Czech beer paradise
Friday-Saturday. One of Denver’s newest and most unusual breweries, Cohesion Beer Co., celebrates its second anniversary on Friday, Aug. 4, and Saturday, Aug 5. On Friday, the brewery, which specializes in making Czech-style lagers, releases its anniversary beer, Dva. It will also be selling new glassware specifically for “milk shots,” made from thick foam. In the Czech Republic, pouring beer with a rich, almost latte-like foam, called mlíko, is an art form. Drinking them quickly is also an art form – and Cohesion is spreading the word.
On Saturday, the brewery, at 3851 Steele St., takes over the small park across the street in the York Street Yards business park, where it will park a draft truck from noon to 8 p.m. DJ Schooley will be spinning vinyl from 4 to 8 p.m., and there will be mlíko contests from 3 to 4 p.m. Food trucks will be on hand both days. cohesionbeer.com — Jonathan Shikes
Free concerts worth paying for
Friday-Sunday. Levitt Pavilion, Denver’s sprawling, nonprofit amphitheater near Ruby Hill Park, presents dozens of free and high-quality concerts each summer, and this weekend sports a particularly solid lineup. Each headliner is worth their own concert ticket, but we’re lucky to get them for free at this all-ages, kid-friendly venue that offers food trucks, beer and more.
Americana and indie-rock champs Heartless Bastards, led by the incredible voice of Erika Wennerstrom, plays Friday, Aug. 4. The Saturday, Aug. 5, set brings popular Grateful Dead cover band Shakedown Street, while Sunday, Aug. 6, features Denver Gothic-country legends Slim Cessan’s Auto Club, whose concerts are as much musical bliss as a spiritual tent revival.
As always, prepare for stormy weather. Friday and Saturday shows start at 6 p.m., while Sunday starts at 4 p.m. 1380 W. Florida Ave. in Denver. Visit levittdenver.org for the full calendar and more details. — John Wenzel
Previewing an Asian-food sensation
Monday. Tickets aren’t cheap to the Monday, Aug. 7, preview dinner at the soon-to-open MAKfam, but they’re arguably worth it. The brick-and-mortar version of the popular Meta Asian Kitchen (which came up at Avanti Food & Beverage food hall) is showcasing its Cantonese-inspired menu with a four-course beer pairing dinner. It’s a rare taste of the hotly anticipated restaurant at 39 W. First Ave., and an excuse to dive into its delicious Chinese cuisine.
Pairings, according to Chef Kenneth Wan and Doris Yuen, include a Chicken and Scallop Jook with The Beer from Baker (Kolsch-style); XO Chili Wuntun with Funk Shwei (fermented black tea and lychee); Pork Belly Hor Yip Fan with an unfiltered hoppy beer (from Peter Kiley of Atlanta’s Monday Night Brewing); and Palisade Peach Coconut Sago with the Vicious Delicious: The Fab 5 (a fruity, sour-beer concoction). The “A Moment in Time Vol. 12” dinner, as it’s called, takes place at Novel Strand Brewing, 305 W. First Ave. in Denver. Tickets for the 21-and-up event are available at novelstrand.com. — John Wenzel
Flying high, 25 years later
Friday. Boulder’s influential Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance Company is wrapping up its 25th-anniversary Aerial Dance Festival on Aug. 11, but before then you can crane your neck to see the best of the best at its showcase performances this weekend.
The Aug. 4-6, shows feature new and innovative work “from the internationally renowned artists of the Aerial Dance Festival,” organizers said, “and also honors the legacy of Terry Sendgraff, the mother of aerial dance, with a restaging of her gorgeous piece ‘Scorched.’ “High-flying performances will take place on “bungee, aerial fabric, trapeze, hoop, cyr wheel and more.”
Tickets: $28 for adults, $24 for students, seniors, kids 12 and under and groups of more than four. Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St. in Boulder. Call 303-444-7328 or visit thedairy.org/freqflyannivshowcase for more. — John Wenzel
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