Suddenly, we’ve found ourselves here: Labor Day weekend.
It’s a bittersweet holiday. It marks the official end of lazy summer fun — but it’s a bonanza three-day weekend, so it’s hard to get too upset.
Plus, it’s been a sweltering, borderline unpleasant summer. The cooler days ahead are going to feel most welcome. Here are a few ways to celebrate the end of a hot summer and greet the new fall season.
The Vine Street Pub (1700 Vine St.) has declared September Belgian Ale Month. It has switched most of its taps over to Belgian and Belgian- style beers, including a selection of brews created by sister pub Mountain Sun in Boulder.
Other breweries will make guest appearances on the taps, too, with offerings from suds-makers like Russian River, Avery and Belgium’s own De Ranke brewery.
Throughout September, special events will keep beer snobs coming back: tastings, special-release beers and a small selection of bottled beers, a rarity for tap-only Vine Street. Tickets are available for a guided tasting on Sept. 15, too, which includes a sneak peek at Vine Street’s new brewing setup before it goes into production. Buy tickets for $50 at Vine Street or at one of its sister pubs, Mountain Sun and Southern Sun.
A word to the wary: If you’ve never tried a good Belgian before, give a Belgian white a try. It’s cool, almost creamy, and with a refreshing, light flavor. It’ll be great on the brilliantly sunny fall days to come.
Beta (1909 Blake St.) is going large, as usual, for the holiday weekend. Tonight’s the CD release party for Beta’s “Bassic” Fridays: The first 500 people through the door get a free copy of the Bassic studio album, featuring tracks from the party’s residents. Expect sets from DJs like Rumble Junkie, Fury, Dayquill and more.
Dutch DJ and producer Sander Kleinenberg makes an appearance on Saturday. Kleinenberg avoids confining himself to one genre, skipping easily from progressive house tracks to grinding techno to electro and trance — and sprinkling bits of each wherever he feels like it. Tickets to Kleinenberg’s Beta blowout are $10.
Sunday brings the final capper to the weekend, a White Party thrown by 3Deep Productions. Guests are not encouraged to wear white: They’re required to wear it. Dance the night away, starting at 9 p.m.; advance tickets are $20.
Finally, if that’s not enough, Italian DJ duo Crookers stop by on Thursday to spin an eardrum-rattling set of their aggressive signature sound. It’ll be a wild one; buy tickets in advance for $15.
Tickets for all Beta shows are available at groovetickets.
The summer’s final Climax party goes down at Vinyl (1082 Broadway) on Sunday.
In an unexpected twist, however, this isn’t the last Climax of the year — Climax will keep raging on the rooftop through September as an “Encore.” The Encore editions will start in the evening, so take this opportunity for one last afternoon blast.
This Sunday’s “End of Summer” party stars DJs Tatiana, Ken-E, Rockstar Aaron and tommyK. Doors open at 4 p.m. for maximum sun-basking.
The Lotus Clubs are going all-out for the holiday, too, with two parties on Sunday.
Oak Tavern (1416 Market St.) hosts “Revolution,” starring Denver’s own DJ Wushu. At Chloe (1445 Market St.), DJ Cobra throws an “Illionaire’s Club” party — unlike Beta’s white party, this is a “black- and-white” affair, so dress accordingly.
Is that it? No, there are probably plenty more wild times happening out there. Whatever happens, enjoy it — we’ll be sipping hot toddies and slipping through the snow soon enough.
