Left Hand Brewing resurrects Nitrofest in Denver

DENVER — Longmont-based Left Hand Brewing Co.’s Nitrofest is back after a three year COVID-19-related hiatus, and the celebration of nitrogenated beer was bigger than ever.

For the first time, the festival was held outside of Left Hand’s home city. Nitro Fest 2023 was at  Mission Ballroom in Denver’s River North neighborhood on March 4. Left Hand opened a brewpub last fall just steps from the venue. 

“Now that we’ve opened our location across the plaza from Mission Ballroom, we thought it was a cool opportunity to bring this event to Denver,” Left Hand marketing director Jill Preston told BizWest.

NitroFest included a beer festival in the afternoon that was expected to feature about three dozen breweries from around the world. Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado participants included Boulder’s Upslope Brewing Co., Lafayette’s Odd 13 Brewing Co., Broomfield’s 4 Noses Brewing Co., Greeley’s WeldWerks Brewing Co. and several others. 

While anyone could buy tickets ($85 to $150) to attend, brewery participants were handpicked by Left Hand’s nitro beer experts. 

Brewers “bring one or two beers that you can really only get at the festival,” which had a “cosmic masquerade” theme and featured circus performers and aerialists, Preston said. Costumes that connected to that theme were encouraged.

After the sun went down, the beer ceded the spotlight to music. British record producer and psychedelic/electronic musician Ott headlined a concert featuring opening acts Mark Farina, Random Rab and Tone Ranger.

Ott provided “really cool vibes, [and] very otherworldly, spacey music,”  Preston said. “We thought it really went well with our Nitrofest vibes.”

Nitrofest, she said, is “the world’s largest celebration of nitrogenated beer,” a lower-carbonation brewing style that attempts to mimic European beers hand-pulled from a cask.

“There are certain types of beers — particularly stouts — that with the addition of nitrogen as opposed to carbon dioxide, makes the beer creamier, smoother and more snappy,” Preston said. “It really creates a whole new experience.”