Great American Beer Festival facts for kids
The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is a large yearly event hosted by the Brewers Association. It takes place in Denver, Colorado. People from all over the world come to see and learn about thousands of different American craft beverages.
The GABF started in 1982. It was founded by Charlie Papazian in Boulder, Colorado. The very first festival had only 22 companies taking part. By 2014, over 700 companies were involved! The GABF is now the biggest ticketed festival of its kind in the United States. It is also one of the largest in the world.
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What is the Great American Beer Festival?
The GABF is a three-day event. It usually happens in late September or early October. The festival is held inside the huge Colorado Convention Center.
Festival Sessions
There are four special event sessions. Each session lasts for four hours. One session is on Thursday, one on Friday, and two on Saturday. The first Saturday session is just for members of the Brewers Association and special guests. This includes companies taking part in the festival and VIPs.
The Competition and Awards
Hundreds of judges come from the United States and other countries. They evaluate thousands of different craft beverages. These are entered by hundreds of companies. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are given out. There are over 100 different categories for these awards. In 2017, there were 276 expert judges from 13 different nations.
The judging happens during the week before the festival. It is private, so the public cannot watch. The awards are given out on the last day of the festival. This happens inside the Bellco Theatre at the Colorado Convention Center. The theatre has 5,000 seats.
Festival Layout Changes
In 2018, the GABF used almost 600,000 square feet of the Convention Center. This was 100,000 square feet more than in 2017. Also, in 2018, companies were placed in alphabetical order. Before that, they were grouped by the state they came from. Many visitors did not like the alphabetical order. So, in 2019, companies were again grouped by their state and region. Examples include "Mountain States" or "Midwestern States."
In 2020, the event became a virtual one. This was because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Festival Facts and Figures
For a full list of all medal winners, you can see the List of Great American Beer Festival medalists.
2019 Festival Stats
- Attendance: Over 60,000 people
- Companies at the festival: 2,300 (from all 50 states and Washington D.C.)
- Beverages at the festival: Over 4,000
- Entries in the competition: 9,300
- Competition categories: 107
2017 Festival Stats
- Attendance: Over 60,000 people
- Companies at the festival: 2,217 (from all 50 states and Washington D.C.)
- Beverages at the festival: 3,900
- Entries in the competition: 7,923
2011 Festival Stats
- Attendance: 49,000 people
- Companies at the festival: 466
- Beverages at the festival: 2,375
- Entries in the competition: 3,930
- Category with the most entries: American-style India Pale Ale, 176 entries
- Medals awarded: 248 (plus 3 in Pro-Am)
