This year’s Craft Brewers Conference was an informative and wonderful event – rich with some 85+ seminars covering everything from technical brewing to Federal tax code compliance – and a trade show with 450+ exhibitors to explore. But the week’s activities didn’t stop at the Colorado Convention Center. Every evening, there were special craft beer events and parties spilling out into Denver’s coolest bars and rock venues and they usually proved to be too much fun.
When you add great music to the serious beer hang – we’re in for the count- and that’s what happened last Thursday night down at Denver’s legendary Fillmore. The FunKtion at the Fillmore was one part party, one part hang, and a screaming New Orleans-styled jam fest fueled on some of the best craft beer in the West. It was sponsored by our friends at Lagunitas and Colorado’s own Left Hand Brewing and was overflowing with industry insiders’ ready to party and urban cowgirls ready to rock.
The Fillmore Auditorium
One of the reasons the evening was so much fun was that it took place in an awesome venue. The Fillmore (as the locals refer to it) is located in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood and it’s the largest concert auditorium for general admission in Colorado. It originally opened in 1907 as a roller rink and has served all kinds of public functions over its 108 years. But now, it’s a state of the art rock house with a brilliant sound system and a vibe that speaks to its long and illustrious western history.
The Music
The headliners at The FunKtion were The Funky Meters, a reincarnation of the legendary New Orleans-based The Meters that featured the brilliant Ian Neville on keyboards. This was a rootsy and rhythmic jam fest -by musicians who’ve played together for decades and breathed this stuff – and they just f**king smoked!
The Beer and its Peeps
What can you say when an event’s beer is being provided by two of this country’s best and most fun breweries? Ron Lindenbuschfrom Lagunitas was on hand for the evening’s festivities and was in complete party mode. Left Hand Brewing’s VP of Operations Chris Lennert was also holding court and doing his own share of carousing. And as you’d expect, it was a total blast partying with both of these guys and their crew.
No Apologies for Too Good a Time
As great as each day’s CBC events and seminars were this year, it was fun to get out and do Denver at night. And Thursday night’s The FunKtion at the Fillmore was a blast and one of the week’s many highpoints.
We arrived early – already buzzed. And we left late, sated and destroyed, thanks to The Funky Meters, Lagunitas, and Left Hand Brewing. And again, we’re not apologizing for our behavior.