery, Bull and Bush, C Squared Ciders, Colorado Cider Co., Comrade Brewing, Copper Kettle, Dad and Dudes Breweria, Denver Beer Co., Epic Brewing Company, Goldspot Brewing Company, Golden Moon Distillery, Hogshead Brewing, Joyride Brewing, Lariat Lodge Brewing, Mile High Spirits, Odell Brewing, Platt Park Brewing, Post Brewing, Sanitas Brewing, State 38 Distillery, Station 26 Brewing, Strange Brewing, WestFax Brewing and Westminster Brewing Co.
The high (large amount) turnout? It’s no secret as to why, said Kelissa Hieber, a brewer at Goldspot Brewing Company.
In a time where beerfests can sometimes blur together, Glendale is making sure it stands apart.
“A lot of breweries have been really pulling back with how many festivals they are doing,” said Hieber, a lover of beer and rugby. “We always before considered it as free marketing but now there are so many festivals and so many of them are the same. There’s no other entertainment festivals like this, just a bunch of beer.
And the wider demographic makes this beerfest all the more exciting.
“This festival is unique in that is does have that entertainment factor and you’re bringing people to your booth that wouldn’t go to your standard festival,” she adds. “We were really eager to come back this year.”
The beer will be served under a giant tent at the park’s Festival Plaza from 12-4 p.m.
Admission for the two-in-one event includes a ticket and a commemorative tasting mug. Only 1,500 tickets will be sold.
“I think people have really enjoyed it,” said Kieran Nelson, the Director of Stadium Operations at Infinity Park. “I think that a lot of people think it’s a cool mix — it’s a cool marriage if you will.”
The beerfest in its current form has been going on since 2014 and the Serevi RugbyTown 7s is in its fifth year.
A donation from the event will go to the Glendale Raptors Rugby Youth Foundation.
Tickets for Glendale’s Bruises and Brews Beerfest can be found online. It includes unlimited beer pours and three distillery tastings. Must be 21 or older.
Tickets for day two of the Serevi RugbyTown 7s Tournament ONLY are $10. Children under the age of 12 are free.
Free parking is available at the corner of Kentucky and Cherry Street or at the corner of Ohio and S. Birch Street. First come, first served.