GABF is called Great American Beer Festival for a reason and actually, I´d like to rename it to THE Great American Beer Festival. This year, over 62.000 people attended and tried close to 4000 beers from 800 breweries from across the country. We all love beer, but let´s be realistic that is is impossible to try every beer at GABF, even if one would attend all 4 sessions.
We had tickets to two sessions, Friday night and Saturday´s American Home Brewers member session. In hopes to avoid a long wait to enter the Denver Convention Center, we arrived around 5.30 pm but that was, as we soon noticed, definitely not the case. The line didn´t just go down the block, but snaked around and under the huge building. Although it kept moving, it happened very slowly and it took about an hour until we finally held our GABF tasting cup in hands.
Most breweries were listed alphabetically this year (there were exceptions at the Jameson event and also the Meet the Brewer aisles. I didn´t mind this division, since this way, breweries with “hop” in their name were all clustered together, for example. I also believe that lesser-known breweries benefitted from it, especially if they were placed right next to popular breweries such as Russian River.
The list of attending breweries was published a while before the festival, but the beers were only added 2 days before, which didn´t leave a whole lot of time for “strategic planning”. I had added about 30 breweries to my list on the GABF app already and then checked which beers they´d be serving. At the festival, there are also printed versions of the layout, program and a list of breweries and beers. I had added breweries which I´ve heard or read about from friends, podcasts, instagram and magazines as well as some random ones whose name sounded interesting or which came from places I hadn´t had a beer from before.
Although the pours are only 1oz, they do add up quickly, especially since many beers clock in at a very high ABV.
Some of the beers I enjoyed the most include:
Offshoot Beer Co: Relax (It´s just a hazy IPA) – been meaning to try this one for its beautiful can alone
Samuel Adams Utopias: who doesn´t want to try this beer? Aged in various barrels from wine to sherry and whiskey, it is super complex and a pour to be savored. Poured at 1.45pm on Saturday, this beer certainly drew a huge, cheering crowd.
Russian River Brewing Co: Pliny the Elder – another beer you have to get a taste of whenever you get a chance.
Hop Butcher for the World: this Illinois brewery brewed some super interesting beers such as the Double Grid and Paris on the Prairie
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