Come for the books and stay for the brews! Three FoCo Book Fest partners are creating special craft brews exclusively for Brewin’ Up Books to celebrate the inaugural festival. New Belgium Brewing, Happy Lucky’s Teahouse, and Bean Cycle Roasters in Fort Collins are producing a special edition beer, tea blend, and coffee roast that will be available for purchase at book festival venues throughout Old Town.
The FoCo Book Fest, Brewin’ Up Books, is Saturday, October 22 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Old Town Fort Collins. New Belgium Brewing’s contribution to the Book Fest includes a small-batch release produced on its pilot system and tentatively called FoCo Book Fest Read My Lips. The strong Belgian Golden beer is brewed with fair trade honey sourced from fellow B-corp African Bronze Honey and Seville orange peel from Fort Collins-based Old Town Spice Shop. It has a 10.8 percent ABV.
“The beer is a contemporary interpretation of a classic Belgian style,” says Cody Reif, Pilot Brewery Coordinator at New Belgium Brewing. “The result is a strong and flavorful, yet surprisingly drinkable, golden ale perfect for curling up with a good book on a cool fall northern Colorado evening.” The small-batch release will be available at New Belgium Brewing’s tasting room as well as select accounts on the day of the Book Fest.
Free Verse Cinnaplum oolong tea, created by Andy Boone, master tea blender at Happy Lucky’s Teahouse, is a “celebration of dead leaves turning” that cultivates the essence of harvest time and bonfires. Plum oolong with cinnamon, vanilla and smoked black teas, and stone fruits create a cornucopia of flavors. Free Verse Cinnaplum will be available at Happy Lucky’s Teahouse in Old Town beginning Friday, October 21. The tea may be purchased as a brewed beverage to enjoy during the book fest or by the ounce to take home and enjoy later. Happy Lucky’s Teahouse will also provide Free Verse Cinnaplum iced tea at various Book Fest venues during the event.
The Bean Cycle Roasters’ special festival roast, Book Buzz 641.3373, pays homage to the Dewey decimal classification for coffee and to book lovers in general. The special craft roast is from the West Valley region of Costa Rica and offers hints of blueberry, lilac, and cherry, with delicate flavors of nuts.
“Our passion for coffee allows for opportunities to share and create coffee experiences with others without the usual context,” explains Lesley Brandt, a roast master at Bean Cycle Roasters. The special roast coffee will be available at Bean Cycle Roasters and at Wolverine Farm Letterpress & Publick House while supplies last. Book Buzz will be available as a fresh brewed cup to sip while wandering the festival and as whole beans in 12-ounce packages.
The FoCo Book Fest is produced by Poudre River Public Library District in partnership with CSU Morgan Library. More information about Brewin’ Up Books is available at www.FoCoBookFest.org including information on registering for writing workshops and classes, the list of presenters and authors, and a full event schedule with session descriptions.
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