by Mark Smiley | Oct 21, 2022 | Main Articles
Comrade Brewing Company Wins Gold Medal
by Mark Smiley
Gold Medal Winner: Comrade Brewing Company won a Gold medal at the 2022 GABF for More Dodge Less Ram in the American-Style India Pale Ale category.
The 40th anniversary of the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) returned to the Colorado Convention Center October 6-8, 2022. GABF has grown exponentially since 1982, where just 24 breweries and 47 beers were present; 40 years later, GABF featured more than 2,000 different beers from nearly 500 of the nation’s finest breweries.
The 2022 GABF competition awarded 300 medals to the best commercial breweries in the United States. Presented by the Brewers Association (BA), GABF is the nation’s largest professional beer competition.
Award-winning breweries received prestigious gold, silver, and bronze medals in 98 beer categories covering 177 different beer styles (including all subcategories), establishing the best examples of each style in the country. In addition, three GABF Collaboration medals pairing two professional breweries, and three GABF Pro-Am medals pairing homebrewers with professional brewers, were announced.
The competition took place in three phases over a period of nine days and was judged by 235 beer experts from seven countries, including the U.S. In addition to 9,904 commercial brewery entries, the judging panel also evaluated 35 Pro-Am entries and 94 Collaboration entries. The competition was made possible with the help of 310 volunteers.
Hometown Favorite: David Levesque, Owner / Founder / Brew Master of Launch Pad Brewery, left, and Casey Bloyer, Distribution manager of Launch Pad Brewery, celebrate winning a Silver medal for their Citronaut in the English Ale category.
Many of those winning breweries were from the state of Colorado. There were 23 independent Colorado breweries that were awarded 26 medals at the GABF competition on October 8, 2022, held in the Bellco Theater.
Denver favorite, Comrade Brewing Company, earned its second gold medal for More Dodge and Less Ram, taking home top honors in the most competitive category this year, American-Style India Pale Ale. “It was a huge surprise for us, since it was the last category announced, said David Lin, Owner of Comrade Brewing Company. “After we saw there were 423 entries, our hopes were dashed. We’ve been doing our own thing here at the brewery and we’re honored to see the judges think so as well.”
Left Hand Brewing Company continued as the most awarded craft brewery in Colorado, collecting two medals in 2022 and their 29th medal at GABF overall. Bristol Brewing collected the brewery’s 10th GABF medal for Laughing Lab Scottish Ale (the last time the brewery earned a GABF medal for this beer was in 2010), and this is the 14th medal for the Colorado-Springs based brewery.
Cannonball Creek pushed its winning streak to 10 years earning a bronze medal in the specialty saison category, a first for the brewery in this style; the Golden-based brewery has won 15 GABF medals in total across 10 different categories in the past 10 years.
Beer Enthusiasts: These valley residents were excited to be back in person to try some of the best beers from around the country.
“Colorado proves that we are a leader in the craft beer industry and shows that our brewers continue to brew consistently excellent beers in all types of styles,” said Colorado Brewers Guild Executive Director Shawnee Adelson.
Starry Noche: Neil Fisher, Co-Founder, Head Brewer of WeldWerks Brewery, pours Starry Noche at their booth at the 2022 GABF on Saturday, October 8, 2022.
Although it did not win a medal, WeldWerks Brewery from Greeley poured its 2022 vintage of Starry Noche, started as a carefully selected blend of Medianoche batches aged for 20-29 months in a variety of freshly emptied Old Fitzgerald 14-year bourbon, Elijah Craig 19-year bourbon, Sazerac 14-year rye, Blanton’s 8-year bourbon, Eagle Rare 10-year bourbon, and Henry McKenna 11-year bourbon barrels. After resting in these casks for over two years, the blend was conditioned on more than three pounds per gallon of toasted coconut flakes and raw coconut chips and finished with toasted hazelnut.
Overall, there was a buzz inside the Colorado Convention Center. Attendees were excited to be back in person to try some of the best beers from around the country.
