(Courtesy Weldwerks)

We guess it’s not over until it’s over. And now major beer festivals are being forced to adjust to a virus that refuses to go away…

WeldWerks Cancels Its Invitation for Second Year in Row

On August 25, Greeley, Colorado’s WeldWerks Brewing announced that due to the rise of the Delta variation, it was ‘postponing’ its Invitational until 2022.

This from WeldWerks…

“The brewery has been closely monitoring public health concerns and after receiving feedback from participating breweries, in which nearly half had expressed that they either would not be attending or on the fence, WeldWerks came to the conclusion that this year’s iteration of the Invitational would not be the world class experience that has become synonymous with the festival.”

“Having the makers and the doers from some of the most esteemed breweries across the country be able to pour their best while mingling with beer lovers—that’s what makes the Invitational so special,” says WeldWerks Director of Experience Jake Goodman….

“Once we realized that we’d be losing certain aspects of the festival, in addition to the relevant safety concerns, we decided to postpone the festival so that it can be enjoyed to its full effect the following year.”

“The metric that we always measure when it comes to the Invitational is preserving the overall experience of every person involved,” added Goodman. “We’re saddened that we couldn’t pull it off this year but we look forward to an amazing Invitational next year.”

All ticket holders will be automatically refunded in full. 2021 ticket holders will have the first right of refusal for 2022 tickets. The 2022 WeldWerks Invitational is currently slated for the mid-year.

(Left Hand Brewing’s The Garden)

Longmont Changes Oktoberfest Location and Dates Due to COVID-19

On August 26, The Left Hand Brewing Foundation (LHBF) announced that its annual Longmont Oktoberfest will be changing venues and dates in an abundance of caution due to the uncertainty caused by the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant.

The one-day event scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 25 at Roosevelt Park in Longmont, which raises money for Left Hand Brewing’s charitable arm  and typically draws thousands of beer lovers, will now take place over multiple days at Left Hand Brewing’s new outdoor space, The Garden.

Left Hand Brewing is inviting guests to join in the celebration on Wednesday, Sept. 22 through Sunday, Sept. 26 at an outdoor space just east of Left Hand’s Tasting Room in Longmont, Colorado, a more intimate setting that they hope will prove safer, especially when spread out over five days.

“As you can imagine, this was a very difficult decision to make, but the health and safety of our community is our top priority,” said Megan Mahar, Development Manager for the LHBF.

“We felt very different in June when we made the decision to move forward with hosting the event at Roosevelt Park, but now with the spiking case rates associated with the Delta variant, encouraging thousands of people to gather all at once in one space doesn’t feel right. We’re grateful to have the ability to pivot our plans as opposed to having to cancel completely.”