YOUR AD HERE »

Brewers Rock for Rescue beer festival supports Summit County Rescue Group

The second annual Brewers Rock for Rescue is a fundraiser for Summit County Rescue Group. The beer festival is Saturday, Jan. 30 and will feature 22 breweries and live music.
Special to the Daily |

IF YOU GO

What: Brewers Rock for Rescue

When: Saturday, Jan. 30 from 5–8:45 p.m.

Where: Silverthorne Pavilion, 400 Blue River Pkwy, Silverthorne

Cost: $35 in advance/$45 at the door (if any tickets left)

For more information or to purchase tickets, call (970) 262-7370

BAKERS’ BREWERY TURNS 1

Bakers’ Brewery will be celebrating its first anniversary on March 6. To celebrate, for every five beers and/or meals purchased, receive an entry to win the choice between a pair of Albritton skis or a Never Summer Snowboard. Winner will be drawn at the anniversary party, need not be present to win. The second prize will be raffled off to someone in the crowd on March 6.

The second annual Brewers Rock for Rescue will bring 22 breweries from across the state to Silverthorne for a night of music, craft brews and a silent auction, all to benefit Summit County Rescue Group (SCRG). Hosted by the town of Silverthorne and local breweries, the beer festival will be held Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Silverthorne Pavilion from 5–8:45 p.m.

Although this is the second year for the event in the town of Silverthorne, Cory Forster, co-owner and brewmaster for Bakers’ Brewery, initially started the concept for this festival when he was working at Wolf Rock Brewery in Keystone. Back then, the event was called Rock for Rescue, and it featured punk and metal music, while also raising money for SCRG. When the town approached Forster about creating a beer festival, his immediate idea was to resurrect Rock for Rescue.

“I’ve always been a backcountry enthusiast,” Forster said. “I’ve had a few friends who have needed help from the Summit County search and rescue group before, and then I found out that they are not really funded. These guys are volunteers — they supply all their own equipment, they have to get their own skis and harnesses and beacons. … I’ve always felt like it was a group that was a worthy cause.”



From the original concept, the heavy metal music aspect was dropped, and it became a way to bring in a couple dozen breweries from around the state, as well as the Snake River Brewing Company from Jackson, Wyoming.

The festival features live music by Oakhurst, a longtime Denver-based bluegrass band. An unconventional take on bluegrass, Forster said the band brings in an electric guitar and a full drum kit, and describes them as upbeat electric guerilla grass.



“We are super excited about the bands,” Forster said. “We did bring in the same bands as last year because everyone just loved it and are still just raving about how much fun they had last year.”

Euforchestra will round out the night with their funk and groove.

“Euforchestra are just so much fun,” he said. “Funkin’ groovin’ get your booty moving.”

SUMMIT COUNTY RESCUE GROUP

SCRG is a nonprofit run completely by volunteers, providing backcountry search and rescue services to the county. Martin Allen, active member with SCRG, said although the group does get a small stipend from the Sheriff’s Department to help with the budget, donations and events like Brewers Rock for Rescue fund a majority of what they do.

“We have zero administrative costs,” Allen said. “So 100 percent of all funds on our team go towards our equipment and training for search and rescue and backcountry rescue. … The one thing that makes events like this really important to us is we provide professional rescue and we never issue a bill — no one ever gets charged.”

Allen said the team will do about 100 responses a year, providing assistance with avalanche rescue and recovery, injured or lost hikers and climbers, swiftwater accidents and a variety of other issues. He stresses the fact that they never charge in the hopes that people don’t hesitate to call if they are ever in need. Volunteers are made up of patrollers, nurses, EMTs, but also those in retail or the service industry — really anyone with an enthusiasm for the outdoors and helping people, Allen said.

“First and foremost, I think the nature of many people in our community, just a love of the outdoors,” he said, of why people are driven to put in the commitment to volunteer. “Certainly a love for the backcountry and seeing in themselves one day the need for rescue — being part of something that gives back to people that share similar desires.”

Allen said the funds raised all go to providing team gear, but that volunteers are all required to have personal gear they provide themselves. The team goes through a lot of equipment, with things breaking and needing replacement often. Funds are also used for continued medical and technical training.

A COMMUNITY EVENT

Last year, the event sold out, and more than $5,000 was raised for SCRG, and Forster said he expects it to sell out again this year.

The silent auction will feature items like snowboards, skis, jackets, backcountry gear, oil changes as well as snow dog sledding trips. A new company from Salida called Albritton has also donated a pair of skis for the event.

“It’s such a great event,” Allen said. “It’s a very Summit County experience. … It’s very intimate. … We are looking forward to keeping the tradition going.”

Forster said the Summit County United Brewers’ Alliance will be debuting their collaboration beer at the festival, the Scuba Dooba Dubbel. The Summit brewers began crafting this particular collaboration brew in early November, and, while most of the breweries have put their portions in barrels, there will be a keg of it to try at the festival. For a suggested donation of $1, participants can get a full pour of the Belgium dubbel.

Forster said that because it is a smaller beer fest, most of the breweries will be bringing their speciality beers. He plans on bringing his brand-new Belgian IPA — the Belgian Rebellion — which he describes as a beautifully balanced, supremely drinkable beer with fruity spicy hops, and also the last couple gallons of his Breckenridge Distillery bourbon-barrel-aged Belgian rye pale ale.

Both Forster and Allen said one of the best parts about this beer festival is the fact that it is a smaller festival and draws more of the local crowd.

“It’s such a good group of people,” Forster said. “It’s like 400 of my favorite locals and brewer folk from around the state together and having a party with great live music.”


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.