“Each year the Great American Beer Festival showcases the best that American brewers have to offer,” said Chris Williams, competition director, Great American Beer Festival. “With 9,904 entries, this year’s competition was the most competitive to date. Congratulations to all the winners who truly demonstrated why the U.S. is the best brewing nation in the world.”
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 41st Great American Beer Festival is set for September 21-23, 2023.
by Valley Gadfly | Oct 21, 2022 | Main Articles
A Flood Of New Construction Is Underway In The District Amid A Flock Of New, Renewed Projects Paused In The Pipeline
by Glen Richardson
Cranes O’er Cherry Creek: Cranes are again in the air over Cherry Creek as district building is booming again. This eight-story project is on the southeast corner of 2nd Ave. as Broe Real Estate Group restarts the makeover of the east side of Clayton St.
Onset of the pandemic gave rise to a welcome respite from non-stop redevelopment of Cherry Creek North that began in 2013. Countless major projects were stuck in the pipeline during the long shutdown. As reopenings picked up the pace in 2022, the neighborhood is again undergoing a construction boom with hordes of new and renewed projects started or proceeding at an unprecedented pace.
As construction cranes again fill the neighborhood, citizens express concern that the once serene shopping district of boutiques and eclectic eateries will become a landscape of glass, brick, and steel. Others fear rapid growth will escalate the districts’ surging crime rate. A check by the Chronicle showed — 2022 vs. 2021 —violent crime in Cherry Creek is up 12.5%; property crime is up 23.2%; car thefts are up 51.1%, and robberies are up 200.0%.
Here’s a look at the flood of new construction, big and small, good and not-so-good, currently underway in the district:
200 Clayton
Substantial headway has been made on the corner office building at 2nd Ave. and Clayton St. Both the cores and steel structure have topped out with fireproofing and facade work underway. It will be an eight-story, 76,000-sq.-ft. high-rise on the southeast corner of 2nd Ave. Built by Broe Real Estate Group, it will feature both retail and commercial space.
The firm owns the bulk of the east side of Clayton St. and the corner site is restarting the transformation of this north-south street.
When 200 Clayton is completed, Broe will demolish the two-story parking garage it owns to the north and build yet another seven-story structure. It is projected to have 3,000-sq.-ft. of ground-floor retail space and 31,890-sq.ft. of office space.
255 Fillmore
In 2016 the Cherry Creek Plaza building was demolished to make way for a seven-story office building. However, the project never broke ground and the site stood as a surface parking lot. Now a new rendition of the project has broken ground with excavation underway. Yet another Matt Joblon project, it is a 100,000-sq.-ft. seven-story building that is 95% leased, with Vietnamese-French eatery Le Colonial taking one of the street-level spots.
300 Fillmore
Just a half-block from 255 Fillmore, another new office project has broken ground. Throughout the boom, Cherry Creek North has seen little development on the north side of East 3rd Ave. due to it being zoned for buildings no higher than four stories. Nonetheless, demolition of a two-story structure is underway, with a four-story, 70,814-sq.-ft. building planned that will include 117 surface parking spaces. The 0.43-acre parcel is where Grind Kitchen, Tazu Sushi, women’s boutique Harriet’s, and jewelry store Element79 were located.
300 University
Along Cherry Creek’s western edge, on the north side of East 3rd Ave., a four-story building with 50,000-sq.-ft. of office space and 10,000-sq.-ft of ground floor retail will be built. The project is on a half-acre site where floral-home furnishing store Bloom by Anuschka was located, and includes a parking lot leased to Hillstone Restaurant. The project is a family business of Brent Farber of Elevation Development and his uncle, Rick Sapkin, of Edgemark Development. Sapkin has owned the property for more than 30 years.
180 Madison St.
Modera Cherry Creek is making great progress on an apartment project in Cherry Creek East. The five-story structure is on the southeast corner of 2nd Ave. & Madison St. It has topped out, a brick-focused facade making its way up the building. First move-ins are expected this fall in the complex, which will feature a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units as large as 2,044-sq.-ft.
Slew Set To Be Built 155 & 165 N. Cook
Mill Creek is planning a second project similar to their Modera Cherry Creek a block away. Plans as recent as May have been filed with the city. However, some individual plans require resubmittal. The site is on the southwest corner of 2nd Ave. and Cook St. The project is replacing a pair of three- and four-story office buildings.
