The 29th edition of the Colorado Brewers Rendezvous July 12 at Riverside Park was a success, raising about $60,000, around $20,000 of which went to Heart of the Rockies Chamber of Commerce, which split profits with the Colorado Brewers Guild.
About 70 brewers from around Colorado visited Salida, and even more visitors from around the state made the trek to the “best festival in the state.”
Sammie Hammon traveled from the Front Range with a group of friends and said it’s “like, the only time we come to Salida.” She said the group enjoys the venue of the festival, as well as being able to try all the different brews.
Brewer Jeremy Gobien, with Copper Kettle Brewing Company of Denver, said, “We make a guys’ trip out of (Brewers Rendezvous) every summer.” He said the group has attended just under a dozen rendezvous events.
River North Brewery of Denver visited the festival for the first time this year and brought its award-winning Nightmare Fuel as a VIP release for the festival, an imperial stout that featured heavy coffee notes. The beer won gold in the 2025 Colorado Brewers Cup, 2024 World Beer Cup, 2024 European Beer Star and 2023 Brussels Beer Challenge.
Also new to the festival this year were Cathy and Jason Senior, owners of Shelter Distilling, which migrated from Mammoth Lakes, California, to Montrose. They said they decided to visit purely because it was the first beer festival that occurred since their relocation.
Many other brewers were repeat exhibitors at the event, including local distillery Moonlight Pizza & Brewpub.
Lance Kittle, chamber marketing manager, said, after the event, “We’ve heard that the event went really smoothly and everyone was happy with the entirety of the day.”
One aspect he liked, he said, was the memorial posters for Lori Roberts, former chamber director, and the Ark-Valley Humane Society donations accepted in her memory. He estimated more than $1,000 was raised for AVHS.
Kittle also expressed gratitude for the 32 volunteers who assisted at the event.
Next year will be the 30th Colorado Brewers Rendezvous, Kittle added. Though no concrete plans have been made, “we are going to be discussing how we can make it a larger event.”
Lijah Sampson, Mail staff writer, contributed to this story.