Great American Beer Festival Explained

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, 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]}

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

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

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

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 ^[11]

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
• Medals awarded - 254^[12]

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

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^[13]

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

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

2017

• Attendance - 60,000^[14]
• Breweries at the festival - 800+
• Beers at the festival - 3,900+
• Breweries in the competition - 2,217
• Beers in the competition - 7,923^[15]
• Beer categories -

2018

• Attendance - 62,000^[16]
• Breweries at the festival - 800+
• Beers at the festival - 4,000+
• Breweries in the competition - 2,404
• Beers in the competition - 8,496

2019

• Attendance - 65,000+
• 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

2022

• Attendance - 40,000^[17]
• 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^[18]

2023

• Attendance - 40,000^[19]
• 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^[20]

See also

• Craft beer

References

1. Web site: Oktoberfest in America? Drinks, festivals abound. Fredrix. Emily. NBC News. September 7, 2011. May 4, 2017.
2. Web site: A Beer Drinker's Program to the Great American Beer Festival 1982. Great American Beer Festival. 20–34. 1982. October 28, 2021.
3. Web site: Then and Now. Great American Beer Festival. September 1, 2017. October 28, 2021.
4. Web site: Shikes . Jonathan . Ten Things to Watch For at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival . 2024-07-23 . Westword . en.
5. Web site: America's Finest: The Country's Best Beers Celebrated at 2019 Great American Beer Festival®. Brewers Association. October 5, 2019. October 28, 2021.
6. Web site: FAQ: Attendees. Great American Beer Festival. October 28, 2021.
7. Web site: The Nation’s Best Beers of 2023 . Great American Beer Festival . 30 March 2024.
8. Web site: GABF Shifts to Oct 16-17, Goes Online. Great American Beer Festival. May 21, 2020. October 28, 2021.
9. Web site: Great American Beer Festival Plans for Return to In-Person Gathering in 2022. Great American Beer Festival. April 4, 2021. October 28, 2021.
10. Web site: 2013 Post-event Report . Great American Beer Festival . 30 March 2024.
11. Web site: Great American Beer Festival . Great American Beer Festival . May 4, 2017.
12. Web site: Medals awarded to breweries from all corners of the country . Great American Beer Festival . 30 March 2024.
13. Web site: 2016 Post-event Report . Great American Beer Festival . 30 March 2024.
14. Web site: 2017-10-12 . A Look Back at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival . 2024-07-23 . Brewbound . en-US.
15. Web site: Post-event Report 2019 . Great American Beer Festival . 30 March 2024.
16. Web site: 2018-10-07 . Great American Beer Festival Sets Records for 2018 . 2024-07-23 . Celebrator Beer News . en-US.
17. Web site: 2022-06-03 . The Great American Beer Festival will sell 20,000 fewer tickets for 2022 event in Denver . 2024-07-23 . The Denver Post . en-US.
18. Web site: Post-event Report 2022 . Great American Beer Festival . 30 March 2024.
19. Web site: Why Are Fewer People Going to Beer Festivals? Wine Enthusiast . 2024-07-02 . www.wineenthusiast.com.
20. Web site: 2023 Post-event Report . Great American Beer Festival . 30 March 2024.

External links

• Great American Beer Festival

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