by Mark Smiley | Oct 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
by Mark Smiley
The 14th Denver Rare Beer Tasting was held on Friday, September 22, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the McNichols Civic Center with 63 breweries pouring some of the hardest to find beers on the planet. Pints for Prostates sponsored a free health screening before the event, which is a five minute blood test valued at $700.
The all-inclusive ticket included four hours of beer sampling, the opportunity to meet the people who brewed them, buffet lunch, collectible tasting glass, t-shirt, and program.
The brewery roster this year had many fan favorites from the previous 13 events, along with 22 first-timers and one other that previously only participated remotely during COVID. This year breweries from 24 states participated, including 18 from Colorado. The beers poured at the Denver Rare Beer Tasting represented a range of styles and many represented one-time small production runs or the last remaining supplies of a noteworthy brew.
“Not only is the event a chance for beer fans to get to try limited edition beers, it is an opportunity for them to take charge of their health,” said Rick Lyke, founder of Pints for Prostates. “The generosity of the participating breweries enables Pints for Prostates to reach people through the universal language of beer with an important health message. We’ve been able to provide free health screenings for thousands of men over the years because the craft beer community has made the Denver Rare Beer Tasting an annual celebration of beer passion.”
“We created the Denver Rare Beer Tasting to be a special experience for beer fans and brewers, with a mission,” said Lyke. “This is not only one of the top annual craft beer events in the country, it’s also a time to remind people about the importance of early detection in fighting prostate cancer. A simple blood test in 2008 saved my life and we want guys to understand that paying attention to regular health screenings can help them to take charge of their health.”
Learn more about Pints for Prostates and how they use the funds they raise by visiting pintsforprostates.org. The website has a transparency page that provides details on the 501(c)3 charity, including complete IRS filings.
by Jessica Hughes | Oct 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
by Jessica Hughes
In the mid to late 1800s, gold and silver are what brought people to Victor, a historic mining town located outside of Cripple Creek. But now another treasure brings visitors to this small mining town, only you don’t have to dig underground to find it.
Colorful birdhouses guide the way to Rita.
A larger-than-life troll, Rita the Rock Planter, by Danish recycle art activist, Thomas Dambo, has made its way to Victor. Dambo, who refers to himself as a “recycle artist,” believes in turning trash into art and uses recycled materials to make his famous trolls.
Rita is now one of 119 trolls found all over the world, melting the hearts of the young and old with their charming faces and playful demeaner. Dambo and his crew, plus volunteers who often travel long distances to help build these whimsical sculptures, build the trolls using local scrap wood and recycled materials, placing them amongst nature to naturally die out and return to the earth’s soil. He uses these materials to show the world how much potential and beauty lays hidden in our trash.
All in a span of 12 days, it took a crew of 100 local volunteers, Dambo himself, and his crew to finish Rita the Rock Planter. But Rita wasn’t Colorado’s first troll sculpture. In 2018, “Isak Heartstone,” a 15-foot troll made of foraged sticks and recycled wood, was installed by Dambo and his team on the outskirts of Breckenridge. Isak garnered so much attention and love from visitors, the local residents resisted its newest resident who brought in excessive foot traffic. After much debate, the city council made the decision to relocate the troll near the Illinois Gulch trailhead.
So far, Rita’s presence hasn’t caused any problems, in fact she’s brought in nothing but love and affection from locals and visitors alike. The town of Victor has accepted Rita with open arms by thoughtfully placing colorful birdhouses throughout its downtown streets, guiding the way to the trailhead. Her location is even sketched on the town’s map and her picture has been added to Victor’s welcome sign on H
WY 67 — making it nearly impossible to miss Rita.
Visitors can find Rita gathering rocks atop the Little Grouse Mountain Overlook. There are two parking lots at the trailhe
Rita the Rock Planter is the 119th troll artist Thomas Dambo has built.
ad, a lower and an upper lot. To hike the full one-mile loop, start at the lower parking
lot, or begin at the upper lot for a shortened version of the hike. You’ll know when you’re there with old mining relics of the American Eagle Mine at the trail’s entrance and the story of Rita welcoming you — “A hundred suns, that is how long a nap is for a troll. When Rita woke again, her mountain side has grown a hole. The humans must have dug them in their search for shine rock. But someone could fall in, so Rita went to tidy up.”
