New Denver Pale Ale Artist Series

We’ve been holding this in for a while, but we’re so excited to announce the new Denver Pale Ale Artist Series launching this June!

We wanted our Denver Pale Ale to be an an ode to the city we’ve called home for the past 22 years, and after 20 years of our classic DPA, it was time to mix things up a bit. As we expanded into the RiNo Arts District of Denver and planned to release Denver Pale Ale in cans, we figured what better way to commemorate both than to turn the can into a canvas and let local artists show off their stuff. Every year, a new can will be released wrapped in artwork created by a different local artist.

Along with a new look, the liquid has been reimagined to capture the essence of the city of Denver. “This city has changed a lot since we first launched Denver Pale Ale almost 20 years ago, and so have the palates of craft beer drinkers,” said Brian Dunn, Great Divide’s founder and president. “The original Denver Pale Ale is a great beer, and has won a lot of awards throughout the years, but we decided it was time to update the beer to better represent everything that this city has become.”

Once an English-style Pale Ale, the new Denver Pale Ale sits at 5% ABV and is an American-style Pale Ale that opens with big citrus and pine notes, then smooths out with a faint toasted malt character and dry, slightly bitter finish. Denver Pale Ale is the go-to beer from city to trail and back again, no matter what the time or season.

Our debut artist is local creative genius, Josh Holland. His work spans illustration, art direction, graphic design, fine art, and animation. We reached out to Josh and asked him to design a can that would express what Denver means to him. Josh took this concept and ran with it. He created a can that did more than show off Denver’s cityscape, he created a piece of art that embodies the spirit of how he personally feels about the city. Through his art he was able to capture what he calls “the hybrid lifestyle of Denver; city and small town, laid-back and adventurous, inspiring and creative,” and it’s awesome.

Learn more about Josh and his work here and swing by the Barrel Bar this summer to check out some more of his artwork. You can also get yourself some commemorative pieces of schwag on our Hop Shop like the new Denver Pale Ale tacker and a ladies tank and mens tee, each with super cool design elements pulled from Josh’s artwork.

Denver Pale Ale Artist Series No.1 will be released in can 6-packs and draft exclusively in Colorado, but for all you out-of-state folks out there, don’t panic. You can get your hands on one of these kick ass cans in our summer Candemonium mix 12packs, also being released this June. Denverites can get a taste of the new recipe in either tap rooms this month!

*We know there are a lot of people who might be sad to see their favorite DPA go away, but we could never kill a classic. The original DPA will still be brewed from time to time, but with a name like Denver Pale Ale, it was high time we updated the beer to represent the tastes and style of the city. Change is hard–we know, it took us 20 years to do it–but we really hope you love what you see and taste as much as we do.