As 2022 was opening, I shared some of by New Beer Resolutions. This was an opportunity for me to consider and document some of my goals as they related to a passion for great beer.
Among those resolutions on my beery bucket list was visiting two new beer events. Well, that was last year, and I did take in a couple new events, but in 2023 I did check off two events from that list.
Raise Your Glass to the Great American Beer Festival
The Great American Beer Festival (GABF). Held annually, the GABF is a colossal gathering that unites brewers, connoisseurs, and beer lovers from every corner of the nation. This immersive beer extravaganza showcases the true diversity and creative spirit of American brewing.
Tucson via Denver
My wife wanted to go back to Tucson AZ in September. I love Tucson and was all in, but gently suggested a trip through Denver on our way. I was a bit surprised and definitely elated that she said okay, and plans were set in place — I was going to the Great American Beer Festival for the first time.
Two new beer events — I'm able to make two or three beer events each year, but I feel the need to expand outside comfort zone. My beery bucket list includes: Snallygaster (DC), Oktoberfest (Munich), GABF (Denver), Extreme Beer Fest (Boston), Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer (Chicago), and Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival (Paso Robles).
Festival Updates
Below are some status updates for some of these elite beer festivals.
Extreme Beer Fest is hosted by Beer Advocate. The event is currently on a break for 2023. Normally held at the end of January and beginning of February, the 2021 event was a virtual event and the last in-person Extreme Beer Fest was held in 2020 in Boston, MA.
With the popularity and thus fate of beer festivals seeming to wane, I'm not sure this event will be coming back in the near future.
“The beer festival Extreme Beer Fest is a real celebration for beer lovers who come specially to enjoy a huge variety of beers from the best breweries. The festival that is held every year since 2003, is organized by BeerAdvocate. 120 participating breweries offer more than 400 different beers.”
The Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer FoBAB is the world's largest and most prestigious barrel-aged beer festival and competition. Hosted annually by the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild (ICBG), FoBAB invites breweries from all over the world to Chicago to showcase their rarest, most innovative wood and barrel-aged brews.
The 2023 FoBAB was held on Fri, 03 Nov 2023 - Sat, 04 Nov 2023 in Chicago. But I’d pretty much exhausted my beer festival budget already. I’ll keep an eye out for the 2024 dates.
I didn't make it to the The Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest held on June 3, 2023. But interestingly, the couple in front of me standing in line for the GABF did. Come to find out they were from California and this was not their first attendance to the Firestone Walker fest.
“The Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest was born from a dream of creating a world-class festival featuring some of the best brewers in the world. This is a day when we can set the sales pitches aside and simply share our beers and stories with passionate craft drinkers. It’s all about the brewers, their beers, good music, and folks who care.”
GABF notes
Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout by Crooked Stave
I've attended large beer events before, so I am no stranger to having access to an incredible supply of great beer at one time. Discipline is the order of the day. And planning. So, from my research, what did the alumni have to say about attending GABF for the first time?
Mostly the same bits of advice I'd learned from attending events such as the Brewer’s Association east coast event, SAVOR, held in Washington DC until it was discontinued in 2022.
Stay hydrated.
Consume some food.
Have a plan.
Choose A Style
There was one piece of advice that I'd not heard before and found intriguing — choose a particular beer style and focus on those beers offerings for the evening. A friend of mine living in Denver and having attended the GABF the previous mentioned this strategy too. I think he read the same article I did.
Bourbon Barrel Aged Sweet Stout by Heavy Riff Brewing Co
Of course, IPAs are always plentiful… so these would not be my focus beer style. I try drinking around the edges, as I call it, meaning seeking out more obscure styles. My quest would search for Belgian-style beers including barrel-aged sours such as Flanders Red and also saison, oud bruin. Barrel-aged stouts are always a favorite and usually plentiful at these events.
VIP: Twice is Nice
I've learned that when VIP tickets are available, they are usually worth the price. But was twice the price worth it for GABF? The extra fee didn't gain early entrance to the festival, but did allow access to a special lower area array of beer and specialty-paired food for each brewery.
The General Admission fee was about $100 and the VIP ticket about $200, plus service fees.
With the food pairings and access to featured beer, in retrospect, the extra fees were well worth the price. I was familiar with these food pairings having attended the SAVOR event several times and find them a pleasant supplement to the beer.
Untappd GABF
Looking through the festival guides I noticed that GABF had partnered with Untappd to list all the breweries and their beers on the app for the event. You could scan the horizon by brewery and beer styles. Searching for my favored barrel-aged sours was made easy.
I’d not seen this tool made available before on Untappd and honestly it blew my mind.
I’m not sure how well it was used though. While standing in line awaiting entrance I was talking with seasoned GABF attendees and showed them the app. They were not aware of it.
I found the Untappd app was nice to plan for the event but not totally accurate. I was searching for a few breweries listed in the app and discovered they were actually not there.
Food is Good
I was used to selected beer and food pairings having attended the BA Savor events in DC. These are meant to enhance out the flavors of each. And having a ready source of food at a great beer event is a good idea too.
The pairings were good, some even having fresh pizza. What a surprise to see oysters in Denver. I asked where they came from and they had them flown in from tidewater Virginia.
VIP closed 15 minutes early. What?
Having moved my attention to the main floor, I wanted to take care of some unfinished business at the VIP section on the lower floor before the event closed. When we got downstairs, we watched as the vendors were packing up and no more food or beer was available. Needless to say, I was surprised and disappointed. Lesson learned.
Haven’t made my initial rounds at the VIP section I wanted to go upstairs to the main hall. I was hit by two things immediately. One, this place was huge, full of breweries and lots of beer.
From the organizers expected number of attendees, I guess there were 10,000 people at the event that night. I should not have been surprise, but as I entered the main hall, the noise volume was deafening. I am sure some of the din was from the ventilation system. But with that many people all excited about tasting beer from around the world, what else would you expect?
Missing Out
One thing I have learned from attending beer festivals is that you cannot do it all. You have to be selective about what you can take in both visually and fluids. And sometimes you get to a table only to learn you missed out. Some of the popular beers, that may be exclusive, limited offerings, will run out before you get there. A fact of life and beer festivals. .
Wearing My Colors
I wanted to wear a Maryland brewery shirt to represent back home and identify myself as being from Maryland. I'm glad I did because several people recognized the Burley Oak logo and came up to greet me. It certainly was a nice ice-breaker.
Would Do It Again
I will definitely attend this festival again. And for several reasons. For one, Denver is a great town, and so are the many towns in the area. We had a great time visiting Fort Collins and New Belgium Brewing and Purpose Brewind and Blending. Colorado Springs, the Red Rocks Amphitheater, the great food venues, hiking in the Rocky Mount National Park.
And having made it to GABF, listening to a John Holl Think Beer Drink Beer podcast I learned another Denver festival that was immediately added to the bucket list. The Denver Rare Beer Tasting. And so it continues. One beer festival leading to another.
Denver Rare Beer Tasting: Fantastic Breweries and Amazing Beers to Support a Great Cause
Since its inception in 2009, the Denver Rare Beer Tasting has attracted some of America’s most respected craft breweries who generously serve their most exotic beers. A total of 216 breweries from 44 states have poured at the event during its first 13 editions. Only four breweries have participated in all 13 Denver Rare Beer Tastings and another 42 breweries have poured at least five times, while 87 have made a single appearance at the event.
