IF YOU GO This Friday, April 25, The Boulder Theater hosts The 16th annual Microbreweries for the Environment Benefit: Think Globally, Drink Locally: 20 Breweries, $2 Pints!

Since 1993, the Microbreweries for the Environment benefit has raised nearly $100,000 for local environmental causes.

Twenty Colorado microbreweries will be pouring their best beers for only $2 each. Participating breweries include: Arctic Craft Brewery, Avery Brewing, BJ's Brewhouse, Boulder Beer Co., Breckenridge Brewery, Bristol Brewing Co., Flying Dog Brewery, Fort Collins Brewery, Great Divide Brewing Co., Left Hand Brewing Co., Mountain Sun, New Belgium Brewing Co., Odell Brewing Co., Oskar Blues Brewery, Pumphouse Brewery, Redfish Brewhouse, Ska Brewing Co., Steamworks Brewing Company, Twisted Pine Brewing and Wolf Rock Brewing Company.

There will be music by locals Elephant Revival and Cornmeal, from Chicago. Visit elephantrevival.com and cornmealinthekitchen.com.

The benefit is a zero-waste and carbon-neutral event. Doors open and beer tasting starts at 8:00 p.m., and music will run to 12:30 a.m. Tickets are $21, and are available at the Boulder Theater Box Office, 303-786-7030, or www.bouldertheater.com.

Microbreweries and looking out for the environment -- that's what Boulder does best.

The 16th annual Microbreweries for the Environment Benefit will be held this Friday at the Boulder Theatre at 8:00 p.m., with over 20 local breweries and live music. The benefit is a fun way to raise awareness about green issues and reward several local organizations for their excellence in environmental-friendly practices.

The event expects to sell out, as the beer tasting will begin right away, and music will run until 12:30 a.m. Benefit officials expect the evening to be just as exciting and upbeat as years past, as each year there are more and more organizations competing to be selected as one of the few groups that all the proceeds will be split amongst.

"We have four environmental groups that are benefiting this year," Marianne Martin said, the Benefit's spokeswoman. "They change each year for the competitive application."

Martin said that beginning in January, an applicant pool is created -and this year, there were 15 groups that submitted their name to be considered. Martin said they decide, based on who needs funding the most and who is going to put the money to the best use.

This year, the four selected organizations are the University of Colorado Environmental Center, Colorado Conservation Voters, EcoCycle and the Wild Earth Guardians. Since 1993, nearly $100,000 has been raised for local environmental groups.

While the purpose of the benefit is to help raise money and spread awareness of eco-friendly practices, the night will also be a way to kick back and enjoy the music and dozens of beer samples.

"We have Elephant Revival opening for Cornmeal," Martin said. "Elephant Revival is a local band and they describe their music as kind of folk, 'gyptic' and funk-sounding and they're really great and will get the crowd moving."

Cornmeal is a band based out of Chicago, and it is the first time the benefit has brought a group from outside the local area to play at the venue for the particular event. And with the benefit's 'zero-waste, carbon-neutral' theme of the evening, Martin felt it appropriate to address the issue of the cost-benefit of having a group travel such a long way for an event.

"There will be no trash generated from the event, we re-use all the tickets that are sold and all the boxes everything is packed in is recyclable," Martin said. "And on the carbon-neutral side, we're calculating how much energy is used for the event as well as accounting for the emissions for their travel, as we usually don't have a band that's coming from that distance."

So if the music does not immediately grab your attention, there will be enough kinds of beer to satisfy everyone in the crowd. From Breckenridge Brewery, Avrey Brewing and the Fort Collins Brewery, every kind of light and dark ale will be served. Admission is $21 at the door, but the event will most likely be sold out so people are encouraged to get their tickets early.

"It's just going to be a really good time," Martin said. "People come in for different reasons, they're either a beer lover or an earth lover or a music lover ore really just all three so it's a great combination -- especially since it's been going on for 16 years, it's definitely built a following."