New for 2012, the GABF awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 13 at 10:30 am.

The ceremony will be held in the Wells Fargo Theatre, located on the first floor of the Colorado Convention Center. Attendance will be open to all badged brewery representatives, competition judges, media, sponsors and festival staff.

What does this mean for festival attendees?

The general public will not be able to attend the awards ceremony, but this change has allowed for a number of improvements that will make the festival better for all.

• Moving the awards ceremony location has allowed us to change the festival floor plan to accommodate 110 additional breweries pouring in the hall–23 percent more than in 2011.
• The ceremony is now happening earlier in the day, so attendees will know the results sooner and have more time to sample the winning beers during the Saturday afternoon Members-Only session.
• An earlier start time also means that the ceremony will end sooner, allowing brewers to return to their booths sooner on Saturday afternoon to interact with festivalgoers.

Beer enthusiasts can still follow along with the awards ceremony, as the event will be streaming live on The Brewing Network. Saturday afternoon attendees can view the awards announcements on screens throughout the festival hall and watch a complete replay afterwards. With an estimated 4,300 beers entered in this year’s GABF competition, it’s expected to be the biggest and most competitive one yet.