299 Milwaukee
The southwest corner of 3rd Ave. and Milwaukee St. may see a new eight-story residential building. Currently, the parcel is occupied by a plaza and two-story parking structure.
242 Milwaukee
Hip High End Offices: With low inventory and high demand, new office buildings are adding to the district’s building boom. This proposed seven-story project is mid-block on Milwaukee St.
There is a lot of interest in office development in Cherry Creek North. This proposed project is between East 2nd and 3rd Ave., mid-block along Milwaukee St. Plans call for a seven-story office building that would replace a two-story retail structure.
201 Fillmore
An eight-story office building is being planned at the northwest corner of East 2nd Ave. and Fillmore St. The building would replace the single-story retail space that currently houses a Men’s Warehouse plus an adjacent parking lot.
329 Detroit
A small condo project has been proposed for a parcel mid-block on Detroit St. between East 3rd and 4th Ave. The five-story project would replace a single-story building that was the Witold-K Art Studio & Gallery for 40 years. The Denver artist’s work is in museums and galleries worldwide. He participated in the New York Graphic Masters exhibition with Picasso, Chagall, and Miro, and was the first American to have works displayed at Sotheby’s in Amsterdam.
Mall’s West End
As the Chronicle reported in March, East West Partners is planning to build seven structures up to 12 stories tall at the west end of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. Plans call for the first four buildings to have 780,000-sq.-ft. of office-retail space, plus three condo-apartment homes with 600 units.
by Glendale Sports Center | Oct 21, 2022 | Glendale City News
by Jennifer Lease, RD, Senior Manager of Nutrition at the YMCA of Metro Denver
The holiday season can feel hard when you’re focused on your health. November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and whether you’re someone working to prevent a chronic disease, like Diabetes, or manage one, the holidays can bring up stress and fear around food choices.
Here are some tips to help you stay on track with mindfulness, self-compassion, and flexibility that allow you to stay present and enjoy this time of year:
Be mindful and intentional
about your choices.
This is really all about approaching your choices and behaviors without judgment, and giving yourself permission to make the choices you do. When it comes to the holidays, there’s usually special dishes with meaning for you, as well as sweets and treats you look forward to. You deserve to enjoy those! It’s important to give yourself genuine permission to enjoy those foods so you’re not left feeling badly about those choices. Even when preventing or managing a chronic disease, there’s still room for including these foods. With intention, you can choose the dishes you don’t want to miss, include them on your plate in portion sizes that feel good for you, and feel guilt-free afterwards.
Practice gentle nutrition.
You can still keep nutrition principles in mind during holiday meals, with a bit of flexibility and grace for yourself at the same time. You can enjoy a bit of everything with some balance and portion control (and you’ll feel better after the meal, too!). The basics of a balanced plate to support blood sugar control include protein, veggies, and a starch or grain. Try filling half of your plate with veggie dishes and then take a smaller portion of the others you want to try. Holiday dishes tend to be heavy on starchy foods, so don’t forget some protein (like turkey or chicken) to create balance. Remember to check in with your hunger and fullness cues as you enjoy your meal, too, so you can stop eating when you feel comfortably full.
Don’t overcompensate for the holidays — you can get right back on track.
This may sound easier said than done. We tend to overcompensate after more indulgent meals, like those during the holidays — this can look like restricting your food intake for a day or more, exercising more than usual, or even punishing yourself with negative self-talk. The ways we overcompensate can actually worsen blood sugar control and backfire. It’s important to remember that every day is a new day to reset. When you’re mindful and intentional about your food choices and practice gentle nutrition, this feels easier — you’re better able to move onto the next day, getting back on track with your usual eating patterns to support your health.
The holiday season should be a time of joy and celebration, and that includes lots of yummy food! If you find yourself feeling stress, anxiety, or fear about food as you approach holiday meals, our Health & Well-being team at the Y can help. Learn about all of our nutrition programming and our Diabetes Prevention Program at den verymca.org.
