Colorado Craft Beer Week is upon us and there are many good reasons – in addition to the good weather – to get out and celebrate. Take a look below for a few.

March 18

Rye Fest is being put on by The Brew on Broadway at 1 p.m. Eleven breweries will be serving rye inspired beers accompanied by music from Denver Celtic’s and Rye Pushers. El Toro food truck will be serving up food with beer by Barnett and Son, Black Sky, Brewery Rickoli, Boggy Draw, Strange Craft, Brew on Broadway, Caution, Chain Reaction, Fermaentra, Dead Hippie and Half Penny.

Edgewater Brewery is presenting Western Colorado Craft Beer Celebration. This kick off to Colorado Craft Beer Week starts at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 and include a sampler glass and unlimited tastings from Palisade Brewing Co., Rockslide Brewery, Suds Brother’s Brewery II, Copper Fork, Glenwood Canyon Brew Pub, Colorado Boy Pizzeria & Brewery, Telluride Brewing Co. and Horsefly Brewing Co.

March 19

Beer and Pancakes Brunch begins at 9:15 a.m. at Great Divide Barrel Bar with Brunch Running. The brunch begins with a run at 9:30 a.m. After the run, participants are served a hot pancake breakfast and two beers from Great Divide.

March 20:

Odyssey Beerworks has themed their weekly trivia night to a beer theme in honor of Colorado Craft Beer Week. Trivia starts at 8:30 p.m.

Several breweries are putting on panels or discussions about the brewing process. The list includes Jagged Mountain at 12 p.m., Epic Brewing at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., Call to Arms Brewery at 6 p.m., City Star Brewing at 6 p.m. and Lone Tree Brewing at 6 p.m. Stop by any of these panels to learn more about the brewing process.

March 21: Food and Beer Pairing

World Fare Education Food and Beer Pairing begins at 6 p.m. at Lone Tree Brewing Co. This will be a four-course food and beer pairing. The beers include Mexican Lager, Irish Red, Bier De Printemps and a debut from Lone Tree’s collaboration brew with Platt Park Brewing. These beers will be paired with food from Ireland, Mexico, France and the USA. Tickets can be purchased on Lone Tree’s website for $25 a person.

Various breweries are including a food pairing for their beers. Upslope Brewing will be serving Girl Scout cookies and beer or cheese with beer. At 3 p.m. Strange Craft will also be serving Girl Scout cookie and beer pairings. Call to Arms Brewing has teamed up with Block and Larder to present a gourmet meal and beer pairings at 6 p.m. Tap and Burger at Sloan’s Lake will take place at 5 p.m. with beer from Joyride Brewing. At 2 p.m. Blue Spruce Brewing Co. will serve beer cheese soup and a new IPA.

March 22: Colorado Pint Day

Wednesday, March 22, is Colorado Pint Day. Purchase a pint and keep the glass. The glasses are commemorative 14-ounce glasses and $1 from every pint purchased will be donated to the Colorado Brewers Guild. Breweries that are participating include 38 State, Barnett and Son, Boulder Beer, Butcherknife, Carver, Castle Rock, Cerberus, C.B. and Potts, City Star, Comrade, Crooked Stave, Durango, Epic, FATE, Fiction Beer Co., Great Frontier, Horse and Dragon, Jagged Mountain, Joyride, Launch Pad, Kokopelli, Left Hand, Locavore Beer Works, Little Machine, Living the Dream, Lone Tree Brewing, Lost Highway, New Belgium, Odell, Odyssey Beerworks, Our Mutual Friend, Pikes Peak Brewing, Prost, Rockyard, Seedstock, Ska, Strange Craft, The Blue Spruce, TommyKnocker, Two22, Upslope, Very Nice and West Flanders.

March 23: Tasting Thursday

Tasting Thursday includes new brews from several breweries. Most notably are Bristol Brewing with a Warlock Vertical, Joyride at 11 a.m. with a 10-month bourbon barrel-aged barleywine, Baere at 4 p.m. with Flanders Red, and Strange Craft at 3 p.m. with a barley wine.

March 24: Statewide Collab Fest Tailgate

Get ready for the Collaboration Fest Pre-Party. Fiction Beer will be tapping their two collaboration beers at 5 p.m. The first was done with Ursula Brewing and is a barrel fermented brett olde stock ale. The second is a gruit created with Mystery Brewing. Call to Arms will be releasing their sour Belgian quad with pineapple aged in red and white port barrels at 3 p.m. Between 6:30 and 9:30 they will also have live music from Pick and Howl. Epic will also be tapping two new firkins at 5 p.m. The first is from Proper Brewing Co. It is a hibiscus cream ale. The second is a sage and ginger cream ale from Scratch Brewery. Bristol Brewing will also be presenting their raspberry Berliner Weiss, a collaboration with Florence Brewing.

March 25: Collaboration Fest

The finale of Colorado Craft Beer Week is Collaboration Fest at the National Western Stock Show Complex. It starts at 2 p.m. with 100 collaborative projects from across the world. Black Shirt Brewing has collaborated with Great Divide, Bierstadt Lagerhaus, Crooked Stave, Epic, Ratio Beerworks, Beryl’s Beet Co., Zephyr, Our Mutual Friend and Mockery for a RiNo Arts District beer. Odyssey Beerworks will also be presenting their passion fruit IPA at 3 p.m. and Sprice Trade Brewing will release Empress Mora at 5 p.m. Ska Brewing will be unveiling their Coconut Curry Hefeweizen with Boulder Beer. Look for some of the beers to be released at participating local breweries.

- Compiled by Ranay Janssen