Mastering GABF Week: Your Ultimate Guide to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver

If you want to make the most out of Great American Beer Festival Week, there’s more than simply attending a session in store for you. This post is for all of you who are in Denver this week for the festival, including a last minute game plan of how to totally rule any GABF session. Cheers to the best beer week EVER!

When it comes to the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), anyone who has attended before knows that it is undeniably the ultimate celebration of American craft beer. This annual event is a true pilgrimage for beer lovers, offering an unparalleled opportunity to explore the vast and vibrant landscape of brewing across the United States. It’s not just a festival; it’s an institution, bringing together the best in the business and thousands of passionate fans.

For those unfamiliar, GABF stands as the premier public tasting opportunity and highly respected competition in the USA. Over several days, attendees can immerse themselves in four distinct tasting sessions. Each session offers a unique chance to tour the offerings of approximately 800 breweries hailing from every corner of the country. With an astonishing selection of around 4,000 different beers available, poured in convenient one-ounce samples, it’s a beer lover’s paradise designed for discovery.

Whether your palate yearns for the rich complexity of stouts, the crisp bitterness of IPAs, the refreshing tang of sours, or you prefer to explore a myriad of styles, GABF truly has something for everyone. From classic lagers to experimental brews, rare releases to beloved staples, you will find them all here, waiting to be savored.

Let’s be honest – GABF can be an exhilarating, yet potentially overwhelming, experience. Picture hundreds of thousands of people flooding the Denver Convention Center for each session, faced with an almost dizzying array of choices. It’s easy to get lost in the excitement and miss out on some truly incredible experiences. That’s precisely why we’ve put together this comprehensive, last-minute guide to help you make the absolute most of GABF Week and navigate the festival like a seasoned pro.

1. Strategize Your Brewery Hits with the GABF App

Attempting to plan an entire session’s worth of breweries to hit is an exercise in futility. Some highly sought-after beers will inevitably run out, unexpected breweries will catch your eye, and long lines are a perennial reality. Seasoned attendees never go into a session with a rigid, full plan, but rather with a strategic partial plan. This year, the official “My GABF app” is an absolute game-changer, designed to empower your festival experience.

This invaluable application not only lists every participating brewery but also details the specific beers they will be serving. Crucially, it provides their exact location within the sprawling, maze-like Denver Convention Center. This feature is a lifesaver, allowing you to save the breweries you want to visit ahead of time, ensuring you know precisely where to go. No more aimless wandering!

Beyond navigation, the app enhances your ability to explore. It’s perfect for revisiting your established favorites to discover if they are pouring something new or rare. It also provides the ideal platform to delve deeper into breweries you’ve only had a fleeting taste from before, or to finally try those you’ve heard buzz about but never had the chance to experience. If a brewery has been on your wishlist, this is your golden opportunity to seek them out. The app even offers information on “festival tours,” guiding you through specific styles and flavors that align with your preferences. The sheer depth of fun add-ons and organizational features within the app is impressive, promising to significantly streamline and enrich your festival journey.

Simply open the app, save your must-visit breweries, and keep it handy throughout your session. You can even use it to rate beers as you try them, creating a personal tasting journal. A common challenge at the Denver Convention Center is spotty cell reception, so a key question for many will be whether the app functions offline. We’ll be sure to provide an update on its offline capabilities once the festival concludes!

2. Scout Your Favorite Breweries for Exclusive Pours

The GABF app is typically updated with all of the beers being poured well in advance, giving you ample opportunity to meticulously research your favorite breweries. This foresight is crucial because breweries often use GABF as a platform to debut new creations, showcase experimental batches, or offer rare pours that are usually only available on tap at their specific taprooms. Checking these select breweries’ lists is incredibly worthwhile; you absolutely do not want to miss out on these fabulous, often limited, finds.

To maximize your chances of tasting these special brews, consider arriving early to your session or prioritizing these breweries during your initial rounds. These rare offerings tend to be the first to run out. For a strategic head start, consider these established favorites, known for bringing exceptional beers to GABF:

• Avery Brewing Co.: A Colorado institution, celebrated for its diverse range from massive barrel-aged stouts to crisp lagers. Always a must-visit for unique and powerful brews.
• Bull & Bush Brewery: A Denver staple with a long history, offering a fantastic selection of traditional English and American styles. Their GABF pours often include award-winning recipes and special variations.
• Wicked Weed Brewing: Hailing from Asheville, North Carolina, they are renowned for their innovative sours, barrel-aged beers, and high-quality IPAs. Expect adventurous and often tart delights.
• New Belgium Brewing Co.: One of the largest craft breweries in the US, based in Fort Collins, Colorado. While known for Fat Tire, they always bring exciting new releases and their highly sought-after sour series to GABF.
• Great Divide Brewing Co.: Another pioneering Denver brewery, famous for its big, bold beers like Yeti Imperial Stout and Titan IPA. Look for their seasonal specialties and limited-edition releases.

Beyond these established names, there’s a much longer list of breweries I’m eager to try for the first time. To discover your own new favorites, consider exploring breweries that have recently won GABF medals, or those generating buzz on beer forums and social media for their innovative approaches. This is the perfect environment to expand your beer horizons!

