What’s On Tap: 2025 Tasting Session Beer Styles Revealed
The Telluride Blues & Brews Festival is excited to announce the styles of craft beer that will be poured at this year’s Tasting Sessions as part of the Brewer Showcase.
Light drinkable lagers will be on tap from breweries like Colorful Beverage and Montucky Cold Snacks, while Firestone Walker, Ex Novo and Lawson’s Finest Liquids showcase their hop-forward IPAs. Don’t miss some of Colorado’s most talked about and mainstay breweries, 4 Noses, Crooked Stave, Ska, Carver and Odell. Drink like a local with Telluride Brewing, Stronghouse and Smuggler Union or go deeper with and try the non-alcoholic brewery that you have to try to believe, Best Day Brewing.
The Colorado Brews Guild will join us to showcase beers from some of Colorado’s best breweries including New Terrain, Woods Boss, OCC Brewing, Base Camp Beer Works and Urban Animal. New for 2025, many breweries including Outer Range Brewing, Odell, Grand Canyon and many more brewed special beers with award winning, locally grown, hops from Billy Goat Hop Farm in Montrose, Co.
Also special for this year we have some craft-beer celebrities on-site! Make sure to raise a glass with folks like Sean Lawson, founder/owner of Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Brent Cordle brewer at Odell, Chris and Audrey from Billy Goat Hop Farm and many more. And who doesn’t love whiskey? Kevin Aslan, the head distiller from HIRSH Selected Whiskeys will be on-site talking to attendees and serving up samples of their award-winning craft whiskey.
A limited amount of Tasting Session tickets for both Friday Sessions, 1 - 3 pm and 4 - 6 pm and the Saturday 4 -6 pm (High ABV Session) are still available. Explore the list below and join us the 2025 Tasting Sessions.
Presenting Breweries
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Regular Tasting Sessions - Pale Ale, Hazy Little Thing, Oktoberfest, Peachy Little Thing, Trail Pass Golden, Hop Splash
High ABV Session - Atomic Imperial IPA
4 Noses Brewing Company
Regular Tasting Sessions - Cucumber Margarita Sour collab with the Real Dill,Bout Damn Time West Coast IPA, Premium Lager
High ABV Session - Imperial Bout Damn Time West Coast DIPA
Telluride Brewing Company
Regular Tasting Sessions - Skateraide, Oktoberfish, Russel Kelly IPA with Billy Goat Hops
High ABV Session - St Barley Barleywine, AlpenGose Gose with Strwberry, Pear & Hibiscus
Firestone Walker Brewing Company
Regular Tasting Sessions - Cali Squeeze, 805 & Cerveza
High ABV Session - Mind Haze Cosmic Crusher IIPA
Ska Brewing Company
Regular Tasting Sessions - Oktoberfest, Checkered Future IPA and Durango Blues Train Lagger
High ABV Session - Double Modus IPA, Double Hazy
Crooked Stave
Regular Tasting Sessions - Tropical Rosé, Juicy West IPA, Road Tripper American Amber
High ABV Session - Blue Gesha Fruited Sour Ale with coffee and blueberries
exhibiting breweries
Best Day Brewing
- Regular Tasting Sessions - (All Non-Alcoholic) Kölsch, Hazy IPA,Electro-Lime" (Mexican-style lager), West Coast IPA, "Galaxy Ripple" (Imperial IPA), White (Belguim-style Wheat),
- High ABV Session- "Galaxy Ripple" (Imperial IPA)
Grand Canyon
Regular Tasting Sessions - Prickly Pear Wheat, Sunset Amber Ale, Prickly Pear IPA, Cold IPA made with Billy Goat Hops
High ABV Session - Pumpkin Springs Porter, Belgian Blonde
Montucky Cold Snacks
- Regular Tasting Sessions - Montucky Cold Snacks Light Lager
Stronghouse
- Regular Tasting Sessions - Wet Hop Dream Fresh Hop with Billy Goat Hop Farm Hops, Leaf Peeper Oktoberfest, Fonio Pale Ale
- High ABV Session - High Octane Old Timey Barleywine, DuaL IPA Double IPA
Big B's Hard Cider
- Regular Tasting Sessions - Lazy Daze Hard Lemonade, Harvest Apple Hard Cider, Cherry Daze Hard Cider
- High ABV Session - Bourbon Barrel Aged Pommeau
Fremont
Regular Tasting Sessions - Lush IPA, Head Full of Dynomite Hazy IPA, Dark Star Oatmeal Stout
High ABV Session - Extra Lush Triple IPA
Odell
- Regular Tasting Sessions - IPA, Pils, Oktoberfest
- High ABV Session - Friek, Big Sippin Imperial Sour Ale
Wild Provisions
- High ABV Session - Ranch Chores Table Sour
Carver Brewing Co
- Regular Tasting Sessions - Lightener Creek Lager, Hazy IPA with Mango and Passion Fruit, Jack Rabbit Raspberry Wheat
- High ABV Session - Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout
