The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is an annual

beer festival A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales. Asia * Singapore holds an annual Beer Festiva ...

hosted by the

Brewers Association The Brewers Association (BA) is an American trade group of over 5,400 brewers, breweries in planning, suppliers, distributors, craft beer retailers, and individuals particularly concerned with the promotion of craft beer and homebrewing. Two of ...

, held in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Typically held in late September or early October, the event is currently held at Denver's

Colorado Convention Center The Colorado Convention Center (CCC) is a multi-purpose convention center located in Downtown Denver, Colorado. At 2,200,000 square feet (total space) it is currently the 12th largest convention center in the United States. It opened in June 1 ...

. 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 Charles N. Papazian (born January 23 ca. 1949) is an American nuclear engineer, brewer and author. He founded the Association of Brewers and the Great American Beer Festival, and wrote ''The Complete Joy of Home Brewing'' (1984). He is the longtim ...

, and the first festival was held in conjunction with the

American Homebrewers Association The Brewers Association (BA) is an American trade group of over 5,400 brewers, breweries in planning, suppliers, distributors, craft beer retailers, and individuals particularly concerned with the promotion of craft beer and homebrewing. Two of ...

's annual conference in Boulder, Colorado in June 1982, featuring 24 participating breweries and 47 beers. In a private event held the week prior, judges evaluate the beers in the associated competition, and 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. The most recent GABF was held in 2019, featuring 800 breweries and 4,000 beers. The in-person festival was cancelled in 2020 and 2021, with a virtual event held instead, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. It is scheduled to return in 2022.

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 * 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

2017

* Attendance - 60,000+ * Breweries at the festival - 2,217 (from all 50 states + D.C.) * Beers at the festival - 3,900 * Beers in the competition - 7,923 entries

2019

* Attendance - 60,000+ * Breweries at the festival - 2,300 (from all 50 states + D.C.) * Beers at the festival - 4,000+ * Beers in the competition - 9,300 entries * Beer style categories in the competition - 107

References

External links

*{{official website, https://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com Festivals in Denver Tourist attractions in Denver Beer festivals in the United States Beer awards Autumn festivals Festivals established in 1982 Beer in Colorado 1982 establishments in Colorado