Great American Beer Fest will be hopping
By Katherine Weadley

Put on your pretzel necklace and get ready to navigate 1,884 beers from 473 different breweries. That’s a lot of beer. However, 46,000 beer lovers are expected to help drink that beer at the 27th Great American Beer Festival at the Denver Convention Center on Friday and Saturday Oct. 10 and 11th.

The GABF is the American brewing industry's top public tasting and competition event. Held in the Denver-Boulder area every year since 1982 it was created by the Boulder- based National Brewer’s Association. Julia Herz of Lyons is a spokesperson for the Brewers Association and has attended the festival since the early 90s. “This is the preeminent beer event. Over 1,900 beers are available to taste by the public and many of the brewers staff their own booths,” said Herz. Each brewery gives out one ounce samples of their brew to attendees.
In April, a Times magazine dubbed Denver “the Napa of beer.” Beer plays an important role not only in the taste buds of Coloradans but in the economy as well. According to BeerServesAmerica.com the beer culture in Colorado contributes to 67,918 jobs and $3,051,014,419 in annual wages. Colorado is also the largest beer producing state with $12.4 billion contributed annually to the state’s economy.
While the biggest celebration of American beer is just a bus ride away to Coloradans people attend from a variety of places including Europe, Hawaii and Alaska. “This festival includes international brewers, international media, and of course international beer lovers,” said Herz. “We love traveling the 3,300 miles to Denver each fall to participate in GABF and share our "Liquid Aloha" with 46,000 beer aficionados,” said Rich Tucciarone, Vice President of Brewery Operations for Kona Brewing Company on the big island of Hawaii.
While internationals may attend, the festival itself is only for American brewers. Any American brewery making commercial beer can enter. This includes large brewers such as Coors and small craft brewers such as Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales of Dexter, Mich. Every year the GABF is the largest collection of American beer ever assembled.

Over 100 professional beer judges from the United States and abroad will evaluate more than 2,800 beers. Gold, silver and bronze medals in 75 beer-style categories will be awarded. “If a brewer gets a gold medal it means they make the best example of that beer style in the United States. It’s very hard to get a medal,” said Herz. New to this year’s event are three new styles of beer including: Fresh Hop Ale, American Belgo-style Ale, and Leipzig-style Gose.

Oskar Blues Brewery of Lyons is a featured sponsor of the GABF. Every year they sponsor a tasting booth as well as the popular silent disco. According to Marty Jones, spokesperson for Oskar Blues, the silent disco has become a surprise hit and a cult favorite of the GABF. “We used to sponsor live music but it would flood the convention center with music. So we thought of a way we could allow people to dance off some beer in a quiet but hilarious way that didn’t interfere with people’s discussions about the beer tasting,” he said.

This is the third year of the silent disco. Oskar Blues sets up a club atmosphere, complete with disco ball and roped-off dance floor. They hand out 50 headphones at a time. Once dancers put on the headphones they hear the music but the onlookers don’t. “This is one more way we have of fulfilling our main purpose at Oskar Blues, and that’s spreading joy. Beer is simply the primary tool we use to spread that joy,” Jones said.
Nancy Johnson, Brewers Association Event Director is in a new position this year of sustainability coordinator. “For years, we’ve recycled the glass beer bottles and run the lights at 50 percent (turning them up to 100 percent for last call). We purposely hold the event in an area with excellent public transportation access, and additionally we’ve requested that the venue use compostable or biodegradeable serviceware at all of the concession stands,” said Johnson. This year100 percent of the GABF energy will be offset with renewable energy credits according to Johnson. “All of these things are small steps we can take to do our part in minimizing the environmental consequences of the event,” she said.
Herz suggests purchasing tickets early. “Last year the event sold out in advance and we expect the same for this year,” she said. “It’s the best chance to try beers that aren’t distributed in Colorado. If someone appreciates beer and the finer things in life this is the event for them.”