In November 2013, two vessels of liquid yeast sat in a bathtub belonging to John Giarratano, a bioengineer then working at a biofuel company in the Denver area.

Along with colleague, business partner and home-brewing buddy Matthew Peetz, the two had propagated the strains as the unofficial beginning of Inland Island, a lab that would provide yeast to 20 local breweries, six brewery shops and countless home-brewers all over Colorado just a little over a year later. Today, their customer roster includes Black Shirt Brewing, Our Mutual Friend, Mockery, Zephyr, Prost and more; the two also provided the base for Joyride Brewing’s first ever IPA.  

Inland Island has the hard-earned luxury of calling themselves the only brewer’s yeast lab in the area, and being local in this industry has some serious perks for both buyer and supplier alike.

“The main thing that separates them from the other guys is service,” says Joyride’s Grant Babb. 

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Good morning, cats and kittens! Are you all so insatiably hungry for the weekend you could just take a bite out of Friday right this very minute? Could you leap from behind your desk, flip off your workplace, and just go HAM on the world like Monday is a federal holiday? All you need is some good stuff to get into to make it all worthwhile.

Well thank the lord baby Jesus that The Denver Lowdown and EveryBlock are here to plan your weekend for you. Because let’s face it, without us you’d have the most boring weekends ever.

Friday:

Boot Camp and Beer

You may think that just because this is America, you can just have a beer any old time you’d like. Well think again! At Boot Camp and Beer, you have to earn your beer! This boot camp will take place in Ash Grove Park (or the gym in case you sissies can’t handle a little rain). Afterward, you’ll get your well-deserved beer at Esters right down the street. Get ready to earn that beer, buttercup. // 6 p.m., $25, Ash Grove Park/Esters, 1950 S. Holly St.

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Aww yiss, everybody, there’s another beautiful Colorado weekend on the way. And do you know what that means, kids? That’s right, another sweet Denver Lowdown, where we fill you in on all the happening goings on this weekend.

Or, five of them anyway. So, let’s check out what you all are doing this weekend.

1. Friday Night Bazaar (3530 Brighton Blvd, Denver, CO 80216)

If you’re looking for an event that showcases local talent, culinary arts, vintage crafts, all in a funky art warehouse space next to Denargo Farm & Truck, then you gotta check out Friday Night Bazaar. There’s live music, cool cocktails, farm-fresh food, and BEER PAWN, where you barter your unwanted stuff for beer. Every Friday from 6pm to 12am. (photo)

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Forget pink button-downs and tighty-whities, Denver knows the true risky business players rock jeans and t-shirts. Members of startup communities prove themselves as some of the bravest and baddest—in the hip sense, of course. Entrepreneurial underdogs might seem small, but they have a big bite. Put them all together and you have a wolf pack of power. This year, you can find them at Denver Startup Week, kicking off Monday, September 15^th. The weeklong celebration of startups pools the smarts of thousands of innovators. In collaboration with corporations, government agencies and their fellow startups, goes network, learn and geek out. Between presentations, workshops and beer hangouts social opportunities, attendees have roughly 200 options to fill their agenda. What’s a design-conscious, free-food-loving techie to do?

No need to fret. We’ve narrowed down the top 10 must-see events of #DENStartupWeek ’14. Follow this list for inspiration. And a possible buzz.

10.  Ask an Ex-Hacker Anything

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