Stout month and a winter carnival are underway, and more festivals and libations experiences are on tap

By the Thirst Team

Get Out of Town is our roundup of the best events across Colorado for the next couple of weeks. Check out last week’s roundup for a February performing arts preview, and read on for festivals, sporting contests and other happenings. For more, check out our events calendar.

Here Be Monsters stouts from Cerebral Brewing | Photo provided

Stout month warming up

In 1994, Mountain Sun Pub in Boulder started celebrating the darkest and most winter-worthy beers each February. It has since become a national event, and breweries (and even distilleries) around Colorado toast stout month. Here is a taster tray of upcoming events:

The OG celebration: All month, each Mountain Sun location (in Boulder, Longmont and Denver) will devote at least 10 taps to a rotation of 29 house-made stouts.
Limited tickets are still available for Day of Darks from noon to 3 p.m. at Wynkoop Brewing in downtown Denver. Ticket proceeds go to the Movember Foundation and the men’s health nonprofit organizations it supports.
Branch & Barrel Distilling in Centennial will release three stout-finished bourbon expressions this month. They are crafted in collaboration with Two22 Brew, Denver Beer Company, Los Dos Potrillos and the Elizabeth Brewing Company. The distillers will host a “meet the maker” whiskey release from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20.
Renegade Brewing in Denver has a long list of guest stouts on tap, and will release its own black brews each week, starting with the Fluffernutter imperial pastry stout on Saturday.
Today, Cerebral Brewing in Denver and Aurora released its 2026 Here Be Monsters, a barrel-aged imperial stout. There also are two variants: vanilla and fuego (conditioned on cacao nibs, chiles and vanilla).
The Congress Park Cerebral taproom also will host Vantabrews on Saturday, with house-made and guest stouts on tap. All-black attire encouraged.
The Post is pairing warming stouts with warm soup all month at all its locations.
Other Colorado breweries with weekly stout releases include: Two22 Brew, Downhill Brewing, Storybook Brewing, Lone Tree Brewing, Dostal Alley and Red Leg Brewing.

Steamboat carnival continues through Sunday

The 113th Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival opened yesterday and runs through Sunday, but peaks on Saturday with events around town. The Saturday lineup starts with a nordic sprint and pancake breakfast. Other events throughout the day include ski racing and ski jumping, kids’ skijoring, donkey jumps and the adult shovel race.

The night extravaganza starts at 5 p.m. It includes athlete demos, ski jumping through fire, drone show, fireworks and the famous Lighted Man skiing down Howelsen Hill, shooting fireworks from his pyrotechnic suit.

Valentine’s events at Blanchard in Denver

Blanchard Family Wines is getting drinkers ready for Valentine’s Day with a mixology class at 6 p.m. Friday. Attendees can learn to mix up three themed wine cocktails.

The urban winery also hosts a blindfolded wine tasting next Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13 and 14. Each couples’ ticket includes a blindfolded tasting of two guided flights, as well as one bottle and two blindfolds to take home.

Winter Olympics celebration on Saturday

The Winter Olympics open Friday with a packed roster of Colorado athletes. To celebrate, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Museum hosts the free Downtown Winter Fest on Saturday. The family-friendly event includes live music, athlete meet-and-greets and sport demos.

Wine, chocolate and more in Estes on Saturday

The Wine & Chocolate Festival runs from noon to 6 p.m. at the Estes Park Events Center. This year’s edition also includes craft beer. Local breweries, wineries, chocolatiers, bakeries and specialty food companies will offer tastings for attendees. Each ticket includes free drink pours, a souvenir wine glass and 10 chocolate tasting tickets.

Viking Carnival in Grand Lake Saturday

Grand Lake hosts a viking-themed winter carnival on Saturday, with ice sculpting, snowmobile racing, bed sled races and a winter carnival ball, plus axe throwing, games and other activities in Town Park.

Wolf Center open house Sunday

The Colorado Wolf & Wildlife Education Center in Divide will host a Valentine’s open house on Sunday. The event includes a tour of the resident animals and “Chinook’s Nature Trail,” and guests will receive a flower, snacks and seasonal drinks. Tickets cost $40 for adults and $20 for kids. Reservations are required.

Jazz at Stranahan’s Feb. 13

Stranahan’s Distillery will host a Valentine’s themed concert by LAPOMPE, a Denver group that blends jazz with gypsy swing and blues. A $50 ticket also includes one complimentary welcome cocktail, bottle discounts and a voucher for a free distillery tour and tasting at a later date.

Ouray Winter Wine Festival on Feb. 14

On Valentine’s Day, the Ouray Winter Wine Festival returns to the Wright Opera House. This fireside event is one of the more intimate craft drink festivals in Colorado. At least eight Colorado wineries and two Colorado distilleries will participate, and the event also includes local food and artisan vendors.

As always, please send us your events and announcements. We’re happy to share them. If they don’t fit in the Get Out of Town column, we will add them to our events calendar.