When I first decided to go to Great American Beer Festival this year, I did not know what I was getting myself into. Sure, I’ve been to Texas Craft Brewers Festival and Big Texas Beer Fest, but I (nor my liver) was not ready for the most epic brewery festival in the US.

Everyone says to have a plan. My friend Caitlin, Big World Small Girl, who had gone once before had shared her tips and advice on attending GABF. Whoops, I had ignored that! Thankfully she was there to show me around night one as well. I’m going to help you come up with a plan from my experience!

Pre-gaming for GABF at Cerebral Brewing with Big World Small Girl

My previous post was about our adventure in Fort Collins & Greeley to get us prepped for our two days of the festival. We stayed with some friends we knew from Austin that previously moved to the Denver area, so we had some locals to take us around to brunch spots to fill up on before going out to fest (including Denver Biscuit Company & Syrup – must try!).

We chose Friday night & Saturday afternoon sessions, which were about 4 hours each. Friday night was dedicated to scoping out the entire convention center to figure out our plan of attack. What I would advise is make sure to download the GABF app and review all of the breweries participating and which brews you’d like to try. You can create a list to track what you’re interested in! What was the most helpful was understanding the regions at the convention center. If you’re looking to try a beer from Texas, you would find those breweries nestled into “Southwest Region”.

Had to stop by fellow Austinites ABGB for Industry Pils!

One of the most surprising sections of GABF was that Jameson Caskmates had a festival setup within the festival. There were 22 different brewery partners that collaborated with Jameson all within one section to highlight their partnership in barrel aging beer with Jameson Irish Whiskey barrels.

Jameson Caskmates area with 22 brewery partners

We got through maybe less than half of the entire convention center just in Friday night. There were so many beers to be tasted and sites to take in that we were so glad that we had day two.

Figtoberfest from Figueroa Mountain (I was excited to try this brewery because my maiden name is Figueroa!)

If you get the chance to attend, make sure to have an American Homebrewers Association membership to join the members only session for Saturday afternoon. Kegs start to kick by the end of the session & you get to be a part of the celebration following the awards ceremony. Make sure to arrive early, and by early I mean at least one hour early. The corrals start lining up probably at least two hours early to get into the convention center.

Thousands of people lining up in corrals waiting for their turn to pour in.

Pick a side to conquer! Utilize the regions & figure out what top breweries you want to hit up, especially if you have had a chance to be a previous session. Find where you want to spend your time, four hours flies by when you’re drinking award winning beer!

The basic in me had to try this beer from Mirror Image. It tasted exactly the perfect balance of a PSL!

Take photos of the beers you have tried & want to remember. I didn’t even bother with using untapped for GABF because it was an overwhelming amount of tastings. By the end of the session, your palate may be wrecked. It’s also a good idea to wear your snacks and build pretzel necklaces ahead of time. Don’t be shy with just adding pretzels, utilize fruit snacks, beef jerky, cheese, chocolate, or whatever else you can string onto your necklace!

Hanging out at the Black Husky booth, reppin’ my Milwaukee roots!

GABF is definitely a festival you need to experience more than once. There’s so much to do in Denver including GABF pre/after parties and also many options to go to breweries that are available all around town. My advice is to plan at least four to five full days and at least two sessions for GABF. The experience & unlimited beer pays for itself instantly. Why not get together with thousands of other craft beer lovers from around the country to celebrate some of the best craft beer there is out there? Make a fun vacation out of it with your fellow craft beer friends and start planning for next fall!

Cheers!
-Cheryl 🍻