Great Divide
- Regular Tasting Sessions -
- High ABV Session -
Outer Range
- Regular Tasting Sessions - IPA, Pils, Oktoberfest
- High ABV Session - Friek, Big Sippin Imperial Sour Ale
White Claw
- Regular Tasting Sessions - Grape Hard Seltzer, Peach Hard Seltzer, Green Apple Hard Seltzer
- High ABV Session - Surge Hard Seltzer
Colorful Beverage
- Regular Tasting Sessions - Colorful Lager, Light Lager
Lawson's
- Regular Tasting Sessions - Double Sunshine IPA, Kingdom Trails IPA, Nitro Stout, Scrag Mountain Pilsner
- High ABV Session - Stick Maple, BA maple ale, and our Cinnamon Whiskey BA Fayston Maple Imperial Stout
Ratio
Regular Tasting Sessions - Cityscapes Mexican Lager, King of Carrot Flowers Saison, No Shade Pilsner
High ABV Session - Barrel Aged Maple Coffee Genius Wizard
Dogfish Head
- Regular Tasting Sessions - Grateful Dead Hazy IPA
- High ABV Session - 90 Minute IPA
La Cumbre
- Regular Tasting Sessions - Elevated IPA, Oktoberfest, Lifestyle Expert West Coast Pilsner
- High ABV Session - Malpais Export Stout
Shelter
- Regular Tasting Sessions - Wet Hop Lager with Billy Goat Hops, Okoberfest with Bill Goat Hops, Get Lost Lager with Billy Goat Hops
- High ABV Session - Canned Beer Cocktail
Ex Novo
- Regular Tasting Sessions - Eliot IPA Sunset Syndrome - Hazy IPA But It's a Dry Heat - Mexican Lager with Salt/Lime Perle Haggard - German Style Pilsner
- High ABV Session - Nevermore, bourbon barrel aged Black Barley Wine Unexpect the Expected - peach spontaneous fermentation ale
Los Dos Potrillos
- Regular Tasting Sessions -
- High ABV Session -
Smuggler Union
- Regular Tasting Sessions - Cucumberland Blues- Fruited Kettle Sour, Oktoberfest - German Marzen, Pumpkin Plunge - Spiced Belgian Pumpkin and Chilly Goat - Fresh Hop IPA
- High ABV Session - Palmyra Pils - German Pilsner, Grateful Grind - Espresso Porter, and Farewell Spaceman - Chocolate coconut desert stout during the high ABV session.
Sample the Best of Colorado
The Telluride Blues & Brews Festival is excited to partner with the Colorado Brewers Guild for another year! The Colorado Brewers Guild (CBG) is a nonprofit trade association with the mission to promote, protect, and propel independent craft breweries in the State of Craft Beer (Colorado) through advocacy, community, education, and public awareness. The majority of the state’s 400+ licensed breweries are members. Stop by the Colorado Brewers Guild Tent to meet folks from the guild and to try some craft beers that represent some of the state’s best breweries not in attendance at the event.
Woods Boss Brewing Company | Denver, CO
Regular Tasting Sessions - Herbstwald, Marzen - Crisp, clean aromas of toasted breads and brown sugar with deep malt tones of slight toffee and caramel.
High ABV Session - The Dead Tree Scrolls - collab with Paradox. Coolship spontaneous sour brewed with Peaches.
New Terrain Brewing Company | Golden, CO
Regular Tasting Sessions - WanderFest, Fest Bier - When it’s time to celebrate, we do so with this jammin’ German-style Festbier Lager!
OCC Brewing | Colorado Springs, CO
Regular Tasting Sessions - Union Maid, Marzen - Toasty malt notes with a refreshing finish. Prost!
High ABV Session - Hippopotamus - Belgian Quad, 2023 Barrel Aged Old Trash Panda Imperial Stout
Base Camp Beer Works | Grand Junction, CO
Regular Tasting Sessions - Fresh Hop Pilsner made with Billy Goat Hop Farm fresh hops, brought straight from the farm in Montrose to the brewhouse the same day!
High ABV Session - Palisade Plunge Peach Hazy IPA and Spicy Piña Colarada Milkshake IPA
Urban Animal Beer Co | Colorado Springs, CO
Regular Tasting Sessions - Oktoberfest - This Oktoberfest is a perfect hybrid of a Märzen and a Festbier, with toasty malt and balanced sweetness. A pronounced hop character provides a crisp finish to its medium body.
High ABV Tasting Session - Unmarked Satellite: Imperial Oatmeal Stout
Brewers Showcase
The Brewers Showcase is a multi-faceted experience with events spanning the entire festival weekend.
The Showcase will host four intimate tasting sessions with 26 breweries pouring unlimited samples for attendees. The sessions will also feature a special tasting tent hosted by the Colorado Brewers Guild serving the best in Colorado craft beer from select breweries that can’t attend the event.
