For nearly 35 years, Hopleaf founder Michael Roper has been building an extraordinary collection of beer advertising that now fills every wall of his multi-floor venue. Spanning from the late 19th century through the 1970s, the collection features European and American enamel and tin signs, stone lithograph posters once displayed in kiosks and public spaces, etched and gold-leafed mirrors, and a variety of other striking advertising media. These works often showcase the talents of leading graphic designers of their era, created to captivate audiences in a time before television.

For the first time ever, we invite you to join Michael for a special behind-the-scenes tour - before Hopleaf even opens its doors - to explore this remarkable collection.

$30 ticket includes private tour and a pint of a Hopleaf house beer brewed by Art History Brewing.  Space for this tour is extremely limited. This event is part of the Beer Culture Center’s Design on Draft programming series.

Giddy up, we’re headin’ West!

Join the Beer Culture Center at the Museum of Boulder for an evening of beer and an exploration of a unique chapter in Boulder County’s brewing history.

The history of beer and brewing in Boulder County runs deep with the first breweries opened by Austrian and German immigrants in the 1860s and 1870s. However, ideological change was simultaneously on its way to the Front Range via the Chicago-Colorado Colony.

Formed by wealthy businessmen from Chicago, the newly formed Chicago-Colorado Colony sought to establish a thriving agricultural community in Boulder County. From 1871-1873, they established their new city and named it Longmont. Where industrialized farming was their main motive, there were cultural motives as well. Promoting ideas of moral integrity, Longmont, Colorado was established as a temperance community. Being caught drinking alcohol could cost residents their membership in the colony and destroy their careers and livelihoods.

This presentation from Professor Travis Rupp of the University of Colorado Boulder and Beer Culture Center Advisory Board Member, explores how Longmont residents interacted and struggled with surrounding communities in Boulder County who had longstanding beer and brewing traditions in the 19th century.