Denver News

Denver Beer Co. today welcomed the arrival of two additional 7 barrel fermenters to add to the brewery’s existing four fermenters. This delivery marks the first expansion for the local craft brewery which opened in August, 2011. With now six 7 barrel fermenters, Denver Beer Co. has the capacity to produce up to 1750 barrels of craft beer per year.

Though the brewery still plans for the majority of its beer sales to occur on premises, expanded brewing capacity will allow Denver Beer Co. to distribute to a limited number of draft accounts at local bars and restaurants. The brewery recently purchased 100 kegs and plans to acquire a delivery van to handle distribution efforts. With brewery patrons on-track to consume over 1000 barrels in 2012, the increased brewing capacity will also allow Denver Beer Co. to support individual keg sales.

A terrorism suspect arrested in Chicago will be sent to his home state of Colorado to face legal proceedings.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Randall Samborn, says Jamshid Muhtorov made a brief court appearance Monday morning in Chicago and waived his rights to further hearings in the northern Illinois district. Judge Morton Denlow then ordered the 35-year-old man’s transfer to Denver.

A federal court in Denver this morning will hear the oil and gas industry’s appeal of a ruling by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that revoked dozens of drilling leases near national parks in Utah and Colorado. The hearing follows an unsuccessful challenge to the move by many companies and Utah counties.

In the late hour of the Bush Administration, federal land managers leased lands neighboring Arches and Canyonlands national parks, and the Dinosaur National Monument. The Obama Administration later revoked 77 of these leases, a move that was upheld by a Utah district court on a technicality.

Denver City Council members want limits on the photo stoplight program after drivers complained they are being ticketed for stopping past the white crosswalk lines. The council on Monday renewed the red light ticketing program for a year. More >

A drunk Colorado woman punched an iconic $30 million painting and rubbed her bare buttocks on the artwork before collapsing in a heap and urinating on herself at a museum, the Denver Post reported. More >

A panel has overturned the firing of two Denver police officers accused of continuing to chase a stolen car against a sergeant’s orders and lying about it afterward. David Torrez and Jose Palomares were fired last March after former Safety Manager Mary Malatesta concluded they lied about the 2010 chase.

An internal investigation had found that a sergeant had said to cancel the pursuit, but moments later, the officers radioed that the suspect was in custody.

A Denver-area adoption agency that specializes in placing special-needs children in permanent and foster homes is closing after 22 years, a victim of the bad economy.

Adoption Alliance, which finds families for some of the most difficult-to-place children, said Tuesday that the economy has led to fewer families seeking to adopt, and donations to the nonprofit are down.

Also, regulations passed several years ago have made international adoptions more difficult.

The total value of homes in the Denver area is expected to fall by $5.5 billion for the year, bringing the total value of homes in the city down to $216 billion, according to a recent analysis of national home data by Zillow Real Estate Market Reports.

While the decline in total home is significant, it does represent a slowdown in the drop in the value of homes in Denver. In 2010, the total value of homes in Denver fell by $9 billion, bringing the year-to-year decline at 2.9 percent. Overall, the total value of homes in Denver stands at $216 billion.

The quick-hitting snowstorm that blasted Denver and much of Colorado will continue producing snow as it pushes southward across New Mexico and toward El Paso, Texas. More >

A holdout group of anti-Wall Street protesters set fire to their tent camp in downtown Denver during an overnight raid by police that dismantled the site, authorities said on Tuesday. More >