The House of Brews bar returns with rotating beer styles each day from attending breweries. To top it all off, the Showcase will kick off with a multi-course beer pairing dinner that will strategically pair modern mountain dishes with special craft beer.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company will return as the long-standing craft beer partner to the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival. Throughout the event, Sierra Nevada will pour many of their classic styles along with six rare, specialty beers and a unique "festival-only" flavor.
Tasting Sessions
Presented by the Telluride Blues Society
The Brewers Showcase will feature four tasting sessions in a dedicated Beer Garden on the north end of the festival grounds located in between the Main Stage and the Blues Stage. These sessions will host limited attendees providing the opportunity to interact with the brewers on an intimate level.
Two of the sessions will be held on Friday afternoon and two on Saturday afternoon. Three of the sessions will offer attendees a tasting experience with 26 breweries pouring over 70 styles of craft beer. Each session will run for two hours in length with tickets available for $30 per session.
The late Saturday session will feature 35 or more special, high ABV, barrel-aged, rare, wild and non-traditional craft beers. This session will also run for two hours in length with tickets available at $45 per person.
Friday September 12
Session One: 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Session Two: 4:00 - 6:00 pm
Saturday, September 13
Session One: 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Session Two: 4:00 - 6:00 pm (special, high ABV, barrel-aged, rare, wild and non-traditional craft beers)
Tickets for each tasting session are on sale now along with all other Festival Passes. Tasting sessions participants must be 21+ in age and must have an accompanying primary entry festival pass (Single-Day Festival Pass or 3-Day Festival Pass).
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co
Official Craft Beer Partner
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company will return as the long-standing craft beer partner to the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival. Be sure to check out their classic styles including the iconic Pale Ale and the award-winning Hazy Little Thing IPA all weekend, along with six rare, specialty beers and a unique "festival-only" flavor in a special Camp Pale Ale bar in addition to exclusive styles at the Tasting Sessions, House of Brews and Camp Pale Ale Beer Lounge!
Crafting Award-Winning Beers For Over 40 Years
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is a craft beer pioneer and a household name among beer enthusiasts worldwide. Established in 1980 in Chico, California, the brewery has been producing quality beers for over 40 years. The company prides itself on its commitment to sustainability, using solar panels to power its facilities and reusing packaging materials. Sierra Nevada is well known for its flagship beer, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which has become a classic American craft beer. The company also offers a wide range of beers, from IPAs to stouts to seasonal brews. With a focus on quality and sustainability, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company continues to be a leader in the craft beer industry.
Camp Pale Ale
Rare Beer Offerings
During the festival Sierra Nevada will unveil rare and sought after craft beers. Many of these beers are only available at the brewery, special events or have spent time aging deep in the brewery’s vaults. Rare beer is a luxury for serious beer enthusiasts who seek out unique, one-of-a-kind flavors. These beers are produced in limited quantities, making them highly sought after by collectors and connoisseurs alike. Often brewed with unique ingredients or aged in special barrels, rare beers are designed to be savored and appreciated like fine wines. These beers are not only special because of their exclusivity, but also because of the intricate brewing techniques used to create them. For beer lovers, trying a rare beer can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that elevates their appreciation for the craft to a whole new level. Once each keg is tapped, the specialty beer will be available until it runs out so don’t miss out!
2025 Rare Beer List
Spiked Agave Seltzer | 6.7% ABV
No Place Like Oz IPA | 6.5% ABV
Tequila Barrel Otra Vez | 6.4% ABV
House Of Brews
Try One Or Try Them All
The House Of Brews Bar returns this year with local, regional and national breweries showcasing their best suds on a rotating list of styles throughout the festival, with at least ten styles each day. To ensure a diverse menu for all attendees, the House Of Brews will also have hard ciders, hard tea, hard seltzers and NA Beer options available for purchase.
The House of Brews Bar is located on the North side of the festival grounds, adjacent to the main entrance.
Beer Pairing Dinner
Presented by the Madeline Hotel & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection
The Brewers Showcase will kick off in style on Thursday, September 11 with an evening of brews, world class fare, and, live music from Jontavious Willis, featuring an exclusive multi-course dinner, presented by festival partner Madeline Hotel & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection. This culinary experience will pair curated, modern mountain cuisine by the Madeline’s executive chef with unique craft beers and conversation with brewers.
Local Legends - Ah Haa School For the Arts Fundraiser
oin Telluride Blues & Brews Festival in partnership with Ah Haa School for the Arts for Local Legends, beer tasting and food pairing on the Sky Deck! Telluride's own local legends, Telluride Brewing Company will host local and regional brewmasters for a special beer tasting paired with bites prepared by a guest chef from Ah Haa's culinary classroom. Sample each brewery's seasonal styles while hearing from the makers and learning about craft beer straight from the source!