Beer event in Denver, Colorado, United States
Great American Beer Festival
"GABF" redirects here. For the airport with that ICAO identifier, see
Bafoulabé Airport .
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]
History
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 and 47 beers.
[2]
[3]
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.
[4] There were 800 breweries and 4,000 beers.
[5] In 2023, 250 judges from 10 countries evaluated 9,298 entries.
[6] 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.
[7]
[8]
Statistics
For a list of all medalists, see the
List of Great American Beer Festival medalists
2004
Attendance - 28,000
Breweries at the festival - 334
Beers at the festival - 1,454
Breweries in the competition - 398
Beers in the competition - 2,016
Medals awarded - 201
2005
Attendance - 29,500
Breweries at the festival - 377
Beers at the festival - 1,672
Breweries in the competition - 466
Beers in the competition - 2,335
Category with most entries - American-style India Pale Ale: 103
Medals awarded - 206
2006
Attendance - 41,000
Breweries at the festival - 384
Beers at the festival - 1,668
Breweries in the competition - 450
Beers in the competition - 2,402
Category with most entries - American-style India Pale Ale: 94
Medals awarded - 203
2007
Attendance - 46,000
Breweries at the festival - 408
Beers at the festival - 1,884
Breweries in the competition - 473
Beers in the competition - 2,973
Category with most entries - American-style India Pale Ale: 120
Medals awarded - 222 + 3 in Pro-Am
2008
Attendance - 46,000
Breweries at the festival - 432
Beers at the festival - 2,052
Breweries in the competition - 472
Beers in the competition - 2,902
Category with most entries - American-style India Pale Ale: 106
Medals awarded - 222 + 3 in Pro-Am
[9]
2009
Attendance - 49,576
Breweries at the festival - 457
Beers at the festival - 2,100
Breweries in the competition - 495
Beers in the competition - 3,308
Category with the most entries - American-style India Pale Ale, 134 entries
Medals awarded - 234 + 3 in Pro-Am
[9]
2010
Attendance - 49,000
Breweries at the festival - 455
Beers at the festival - 2,248
Beers in the competition - 3,523
Category with the most entries - American-style India Pale Ale, 150 entries
Medals awarded - 236 + 3 in Pro-Am
[9]
2011
Attendance - 49,000
Breweries at the festival - 466
Beers at the festival - 2,375
Breweries in the competition - 526
Beers in the competition - 3,930
[10]
Category with the most entries - American-style India Pale Ale, 176 entries
Medals awarded - 248 + 3 in Pro-Am
[9]
2012
Attendance - 49,000
Breweries at the festival - 578
Beers at the festival - 2,774
Breweries in the competition - 666
Beers in the competition - 4,338
[10]
Medals awarded - 254
[11]
2013
Attendance - 49,000
Breweries at the festival - 624
Beers at the festival - 3,142
Breweries in the competition - 732
Beers in the competition - 4,809
Beer categories - 84
Category with most entries - American-Style India Pale Ale, 252
Medals awarded - 254
[10]
2014
Attendance - 49,000
Breweries at the festival - 710
Beers at the festival - 3,500+
Breweries in the competition - 1,309
Beers in the competition - 5,507
[12]
2015
Attendance - 60,000
Breweries at the festival - 750
Beers at the festival - 3,800
Breweries in the competition - 1,552
Beers in the competition - 6,647
[12]
2016
Attendance - 60,000
Breweries at the festival - 780
Beers at the festival - 3,800+
Breweries in the competition - 1,752
Beers in the competition - 7,227
Beer categories - 96
Category with most entries - American-Style India Pale Ale, 312
Medals awarded - 286
[12]
2017
Attendance - 60,000
Breweries at the festival - 800+
Beers at the festival - 3,900+
Breweries in the competition - 2,217
Beers in the competition - 7,923
[13]
Beer categories -
2018
Attendance - 62,000
Breweries at the festival - 800+
Beers at the festival - 4,000+
Breweries in the competition - 2,404
Beers in the competition - 8,496
[13]
2019
Attendance - 60,000+
Breweries at the festival - 800+
Beers at the festival - 4,000+
Breweries in the competition - 2,295
Beers in the competition - 9,497
Beer categories - 107
Category with most entries - Juicy or Hazy IPA, 348 entries
Medals awarded - 318
[13]
2022
Attendance - 40,000
Breweries at the festival - 500
Beers at the festival - 2,000
Breweries in the competition - 2,154
Beers in the competition - 9,904 entries
Beer categories - 98
Category with most entries - American Style India Pale Ale, 423 entries
Medals awarded - 300
[14]
2023
Attendance - 40,000
Breweries at the festival - 500+
Beers at the festival -
Breweries in the competition - 2,033
Beers in the competition - 9,298
Beer categories - 263
Category with most entries - Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale, 365 entries
Medals awarded - 263
[15]
See also
References
^ Fredrix, Emily (September 7, 2011).
"Oktoberfest in America? Drinks, festivals abound" .
NBC News . Retrieved May 4, 2017 .
^
"A Beer Drinker's Program to the Great American Beer Festival 1982" (PDF) . Great American Beer Festival. 1982. pp. 20–34. Retrieved October 28, 2021 .
^
"Then and Now" . Great American Beer Festival. September 1, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2021 .
^
"America's Finest: The Country's Best Beers Celebrated at 2019 Great American Beer Festival®" .
Brewers Association . October 5, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2021 .
^
"FAQ: Attendees" . Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved October 28, 2021 .
^
"The Nation's Best Beers of 2023" . Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024 .
^
"GABF Shifts to Oct 16-17, Goes Online" . Great American Beer Festival. May 21, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2021 .
^
"Great American Beer Festival Plans for Return to In-Person Gathering in 2022" . Great American Beer Festival. April 4, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021 .
^
a
b
c
d
"Great American Beer Festival" . Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved May 4, 2017 . [
not specific enough to verify ]
^
a
b
c
"2013 Post-event Report" (PDF) . Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024 .
^
"Medals awarded to breweries from all corners of the country" . Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024 .
^
a
b
c
"2016 Post-event Report" (PDF) . Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024 .
^
a
b
c
"Post-event Report 2019" (PDF) . Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024 .
^
"Post-event Report 2022" (PDF) . Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024 .
^
"2023 Post-event Report" (PDF) . Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024 .
External links
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39°44′21″N 104°59′06″W / 39.7392°N 104.9850°W / 39.7392; -104.9850 (Denver )