IF YOU GO

WHAT: Summer Brew Fest, a beer fest with unlimited samples of microbrews with a commemorative cup and Music by Angie Stevens and the Beautiful Wreck

WHEN: Saturday, July 26, 4 to 7 p.m.

WHERE: Coors Field Main parking lot, in Denver

HOW MUCH: $25 in advance, $35 at the door

ON THE WEB: www.denverbrewfest.com

Nothing seems more appealing than a chilled beer on a stiflingly hot summer day. Combine that with some live tunes and the cloudless blue sky of Colorado and it’s almost ... dare I say, hedonistic. But everyone deserves a bit of self indulgence sometime, and if you’re of legal drinking age and find yourself with nothing to do Saturday afternoon, then bottoms up, it’s Summer Brew Fest at Coors Field.

Twenty vendors – a few being Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery, our own Boulder Beer, Longmont’s Left Hand Brewing Company and Juneau’s Alaskan Brewing Co. – will bring a variety of different beers from their collection. Guests can sample more than 60 different microbrews from breweries posted around the country from 4 to 7 p.m.

The setting is intimate, the beer is unlimited, and samples are served in generous proportions – this isn’t a chintzy Dixie cup tasting event, guests are honored with commemorative Summer Brew Fest glasses to take home.

The planning for this event has been in the works since March, after a successful, sold-out Winter Brew Fest in late January.

“We sold out a week before the festival started, attendance was great and everybody had a good time,” says Carolyn Pitcavage, the event co-organizer.

Although this is expected to be a much larger festival with capacity capping off at 3,000 people, event planners at RightOn Productions are set on providing a personal setting where patrons can talk with their favorite brewers. In fact, this cozy atmosphere is what makes the Summer Brew Fest unique.

“People enjoy the more intimate setting for the Brew Fest because attendees can actually talk to the brewers and learn about their favorite beers,” says Pitcavage.

Denver, which has been considered “the Napa Valley of the Beer World,” is ranked first in the nation in beer production per capita and home to the largest beer festival in the country. With such giant brewing affairs, RightOn Productions finds comfort in hosting a smaller festival that pampers its patrons.

Blue Moon is sponsoring entertainment by folk musician Angie Stevens & the Beautiful Wreck, while other sponsors include environmental company Play Green and radio stations 102.3 KCUV and 105.5 Jack FM.

Proceeds will benefit the Colorado Environmental Coalition, which Pitcavage has referred to as “a good fit,” because many microbreweries are making efforts to go green.

This will be the fourth Brew Fest thrown by self-proclaimed “beer enthusiasts” and co-members of RightOn Productions, a small LLC formed in the summer of 2004 between a group of friends who met over common interests. The company is a side-project for Carolyn Pitcavage, Amy de Leon and Brad Sandler who have full time jobs in other businesses.

Pitcavage says she is looking forward to hosting another outdoor festival.

“There’s not much better than a cold beer on a warm and sunny day in Colorado,” she says.

Indeed there isn’t. So whether you’re a beer connoisseur, or just looking for something to do, the Summer Brew Fest will surely be a good time.

Tickets are still available for $25 in advance or $35 at the door. For more information go to www.denverbrewfest.com