Uhl’s and Upslope make an IPA unlike any other

By Jay McKinney

Most people would agree that beer shouldn’t be pink. However, Collaboration Fest is an opportunity to step outside the boundaries of what is normal and that is just what two Boulder breweries have done this year.

Uhl’s Brewing owner and founder Aaron Uhl is working on two beers for Collaboration Fest.

The I Pink A is being brewed today by breweries, Uhl’s Brewing Company and Upslope Brewing Company, which share an east Boulder neighborhood. This appropriately named beer is a pink unfiltered hazy IPA, with the color playing a major role in the brewers’ vision. Its appearance alone is a conversation starter, but this hazy IPA is brewed to also be incredibly flavorful.

Collaboration Fest
What: A gathering of 175 Colorado breweries that brewed 133 unique collaboration beers together (and with out-of-state breweries in some cases).
When: 2 to 6 p.m.
Where: The Westin Westminster, 10600 Westminster Blvd.
FYI: The Thirst Team will have a table at Collab Fest with some swag and magazines. Come say hello, and enter to win a custom snowboard.

“We decided to play with color and came up with a plan to make a pink unfiltered hazy IPA that should have the color and look of Strawberry Nesquik,” wrote Aaron Uhl, founder of Uhl’s Brewing Company. “In addition to the color we decided to use berry and strawberry forward hops. So, we selected Belma, Cryo-Pop, HBC-630 and Wai-iti to be used in the kettle and dry hopping. We achieved the unique color with a combination of a light sprinkling of hibiscus leaves and beet powder.”

Collaboration Fest, held at the Westminster Westin this year, is great because of these wild projects that link the friendly community of brewers who are mostly from Colorado. Some collabs involve out-of-state breweries such as La Cumbre in New Mexico. While Upslope is an expansive Boulder brewery with two locations and well-known beers filling liquor store refrigerators, Uhl’s is a small brewery that rarely makes the same beer twice.

Uhl’s and Upslope also teamed up with Wild Provisions Beer Project for an additional beer that will debut at Collaboration Fest. The Tank Heist is an unusual hoppy dark lager that gets its name from the heist that Wild Provisions pulled off when they took wort from Uhl’s and Upslope and transferred it hot into their tank truck. They blended it into a clean room coolship tank and then open fermented it on Spanish Cedar and lagered it.

The beer is another example of the creative genius of Uhl. His passion for brewing is undeniable and the constant drive to stay creative keeps his beers and life from getting dull. Outside of the brewing, Uhl also has fun coming up with edgy, witty names with funny background stories for the beers.

While the I Pink A and Tank Heist will surely be popular at Collaboration Fest on March 25, Uhl’s is also looking forward to its three-year anniversary party on March 18. The brewery invites the community to stop by for some barrel-aged releases, live music from Bathing Lagoon and food provided by Vinnie & Marie’s Italian food truck.