The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is an annual beer festival hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado. Typically held in late September or early October, the event is currently held at Denver's Colorado Convention Center. Established in 1982, it is the largest ticketed beer festival in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world. [1]
The GABF was founded by brewer Charlie Papazian, and the first festival was held in conjunction with the American Homebrewers Association's annual conference in Boulder, Colorado in June 1982, featuring 24 participating breweries, 47 beers, and 800 attendees. [2] [3] [4]
In a private event, held the week prior, judges evaluate the beers in the associated competition. They then award medals in over 100 beer style categories. In 2019, the panel consisted of 322 judges from 18 countries, who evaluated over 9,400 beers. [5] There were 800 breweries and 4,000 beers. [6] In 2023, 250 judges from 10 countries evaluated 9,298 entries. [7] There were 263 breweries.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 and 2021 in-person festival was cancelled with a virtual event held instead. [8] [9]
For a list of all medalists, see the List of Great American Beer Festival medalists
Sprecher Brewery is a brewery in Glendale, Wisconsin, U.S. It was founded in 1985 in Milwaukee by Randal Sprecher, and is Milwaukee's first craft brewery since Prohibition. Sprecher produces an assortment of beers, flavored malt beverages, and craft sodas, and it is famous for its root beer.
Victory Brewing Company (Victory) is a brewery founded in 1996 in Downingtown, Pennsylvania]], United States. The main brands are HopDevil, Prima Pils, Headwaters Pale Ale, Golden Monkey, DirtWolf, and Storm King, which are distributed in 34 states and nine countries. Victory Brewing is located at 420 Acorn Lane Downingtown, Pennsylvania 19335.
Four Peaks Brewing Co. is an Arizona brewery that was founded by Andy Ingram, Jim Scussel, and Randy Schultz in 1995 and opened to the public on December 11, 1996. The company is headquartered in the historic former Borden Co. Creamery and Ice Factory on 8th Street in Tempe, Arizona, about one-half mile (800 m) east of the campus of Arizona State University.
Gordon Biersch Brewery is an American brewery founded by Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch. Gordon, a graduate from the five-year brewing engineering program at Weihenstephan, Germany, and Biersch opened their first brewery restaurant in Palo Alto, California, in July 1988. In 1999, the restaurants were sold to what ultimately became CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries.
Allagash Brewing Company is a brewery in Portland, Maine. The brewery specializes in Belgian style beers.
Old Milwaukee is a brand of American dry lager owned by the Pabst Brewing Company. The brand currently consists of three different brews: Old Milwaukee Lager, Old Milwaukee Light, and Old Milwaukee Non-Alcoholic. Old Milwaukee is brewed throughout the United States and various packages are currently distributed in all 50 U.S. states, many Canadian provinces, and in select international markets.
BridgePort Brewing Company was a brewery in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It operated from 1984 until 2019. Brewery operations ceased in February 2019, and the brew pub closed on March 10, 2019.
Oskar Blues Brewery is a craft brewery with locations in Longmont, Colorado, Brevard, North Carolina, and Austin, Texas. The company began as a brewpub in Lyons, Colorado in 1997 and began brewing beer in the basement in 1999. In 2002, they became one of the first to put their own craft beer in cans. In 2012, they began marketing some of their craft beer in resealable aluminum containers, and in 2012, they expanded and established another brewery in Brevard, North Carolina.
The Otley Brewing Company Limited, colloquially Otley Brewery, is a brewery located in Pontypridd, Wales. Established in 2005, it has won several awards, including the Champion Beer of Wales in 2006. The head brewer is Charlie Otley. In October 2016, the brewery was put up for sale by its owners. In February 2018 the brewery ceased trading.
Odell Brewing Company is an independent craft brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado. It's the 23rd largest U.S. craft brewing company by the Brewers Association. Odell Brewing is known for their hop-forward and balanced IPAs.
Alpine Beer Company is an American brewery founded in 1999 by Pat McIlhenney in Alpine, California. Alpine Beer Company produces a variety of beers, many of which have high alcohol content and are strongly hopped beers. The beers have acquired a following due to the popularity of such beers as Pure Hoppiness and Exponential Hoppiness IPAs. Alpine Beer Company was ranked as the fifth best brewery in the US in 2006 by Beer Advocate.
Moon River Brewing Company is a brew pub, restaurant, bar and brewing facility located at 21 West Bay Street in Savannah, Georgia, United States.
San Diego County, California, has been called "the Craft Beer Capital of America". As of 2018, the county was home to 155 licensed craft breweries – the most of any county in the United States. Based on 2016 sales volume, three San Diego County breweries – Stone, Green Flash, and Karl Strauss – rank among the 50 largest craft brewers in the United States. San Diego County brewers pioneered the specialty beer style known as Double India Pale Ale, sometimes called San Diego Pale Ale. Its beer culture is a draw for tourism, particularly during major festivals such as San Diego Beer Week and the San Diego International Beer Competition. San Diego County breweries including Stone Brewing Co., AleSmith Brewing Company and Ballast Point Brewing Company are consistently rated among the top breweries in the world.
Sun King Brewing is a brewery in the Cole-Noble District of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is the largest brewery in Indianapolis and the second largest brewery in the state. In 2011, Sun King won eight medals, including four gold medals, total at the Great American Beer Festival. Sun King was the first commercial brewery to open up in approximately 30 years in Indianapolis.
Upslope Brewing Company is a brewery company in Boulder, Colorado founded in 2008. The company operates two breweries, both in Boulder, and produces several types of beer.
Marble Brewery is a brewery in Albuquerque, New Mexico, founded in 2008. Its main brewhouse is located in downtown Albuquerque on Marble Avenue, which gave the brewery its name. The 30 barrel brewhouse is responsible for brewing all classic and seasonal styles, including Marble's most popular brew, Double White. As of 2018, it was the second largest brewery in New Mexico with an annual production volume of 23,000 US barrels. In 2016, the brewery completed a major expansion which increased the production capacity to 30,000 barrels. Its beers have won several awards and it was named Small Brewery and Brewmaster of the Year at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival.
No-Li Brewhouse is a brewery and restaurant in Spokane, Washington, United States, co-founded by brewmaster Mark Irvin and beer industry executive John Bryant, expanding on Irvin's Northern Lights Brewery. The brewery is known for its emphasis on local sourcing and local production; in 2013 it was designated a "Spokane Style Beer" producer. Formerly known as Northern Lights Brewing, the company markets such beers as Born & Raised IPA and Big Juicy IPA.
Canteen Brewhouse is an American craft brewery founded in 1994 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Tractor Brewing Company is a New Mexico–based brewery, founded in 1999 in Los Lunas and since 2014 located in Albuquerque. Tractor beers have won awards at the New Mexico State Fair Pro-Am Competition.
Experimental beer is beer that is produced in or as a new style, using a new recipe, or as a type of beer that does not fit within present beer style criteria or definitions. The term also encompasses minor beer styles that are not covered under any of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) categories, with the exception of Belgian beers. Such minor beer styles may serve "as an incubator" for new potential categories, and may attain an official category if the style becomes of interest to the general public at a sufficient level. The Great American Beer Festival has an experimental beer category as a part of its competition, for which awards are given, as does the World Beer Cup, which also provides awards for beers in this category. The Oregon State Fair has a home brew competition that includes a category for specialty and experimental beers.
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