On June 15, 2021, MCA Denver will welcome longtime partners/collaborators, Ratio Beerworks, to the museum to celebrate this year’s Ratio Beerworks x MCA Denver Octopus Initiative can collaboration. This year’s collaborative can will feature the work of current exhibiting artist, Jaime Carrejo, "Frontera NO.1" artwork from his collection in the museum’s Octopus Initiative Library. 

We chatted with Ratio Beerworks Marketing & Events Manager, Marika Evanger Clark, on the collaboration and the community-oriented work of the local brewery. 

Hi Marika! How are you doing? 

I'm good! Good and BUSY! We went from 0-60 once restrictions were lifted and it's full steam ahead! I am really excited that events and social gatherings are slowly starting to ramp up around Denver. It's wonderful to see the neighborhood alive again and things like music venues and art galleries starting to open back up. I am also super proud of our community for being so diligent and responsible so that we can be celebrating summer the way we should be! 

We're excited about the Ratio Beerworks x MCA Denver Octopus Initiative can collaboration. Can you share how this came to be? 

We actually started this project back in 2020 as a way for Ratio to support the MCA Denver Rooftop Bar and Cafe beer to-go program. Pre-pandemic, Ratio had not offered cans beyond a few one-off collaborations, so this was also an exciting way for us to test the market with our own creative ideas and incorporate some of our flagship beers. Our first MCA Denver collaboration was with Tsehai Johnson who is also a member of the Octopus Initiative. After opening back up, we quickly realized that there was a greater purpose for collaborations like this, and the honor we get with being able to not only represent Ratio but MCA Denver and local artists like Jaime Carrejo is a huge part of our mission. The unique relationship between beer and art is subtle yet necessary. The process of its creation is similar from start to end through creative inspiration and execution. Plus when was the last time you went to an art show without beer? Whether it be a museum such as MCA Denver or one of our local galleries, Ratio is here to support the art community and views beer as a vessel to do so. 

Ratio Beerworks has a strong community engagement philosophy. Can you talk about some of the ways Ratio supports the community of Denver? 

Ratio's core values have always led us to be major advocates for the Denver art, music, DIY, and counter-culture community. Every member of the Ratio team shares like-minded dreams and work ethics that make it easy for us to achieve our goals through everything we do. We are lucky enough to have owners from Colorado, who are both ex-musicians, who have built a brand and company that aligns with a lot of what our immediate community needs. It's not easy to build a brewery from the ground up, but it IS easy to forget why we are doing it once it's going, and these guys have not. Since day one we have made it a goal that a certain percentage of production goes directly back into the community whether that be donations to local galleries for First Friday events, providing sponsorship support for local music venues and artists, and donating to a miramid of nonprofits and 501c3 organizations in Denver such as Youth on Record, The Center, Denver Film Fest, etc. 

What exciting things are happening at Ratio Beerworks this year? 

Oh man, what is NOT happening!? Ha! Beyond this collaboration with MCA Denver, we are also working on a few other, unannounced, music-based beer collaborations...so stay tuned. We are the main sponsor for the Denver Film and are working on projects with them for Cinema Q and The Denver Film Fest. Excited to see the return of comedy, Vinyl Night, and our infamous Punk Rock Drag Show coming back to the taproom and are currently working on a glassware collaboration with local artist Koko Bayer for pride. 

On a personal note, we are thrilled to see the rise of Beer Fests coming back and have about a dozen booked throughout Colorado this summer. We are welcoming CBC (Craft Brewers Conference) to Denver this fall which is quite possibly the largest craft brew conference in the nation, AND opening our new location in Denver's south Overland neighborhood in late summer! The new space will tremendously increase our production which will make it even easier for us to give back and party. I encourage everyone to stay tuned for the opening announcements of that space. I have a few tricks up my sleeve!

To join the fun on Tuesday, June 15, visit https://mcadenver.org/visit to purchase your tickets. 

B-Side Music Fridays are back!

Ratio Beerworks is a proud sponsor of B-Side Music Fridays. Each ticket purchase comes with a free Ratio beer. Performances are selling out fast, so get your tickets today!