To see where all of Dambo’s trolls live, X marks the spot
Views from the Little Grouse Mountain Overlook.
on his Troll Map. Learn more about Dambo and trolls visit thomasdambo.com.
All images by Jessica Hughes
by Mark Smiley | Oct 20, 2023 | General Featured
Colorado Breweries Win 40 Medals
by Mark Smiley
Full House: The 42nd Annual Great American Beer Festival was held from September 21-23, 2023 at the Colorado Convention Center.
The 41st anniversary of the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) returned to the Colorado Convention Center September 21-23, 2023. GABF has grown exponentially since 1982, where just 24 breweries and 47 beers were present; 41 years later, GABF featured more than 2,000 different beers from nearly 500 of the nation’s finest breweries.
The 2023 GABF competition awarded 303 medals to 263 of the best commercial breweries in the United States. Presented by the Brewers Association (BA), GABF is the nation’s largest professional beer competition.
Top-tier brews spanning 99 beer categories across 175 beer styles (including all subcategories) received prestigious gold, silver, and bronze medals. In addition, three GABF Collaboration medals for beers created by a team of two or more professional breweries, and three GABF Pro-Am medals for beers developed by teams of professional brewers and amateur homebrewers, were announced.
The competition took place in three phases over nine days and was judged by 250 beer experts from 10 countries, including the U.S. In addition to evaluating 9,298 commercial brewery entries from all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, the judging panel assessed 95 Collaboration and 50 Pro-Am entries. The competition was made possible with the help of more than 300 volunteers.
Colorado breweries showed very well, bringing in 40 medals during the festival, the most since 2017 and up from 26 the year before.
Avery Brewing Company was one of those breweries as they took home two awards. Avery’s White Rascal won Gold in the Belgian-Style. “These awards are a testament to the great work of the Avery Brewing team,” said Elton Andres Knight, CEO of Mahou USA and Avery Brewing Company. “They have a longstanding commitment to their craft, and these awards confirm what we’ve all known — that Avery and Mahou USA make some of the best beers in the country.”
An annual event tied in with GABF is the Samuel Adams and Dogfish Head Great American Beer Festival Beer & Brunch event. This year’s event was held on Friday, September 22, at West of Surrender on 16th Street Mall.
Winners: Left to right: Sam Calagione, Founder of Dogfish Head Brewery; Rich Bloomfield, Funkytown Brewing; Jim Koch, Founder and Brewer of Samuel Adams; Zack Day, Funkytown Brewing; Greg Williams, Funkytown Brewing. Funkytown Brewing won the 12th Brewing & Business Experienceship from Samuel Adams.
The event featured Funkytown Brewing from Chicago, winners of the 12th Brewing & Business Experienceship. Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, the revolutionary philanthropic program aimed at providing mentorship and access to capital for food and beverage entrepreneurs nationwide, was on full display at the brunch. Chicago’s Funkytown Brewery was welcomed to the coveted class of emerging craft brewers to receive support and unique experiences on behalf of Samuel Adams.
The Brewing & Business Experienceship is an annual program that invites craft brewers nationwide to apply for the chance to win unparalleled access to brewing and business resources from experts at Samuel Adams, including founder and brewer Jim Koch. One lucky craft brewer is selected to come to the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery, work side-by-side with a team of mentors, and collaborate on a specialty beer with Samuel Adams.
Twin Peaks: Twin Peaks added some spice to the 42nd Annual Great American Beer Festival. Twin Peaks has three convenient locations in Colorado.
Black-owned, Funkytown Brewery was founded by childhood and lifelong friends Rich Bloomfield, Zack Day, and Greg Williams, who share a passion for their hometown of Chicago and home brewing. Largely influenced by the Chicago craft scene and ’90s Hip Hop and R&B, Funkytown Brewery started home-brewing in a family garage. The brewery later launched in 2021 with a mission to introduce craft beer to underserved communities and provide a deeper understanding of different beer styles, tasting notes, aromas, and colors. Today, Funkytown Brewery aims to serve craft beer deserts and add diversity and representation to the shelves of established retailers.
