LONGMONT, CO—Four weeks ago, 3 inches was all that remained between a flood disaster and a dodged bullet for Left Hand Brewing Company. On Saturday morning, the number 3 proved its good luck again for the brewery – this time with 3 Gold Medals for Sawtooth Ale, Milk Stout, and Fade to Black Volume 1 – Foreign Export Stout at this year’s Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver, CO. The brewery tied for the most Gold Medals taken home this year.

Back in September, the Longmont, CO brewery came close to destruction as the mighty St. Vrain River raged to epic levels during the 500 year flood. After plenty of hard work and cleanup, the brewery was back on its feet and fundraising over $60K for CO Flood Relief.  It was a tough month, and as VP of Operations Chris Lennert quipped “this wasn’t just another GABF for us – we needed to cut loose collectively, celebrate 20 years of making great beer, thank all of our customers for their support during the flood and tell the world we’re stronger than ever.” And did we ever – on the opening night of the Great American Beer Festival, Left Hand introduced two new Nitro beers in 12oz bottles – Sawtooth Nitro & Wake Up Dead Nitro – to an audience of over 1,500 friends and industry guests at the brewery’s 20th Anniversary party.

Two days later, Left Hand won the most medals in its 20th year since its first GABF in 1994. Sawtooth Ale, the brewery’s original flagship and still going strong, took Gold (just like ’94) for Ordinary / Special Bitter. Left Hand’s best seller, Milk Stout took Gold for Sweet Stout. Finally, in the first year Left Hand has brought back Fade to Black Volume 1 since its 2010 Gold win for Export Stout, FTB 1 took another Gold medal home Saturday for the same category. The latest hardware additions bring Left Hand’s GABF medal count to 22.

LONGMONT, CO—Since their inception in 1997, the folks at Oskar Blues have been committed to giving back to the communities in which their businesses grow and thrive. Over the years, the Oskar Blues Brewery and restaurants have provided support to those in need by organizing a variety of solutions like canned food and clothing drives at each of their locations during the holidays, to making monetary donations to local organizations.  “With just one point-in-time donation to our organization, Oskar Blues fed 5,000 people. Successful businesses can make a huge difference to the communities they live in,” said Edwina Salazar, executive director of the OUR Center.

For Oskar Blues’ owner/founder, Dale Katechis, helping people and giving back to the community is something that Oskar Blues has always been engaged in. In September of 2013, Katechis created the “Oskar Blues CAN’d Aid Foundation” to allow that engagement to expand at a local and national level.  “It’s been a 15 year mission for me to organize a way to give back to the communities that helped build our businesses,” Katechis said.

Although the “CAN’d Aid Foundation” will develop national partnerships in a variety of focus areas including outdoor recreation, arts and music, and environmental sustainability, the foundation’s immediate focus will be on maximizing fundraising efforts for the expedited distribution of monies to the communities of Lyons and Longmont, CO; two areas that recently experienced massive devastation during severe flooding that struck the Front Range of Colorado. Many Oskar Blues employees, friends and family of the company were severely impacted by the floods, and Katechis’ main goal is to support immediate recovery efforts for those affected in both communities.

Diana Ralston, the executive director of the “CAN’d Aid Foundation” echoed Katechis’ sentiments about flood relief efforts, stating, “at Oskar Blues, our community is our family, and the recent massive flooding along the Front Range left a lot of our Colorado family members without homes, without towns, and in desperate need of help getting back on their feet. Fast-tracking our 501(c)(3) allows us to be a part of a long-term strategy to provide help to areas damaged by the flooding.”

With Ralston at the helm, several Oskar Blues fundraising opportunities are in place to support flood relief efforts at the local level.

Put a CAN’d Aid on it. Monetary donations can be made in the form of a check or online at http://www.foundation.oskarblues.com

Oskar Blues CAN’d Aid Foundation
Attn: Oskar Blues Flood Relief Fund
1800 Pike Road
Longmont, CO 80501

Through the week of the Great American Beer Festival (September 22 through October 13), all Oskar Blues locations including Homemade Liquids and Solids, CHUBurger, and the Tasty Weasel tap rooms (Colorado and North Carolina) are donating $1 from every Oskar Blues brew purchased.

REEB Cycles, Oskar Blues’ bike company, is donating $200 from every frame or complete bike sold during the month of October.

Oskar Blues will also hype up flood relief fundraising efforts during the week of the Great American Beer Festival by donating a portion of the proceeds from the FBAG- Beer and Guitars, two-day festival in Sculpture Park in downtown Denver to the Oskar Blues Flood Relief Fund. The festival thrown in collaboration with the Love, Hope, Strength Foundation, will feature live music by 18 bands including The White Buffalo, The Kyle Hollingsworth Band, Bonnie and the Clyde’s, The Congress, and many more to be announced via http://fbagblowout.com/

LONGMONT, CO—Coming this weekend, Longmont Oktoberfest will make its annual return! This time, in the spirit of community and doing the right thing, Left Hand Brewing is dedicating our Longmont Oktoberfest to Flood Relief 2013. This Friday and Saturday, September 20^th-21^st join us in Longmont at Roosevelt Park for a festive weekend celebrating life, perseverance, and of course great music and five breweries!

All proceeds from Longmont Oktoberfest will be split evenly between Longmont Meals on Wheels,HOPE for Longmont, and the Left Hand Brewing Foundation – our very own disaster relief fund. Every beer sold, donation made, or participation with our text-to-donate campaign will support those affected by the disaster.

Don’t forget your lederhosen, because we’ll still be in the Deutschland spirit all weekend long! In addition to the German fun and festivities, help us thank our first responders and support the victims of the flood.  Their stories will be heard throughout the weekend with a formal salute to our rescue teams at 4:30pm on Saturday. Bring out the whole family for two great days of festivities including local vendors, live music, and the Heart of Longmont Kid Zone. Did we mention we’ll have Longmont’s five breweries present – Left Hand, Oskar Blues, and Pumphouse will be pouring pints, while Grossen Bart will be offering tastings, and 300 Suns Brewing will introduce themselves to the crowd.  Don’t worry, Longmont Ford is providing a safe ride home for anyone who needs it.

If you can’t make it to Longmont Oktoberfest/Flood Relief 2013, make a $10 contribution by texting “REBUILD” to 27722 to participate in our text-to-donate campaign, contribute online atwww.lefthandbrewing.com, or send a check to Left Hand Brewing Foundation, Attn: Flood Relief, 1265 Boston Avenue, Longmont, Colorado 80501. The Left Hand Brewing Foundation affords Left Hand Brewing, in partnership with the Longmont Community Foundation, the opportunity to respond quickly and efficiently, with a directed act of support, for issues and emergencies important to the Longmont community and beyond.

Saturday evening, Left Hand co-founders Eric Wallace & Dick Doore will lead an event wide toast, commemorating the brewery’s 20^th anniversary and honoring the community of Longmont’s resilience and strength.