Story by Nolan Keith

Beer season is officially in full swing!

Students from the Brewing Science and Analysis class at CSU are releasing not one, not two, but three different beers in April and May. If you happen to be 21 or above, you can try them all!

A few weeks ago the students kicked off the season, putting in an epic 22 person brew at Equinox Brewing Company with Colin Westcott (owner) and Jared Lydon (head brewer). The brew, along with an insightful lesson on the philosophy of beer styles and sensory evaluation, was an awesome experience for many of the students who had never brewed at a commercial brewery. The fruits of the day’s hard work, Aries American IPA, will be debuting at Equinox Brewing this coming Friday, April 19, at 6 p.m. The brew features a unique blend of hop varieties and technologies.

After brewing at Equinox, the students decided they were ready to tackle a much larger project, one in the works for years. The first official, “Battle of the Brews.” One class, two teams, two Fort Collins giants, and a whole lot of beer. After designing the base recipe and testing it out in the Gifford Laboratory, the two teams went their separate directions to create the scaled up version of their Belgian Pale Ale, Fungal Overlord. The beers, brewed at New Belgium Brewing and Odell Brewing Company feature unique malt and hop varieties, with two different yeast strains making the brews distinct from one another. Come enjoy some music, try some beers and cast your vote for the 2019 Battle of the Brews champion on May 2 beginning at New Belgium. The tapping party at New Belgium, 500 Linden St., will start at 3:30 p.m. with live music and a recognition of the students and the breweries. Then the group will then move to Odell at 800 E. Lincoln Ave. at around 4:45 p.m. for a second recognition event.