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]
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 and 47 beers.[2][3]
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.[4] There were 800 breweries and 4,000 beers.[5] In 2023, 250 judges from 10 countries evaluated 9,298 entries.[6] 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.[7][8]
For a list of all medalists, see the List of Great American Beer Festival medalists
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