Flagstaff House cancels its beer dinner, but here's a six-pack of other beer-and-food pairings you shouldn't miss

The beer extravaganza of the year is upon us. Starting this weekend, hundreds of breweries from around the country will descend upon the Mile High City for the Denver Beer Fest and the Great American Beer Festival.

With so many rare brewed beverages suddenly available, it takes a lot of willpower to not drink until our livers explode, drifting off into a ten-day bender in which we consume nothing but ales and lagers. Luckily, many brewers have our health in mind, helping mitigate the effects of binge-drinking by holding beer dinners. Because consuming five beers over the course of a meal is totally not the same as consuming five beers over the course of a drunken, debauchery-filled evening. Right?

There are so many beer dinners happening this year, though, that some restaurants are having trouble selling theirs out. The Flagstaff House, 1138 Flagstaff Road, for instance, canceled its pairing dinner with Avery that was slated for September 14.

"People mostly think of the Flagstaff House as a wine restaurant," says Kuvy Ax, who does public relations for the restaurant. "It's hard to sell a beer dinner at a place like that."

To help you choose your food and beer events wisely, we waded through the hundreds of possibilities to come up with our favorites.