Rocky Mountain Brewery in Colorado Springs goes to the dogs, for the dogs, with a special fundraising event that celebrates and supports the human-animal bond in a decidedly human way – with beer and ugly Christmas sweaters.

The twist here: Rover gets to play, too.

A highlight of the evening is the brewery’s release of Stanley’s Private Reserve, a specially brewed dog “beer” made with “plenty of doggy goodness” – but no alcohol or hops, both of which are toxic to dogs, said head brewer Nick Hilborn.

“Basically, it’s similar to a soup stock, but with a few extra things added in,” said Hilborn, who named the beer in honor of his late dog, Stanley. “It is only very lightly carbonated, because dogs can’t burp very well.”

To the core dog beer ingredients – fresh bones and meat scraps donated by Cowboy Star Restaurant and Butcher Shop, B’z BBQ Co. and Whole Foods – Hilborn adds spent brewers yeast and malt extract. Once finished, the “beer” gets the same treatment as Rocky Mountain Brewery’s human versions.

“Stanley’s Private Reserve comes in individual 12 ounce cans,” said Hilborn, whose brewery also regularly has dog treats made from the spent grain left over after the brewing process. “We do have a private dog park on site, so if anyone wants to bring a well-behaved friend on a leash, they can come also.”

All money from the sale of dog beer, spent grain treats and a silent auction goes to Victory Service Dogs, which provides support and service animals to people in the military and civilians who are in need of a trained companion. The Colorado Springs-based group is awaiting tax-exempt nonprofit status.

“Basically, it’s just sort of an ugly Christmas sweater party for people and their dogs,” said Hilborn. “We’ll take a picture of people when they walk in the door and put it up on Facebook and have people vote.”

Those with the ugliest outfits can win prizes.

“At the end of the week, whoever had the ugliest sweater gets a growler punch-card that’s good for 10 free growler refills,” Hilborn said. “I’m not sure what the prize will be for the ugliest dog sweater, but we’ll come up with something.”

Details: Vets Pets and Brews fundraiser for Victory Service Dogs, 5-10 p.m. Friday, Rocky Mountain Brewery, 625 Paonia St.; dog beer, $2 per can; therockymountainbrewery.com