When Shakesbeer first rolled into taprooms across Denver in 2015, few could have predicted that a handful of actors with quills in one hand and pints in the other would ignite a theatrical revolution in the city’s brewing community. Ten seasons later, the company that dares to pair Bardish verse with barrel-aged stouts is celebrating its milestone anniversary with a brand-new slate of productions running Sundays from June through October.

This year’s season brings three of Shakespeare’s most enduring works to the taproom stage in fresh, beer-infused interpretations. Kicking things off in June, A Midsummer Night’s Dream will transport audiences into a magical forest where lovers quarrel under amidst fairy hijinks —only this time, Bottom’s transformation is met with cheer-worthy toasts rather than gasps. July’s The Taming of the Shrew reexamines Kate and Petruchio’s tumultuous romance through a modern lens of playful banter, improv surprises and plenty of audience interaction. And in September, the timeless tragedy of Romeo and Juliet unfolds amid a backdrop of craft-beer camaraderie, underscored by original music. Each production blends Shakespeare’s original text with improvised twists, gender-bending roles and on-stage participation, ensuring that every performance remains both unpredictable and uproarious.


[photo: Shakesbeer company members Aaron Dupuis and Charles Ewing in
Love’s Labour’s Lost.]

To mark a decade of collaboration between ale and art, Shakesbeer has joined forces with two breweries that share in this year’s double anniversary festivities. Ratio Beerworks and Goldspot Brewing Company, each celebrating their own ten-year milestones, will host special performances complete with anniversary brews co-developed by Shakesbeer actors and the breweries’ brewmasters.

This season also welcomes a wave of fresh talent to the Shakesbeer fold. Newcomers make up half of the company’s on-stage ensemble, bringing bold energy and fresh perspectives to every sword fight, soliloquy and slapstick encounter. These first-time performers join a veteran cohort whose combined “Shakesbeer” experience amounts to more than 120 years. Together, they have logged over one thousand hours in rehearsal—nearly forty-two consecutive days of perfecting timing, punctuation and punchlines—so that each parody of Petruchio’s boasts and every riff on Mercutio’s wit rings true.


[photo: Shakesbeer company members Kristin Honiotes and Neil
McCormick in Julius Caesar at Fiction Beer Company.]

Reflecting on the journey from back-alley brewery beginnings to a full season in the heart of Denver’s taphouse scene, Shakesbeer co-founder Adeline Mann notes that the company has performed in more than forty Colorado venues—almost one in ten of the state’s breweries—while delivering over two hundred performances spanning fifteen plays. Those numbers represent nearly forty percent of Shakespeare’s complete canon, a scope made possible by the multi-talented collaborators who often double as producers, costume designers and stage crew. Along the way, audiences have enjoyed more than eight thousand beers—roughly 96,000 ounces of shared revelry—and nearly eleven thousand theatergoers have packed taproom stages, creating some two million collective hours of laughter, applause and community.

Audiences and critics alike point to Shakesbeer’s immersive atmosphere as the secret ingredient. “The combination of booze, Shakespeare, improvisation and Denver bohemians creates a hysterically unique experience,” raves longtime attendee Naomi Chen. “I felt part of a community moment just as the Bard intended, only with better snacks.” Local theater enthusiast Marcus Lopez adds, “This is pure fun—short, spicy, comical and beer-enhanced. Sometimes the audience is almost as entertaining as the actors.”


[photo: Shakesbeer company members in Love’s Labour’s Lost.]

Event times and more information for the 2025 season will be available through Shakesbeer’s eventbrite page and social media channels closer to opening night. All shows are free for the public! You can’t go wrong with that. See you out at the shows!

As Shakesbeer turns ten, the company remains dedicated to its original mission: to break down the walls of traditional theater and bring Shakespeare’s timeless stories directly into Denver’s thriving beer culture. Whether you arrive as a devoted Shakespeare scholar, a craft-beer connoisseur or someone simply seeking a Sunday night adventure, Shakesbeer promises uproarious performances, unexpected improvisation and an invitation to lift your mug to the next decade of Bard and brew.