It’s about those summertime brews.
An array of spicy, bold, mouth-watering barbecue entrees paired with an assortment of crisp craft brews is enticing folks from around the region to celebrate in Arvada’s first beer festival: Arvada On Tap.
On July 25, Arvada will be untapped as more than 20 breweries and grill masters from across the region will flock to Ralston Park, 11200 Ralston Road, for the inaugural festival.
“I could just picture a beer festival in Arvada, and that’s all I said,” said Kristine McMahon, new member of the Arvada Festivals Commission.
Dreamed up from that offhand comment during a meeting with city staff, McMahon and fellow organizer Gretchen Sherlock took hold of the idea and started brewing — plans, that is.
“The craft beer piece in Colorado — it’s blowing up,” Sherlock said. “Everybody talks craft beer and is just extremely interested in the craft process. People are sort of holding it on a pedestal as a way of life or a reason to be.”
Throughout the event, held from noon to 8 p.m., attendees will have an opportunity to sample a variety of craft pale ales, pilsners, IPAs, stouts and lagers, and to participate in the amateur homebrew competition, all while savoring the sounds of local music and the tastes of some of the nation’s top grillers’ smoked chicken, pork and brisket.
“We’re local and we would love to have everybody in Arvada know who we are,” said Chris Hill, brewer at Arvada’s Odyssey Beerwerks, which was the first craft brewery to sign up for the festival. “We’re a community where you don’t need to go outside the city of Arvada to have great beer.”
From the sampling of more than 100 local craft brews to homebrew competitions and the Kansas City Barbeque Society barbecue competitions, attendees will have a slew of opportunities to brew, cook, taste and sip the flavors flowing from this festival.
Registration for the barbecue and homebrew competitions is open, to learn more or to sign up visit: .
“Arvada On Tap is a great way to, in one place, in a short period of time, experience what the craft beer industry is like in Arvada,” Hill said. “What better way to do that than in your own back yard?”