3. Dive into Denver’s GABF Week: Events Beyond the Main Sessions

Attending a GABF session is fantastic, but to truly maximize your experience, remember that the festival is just one part of a much larger “GABF Week” celebration engulfing Denver. There are literally SO MANY incredible events happening outside the main convention center sessions throughout the entire week, with most kicking off in full swing! One session, while amazing, is hardly enough to satisfy the cravings of a dedicated beer enthusiast. It’s essential to plan and make a list of all the fun tappings, special releases, and unique events happening at breweries, bars, and restaurants all around town. These off-site events offer a more intimate setting, unique beer selections, and a chance to experience Denver’s vibrant local craft beer scene. Here are some top spots and events to hit up this week:

• Hops & Pie: This place is an absolute gem in Denver, a personal favorite. They consistently serve some of the best pizza in the city, made with fresh, scratch-dough whipped up daily. But beyond the incredible food, Hops & Pie boasts an astonishing tap list that is constantly rotating and features highly sought-after brews. During GABF Week, they elevate their game with some truly killer tasting events:
  • Wednesday – CSA Portfolio Tasting: Kicking off at 11:30 am, this event features an impressive lineup from Crooked Stave (known for their exceptional sours), Jester King (pioneers of farmhouse ales from Texas), Jolly Pumpkin (Michigan’s masters of sour and wild ales), and many more. This is an unparalleled opportunity to taste some of the most celebrated and often hard-to-find wild and funky beers.
  • Thursday – Casey Brewing & Blending Tapping: This is a must-attend! Casey Brewing & Blending, from Glenwood Springs, Colorado, is revered for their fruit-forward, oak-aged wild ales. They will be pouring gems like Cherry East Bank, Oak Theory, Apricot Fruit Stand, and other exquisite creations. Prepare for a symphony of deliciousness for your taste buds.
  • Friday – California Breweries Takeover: Experience the best of the Golden State with a lineup featuring The Rare Barrel (Oakland’s sour specialists), Fieldwork Brewing Co. (known for their hazy and West Coast IPAs), Cellarmaker Brewing Co. (San Francisco’s innovative hop-forward brewery), and many more. This is a fantastic chance to explore some cutting-edge West Coast craft beer.
  • Saturday – TRVE & Friends: TRVE Brewing Co., Denver’s metal-inspired brewery, hosts a gathering of fantastic breweries that might be new to your radar, such as Brewery Bhavana (Raleigh, NC, known for their elegant, often Belgian-inspired beers), Scratch Brewing Co. (Ava, IL, famous for their unique use of foraged ingredients), and others. If you love discovering new breweries and want an experience that goes beyond the main GABF hall, Hops & Pie on Saturday is the place to be!

• Falling Rock Tap House: This iconic downtown Denver establishment transforms into one of the most vibrant hubs during GABF Week. Before, after, and even during the sessions, Falling Rock hosts continuous new tappings featuring some truly rare and exclusive beers. It’s our favorite spot to head after the main sessions conclude, primarily because of the incredible beer camaraderie you find there. A few years ago, we ended up sharing a booth and some food with a couple from the brewing industry, and we spent the rest of the night chatting and being treated to some truly epic beers. The atmosphere is electric, filled with brewers, industry professionals, and passionate enthusiasts from all over. Be sure to check out the GABF events section for a detailed schedule of the numerous special tappings happening at Falling Rock throughout the week.

These are just a couple of highlight spots, but the entire city of Denver teams with options! For instance, don’t miss Avery’s popular pre-party at Improper City, usually held on Thursday from 3 pm to 6 pm – a great way to kick off the evening with some fantastic brews. The official GABF website has an entire section dedicated to all the ancillary events, tap takeovers, and special releases happening city-wide. Click here for the comprehensive GABF events section and find something you’ll love!

4. Essential Tips for Your GABF Session

When it comes to actually attending the GABF tasting sessions, there’s one crucial mantra that will determine the quality of your experience: GABF isn’t a race, it’s a marathon.

PACE. YOURSELF. This cannot be stressed enough.

My first GABF session was, admittedly, a bit of a disaster. I drank far too many samples too quickly, which resulted in spending the entire next day with a splitting headache, curled up in bed feeling utterly miserable. Learn from my mistake: do not get overly intoxicated within the first hour. Doing so will inevitably lead to aimlessly wandering, struggling to appreciate the incredible variety of beers, and missing out on the unique opportunity to meet the passionate brewers at their booths. GABF is about exploration and appreciation, not just consumption.

Hydration and food are your best friends. Drink plenty of water throughout the session – many booths offer water, and there are water stations available. Eat a substantial meal before you enter, and take advantage of the food vendors inside the convention center. Even a small pretzel can make a big difference in soaking up alcohol and keeping you energized.

Another key reality to remember: there will be lines. Lines to get into the festival. Lines for popular beers. Lines for the bathroom. They are an unavoidable part of the GABF experience, and they can get long! Patience is a virtue here. Rather than getting frustrated, embrace the wait for the beers you truly want to try. If you’re attending with a group of friends, strategize! Have one friend hold your spot in a long line while another ventures to a nearby, less crowded brewery to grab a quick sample for the group. This tactic often leads to discovering fantastic small breweries you might never have heard of, making the wait much more enjoyable and productive.

Finally, and this is crucial, please do not forget your ticket and your valid ID. I have witnessed the genuine tragedy of people being turned away at the entrance because they left their ticket at home or forgot their ID in a different bag. Double-check before you leave your accommodation. Wear comfortable shoes – you’ll be doing a lot of standing and walking. Consider bringing a small, empty bag for any merchandise you might purchase. And, of course, plan for responsible transportation: designate a driver, use ride-sharing services, or utilize Denver’s public transport system.

While most GABF sessions quickly sell out, there’s often still a chance to buy tickets for the Thursday night session (all other sessions are typically long gone!). Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to experience America’s premier beer festival. Click here to check for available tickets and make your purchase!