Saturday, Jan. 25, is the sixth annual Brewers Rock for Rescue celebration at the Silverthorne Pavilion. The festival mixes live music, food, beer and fundraising for an entertaining feel-good evening.

Silverthorne approached Cory Forster, co-owner of The Bakers’ Brewery, and Mike Bennett (then the head brewer of Dillon Dam Brewery who is now with Broken Compass Brewing) to put on the festival. Summit County Rescue Group was a natural choice as the beneficiary of the event due to the two’s love of the backcountry and the work the nonprofit does. Drinking beer may be the main draw, but guests can support the rescue group by purchasing pizza donated by Sauce on the Blue and merchandise. There will also be a silent auction.

Some auction items include a snowboard, winter gear and dining certificates. According to Martin Allen with Summit County Rescue Group, Brewers Rock for Rescue has raised a little over $20,000 for the nonprofit. The group responds to roughly 90 calls a year and doesn’t charge for services, so all donations are used to purchase and replace equipment such as ropes, snowmobiles and medical supplies.

“We are simply just grateful to the support we get form our community overall,” Allen said in an email. “Our community has always been there for us and we will always be there for them.”  

About 20 breweries from across Colorado will be at the beer festival. People can expect to find Joy Ride Brewing, Strange Craft Beer Co. and Periodic Brewery well as all eight breweries from Summit County. A 14-ounce commemorative tasting glass is included with entry to hold the frost brews.

Providing entertainment while you enjoy the beer and food are local rock band Hobo Village and Denver-based funk group Eufórquestra. Hobo Village will start the party when they play at 5 p.m. and Eufórquestra will close out from 7–9.

Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door, with $5 per ticket going to the rescue group. They can be purchased at silverthorne.org.

“It’s really exciting that some of the major breweries from all around Colorado are coming, said Sydney Schwab, pavilion and events coordinator. “And also to have all of local breweries on board and participating, I think speaks to what a tight-knit community we have.”

While Angry James Brewing Co. will be at Brewers Rock For Rescue and the brewery hopes you attend, it’ll also be throwing its own anniversary party that makes a perfect pit stop before or after the pavilion performance. The brewery is releasing two new beers — a bourbon barrel-aged imperial milk stout and a New England India pale ale — to commemorate the occasion.

The stout, which contains lactose, was aged in a Breckenridge Distillery bourbon barrel for about nine months and is just over 10% alcohol by volume. The IPA was made with Taiheke, Moutere and Motueka hops from New Zealand along with Citra hops and is around 8% ABV. It is the first New England IPA, a noticeably fruitier IPA than grassy West Coast styles, that Angry James has released. Co-owner A.J. Brinckerhoff chose the two beers for their contrast and based on requests from patrons.

“The market has been so bombarded in the past two years (with New England IPAs), you have to have one that’s palatable before you release it, so that’s been a fun process,” Brinckerhoffsaid. “We’ve been sneaking in the back and just drinking it straight off the tank.”

Along with new beer, the brewery will be selling anniversary T-shirts and crowlers with a limited edition label. For $10 guests can purchase a 16-ounce anniversary glass — of which only 150 were made — that includes one complimentary pour. There will also be live music from Older Herman, Jeff Kingery and Texas Creek Music all day long.

Jefferson Geiger is the arts and entertainment editor for the Summit Daily News and managing editor for Everything Summit. Have a question about beer? Send him an email at jgeiger@summitdaily.com.