Great American Beer Festival

Great American Beer Festival is located in the United States
Great American Beer Festival
Great American Beer Festival
Location of the Great American Beer Festival in the United States.

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 used to be held at Denver's Colorado Convention Center, but despite community pushback, it has moved outdoors to Levitt Pavillion for 2026. Established in 1982, it is the largest ticketed beer festival in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world.

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.

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. There were 800 breweries and 4,000 beers. In 2023, 250 judges from 10 countries evaluated 9,298 entries. 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.

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
  • Category with the most entries - American-style India Pale Ale, 176 entries
  • Medals awarded - 248 + 3 in Pro-Am

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

2013

The winning booth at the Great American Beer Festival 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

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
  • Breweries at the festival - 800+
  • Beers at the festival - 3,900+
  • Breweries in the competition - 2,217
  • Beers in the competition - 7,923
  • 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

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
  • 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

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

2024

  • Attendance - 40,000
  • Breweries at the festival - 273
  • Breweries in the competition -1,869 breweries and cideries
  • Beers in the competition - 8,836 commercial beer entries, 233 commercial cider entries, 95 Collaboration entries, and 52 Pro-Am entries
  • Beer categories - 102
  • Category with most entries - Juicy/Hazy IPA, 349 entries
  • Medals awarded - 326
  • Added 5 new cider categories

See also

References

  1. ↑ Toth, Gabe (January 27, 2026). "Great American Beer Fest to Air It Out in 2026, Moving to Levitt Pavilion". Denver Westword. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  2. ↑ Fredrix, Emily (September 7, 2011). "Oktoberfest in America? Drinks, festivals abound". NBC News. Retrieved May 4, 2017.[dead link]
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ "Then and Now". Great American Beer Festival. September 1, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  5. ↑ Shikes, Jonathan. "Ten Things to Watch For at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival". Westword. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  6. ↑ "America's Finest: The Country's Best Beers Celebrated at 2019 Great American Beer Festival®". Brewers Association. October 5, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  7. ↑ "FAQ: Attendees". Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  8. ↑ "The Nation's Best Beers of 2023". Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  9. ↑ "GABF Shifts to Oct 16-17, Goes Online". Great American Beer Festival. May 21, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Great American Beer Festival Plans for Return to In-Person Gathering in 2022". Great American Beer Festival. April 4, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Great American Beer Festival". Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved May 4, 2017.[not specific enough to verify]
  12. 1 2 3 "2013 Post-event Report" (PDF). Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Medals awarded to breweries from all corners of the country". Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  14. 1 2 3 "2016 Post-event Report" (PDF). Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  15. ↑ "A Look Back at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival". Brewbound. October 12, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  16. 1 2 3 "Post-event Report 2019" (PDF). Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  17. 1 2 3 "Great American Beer Festival Sets Records for 2018". Celebrator Beer News. October 7, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  18. 1 2 "Why Are Fewer People Going to Beer Festivals? | Wine Enthusiast". www.wineenthusiast.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  19. ↑ "The Great American Beer Festival will sell 20,000 fewer tickets for 2022 event in Denver". The Denver Post. June 3, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Post-event Report 2022" (PDF). Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  21. ↑ "2023 Post-event Report" (PDF). Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Post-Event Report" (PDF). Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The Great American Beer Festival® Announces the Top Beers and Ciders of 2024". Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved December 22, 2024.

39°44′21″N 104°59′06″W / 39.7392°N 104.9850°W / 39.7392; -104.9850 (Denver)