“The Great American Beer Festival competition serves as a platform for the finest beers from across the nation to undergo rigorous scrutiny and vie for the title of ‘Best in Class,’” remarked Chris Williams, competition director for the Great American Beer Festival. “The beer community’s unwavering commitment to pushing the frontiers of innovation and quality is truly commendable. The Brewers Association takes great pride in recognizing the achievements of this year’s winners.”
For more information on GABF and to see the list of all the winners, visit www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com. For more information on the Colorado Brewers Guild, visit www.coloradobeer.org. The 42nd Great American Beer Festival is set for October 10-12, 2024.
by Ashe in America | Oct 20, 2023 | Feature Story Bottom Left
ASHE IN AMERICA — OPINION
Last month, I published “Winter is Coming for Vulnerable Navajo Communities Near Cortez, Colorado,” about the Democrat City Council of Cortez wedging itself in between a life-and-death agreement between two indigenous parties. As politicians signaled virtuous support for indigenous peoples on October 9, their incompetence is creating a double energy crisis for some of the most vulnerable indigenous people in the region.
And they’re calling it an environmental win.
Tony Moore and Mary Lancaster, owners of Industrial Log Company (ILC), attempted for over two years to relaunch their log home manufacturing business in Tony’s hometown of Cortez, Colorado. Local ignorance of city officials and old baggage with local activists created headaches for Tony and Mary, including lost revenue and false allegations. Read the full story here: https://asheinamerica.substack.com/p/winter-is-coming-for-vulnerable-navajo.
When the city rejected the ILC zoning, the Cortez Journal and The Four Corners Free Press claimed the decision was a victory in environmentalism.
What Is A Double Energy Crisis?
The Navajo community on the reservation, the Dine’, live traditionally, with the land. They use seasoned firewood for heat in the winter. They used to use coal until the environmentalists succeeded in getting the local coal mine closed some years back. Firewood must be seasoned, or aged, and then gathered, split, and delivered to the many communities on the reservation.
But for many on the reservation, transportation is also an issue. The lack of access to fuel (wood) combined with transportation limitations, is what researchers refer to as a “double energy crisis.” Many elderly Dine’ don’t have family to manage the wood deliveries, making them some of the most vulnerable residents of the region. According to locals, it’s not uncommon to see elderly woman by the side of the road in mid-winter, gathering twigs for their primitive stoves.
When some indigenous U.S. veterans joined Tony for a tour of his operation, these two stories collided.
Byproduct Or Commodity?
ILC’s log home manufacturing yields an important byproduct: Firewood. The product is already seasoned, and ILC has the operational capabilities to split and deliver enough wood for all 20 Chapter Houses, meeting the critical needs of the vulnerable Dine’ elders.
Tony is a registered tribal Cherokee, and he and Mary know the struggles for the Navajo created by the double energy crisis. They had been working on contracting with the Chapter Houses to deliver their byproduct as firewood, and both sides were excited about the deal.
There was only one problem. The white City Council members demanded that, since the byproduct was now going to be considered firewood, that Tony and Mary’s property needed to be rezoned as industrial. So, why they can’t just re-zone the property and get on with it?
City zoning often results in unintended consequences, but this zoning dispute is creating a humanitarian crisis. Tony and Mary planned to fulfill the contract with the Navajo as a tax-deductible nonprofit activity delivered through Tony and Mary’s for-profit company. They cannot run the firewood distribution charitably since the zoning fiasco; public notice timelines for permits now prevent it.
Deprivation Of Rights Under Color Of Law
Section 242 of Title 18 makes it a crime for a person, acting under color of any law, to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege. One such protection is “use by right,” and it applies to the normal course of business activities between ILC and the Navajo. Title 18, Section 242, is a federal law, but it explicitly applies to local governments. It’s a matter of civil rights.
Rachel Marchbanks, a City of Cortez staff member, filed a police complaint against ILC on April 29. This was a Saturday, outside of working hours, and she used her official title. It also appears that there are two co-conspirators, also acting under color of law to obstruct the native’s use by right.
Marchbanks used her official authority, outside of business hours, to interfere with “use by right” protections of two indigenous parties engaging in the normal course of business. She acted under the color of law — her official authority — with catastrophic winter consequences for those on the reservation.
But I’m sure they had lovely virtue signals on indigenous people’s day.
Ashe Epp is a writer and activist. You can find all her work at Linktree.com/asheinamerica
