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The Great American Beer Festival is the premier U.S. beer festival and competition.
Each year, GABF represents the largest collection of U.S. beer ever served, in a public tasting event plus a private competition. GABF brings together the brewers and diverse beers that make the U.S. the world’s greatest brewing nation.
GABF was founded in 1982, and has been growing and evolving along with the American craft brewing industry ever since.
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- What are the future dates for the Great American Beer Festival?
- Where is the festival?
- What’s the history of the Great American Beer Festival?
- What is the Great American Beer Festival?
- Who puts on the Great American Beer Festival?
- How much are tickets?
- When is the GABF Competition Awards Ceremony Livestream?
- Great American Beer Festival Official Numbers
What are the future dates for the Great American Beer Festival?
Save these dates:
- 2022: October 6-8
- 2023: September 21-23
Where is the festival?
The festival take place at the Colorado Convention Center in 2022.
What’s the history of the Great American Beer Festival?
- The first festival was held in 1982 at the Harvest House Hotel in Boulder. There were 24 breweries, 47 beers, and 800 attendees.
- The festival moved to Denver in 1984.
- The 10th festival was held at the Denver Merchandise Mart with 150 breweries, 500 beers, and 7,000 attendees.
- Due to continued growth and popularity and the fact that the iconic Currigan Hall was being dismantled, the festival moved from Currigan Hall in Denver to the Colorado Convention Center in 2000.
- Demand for tickets is at an all-time high. The 2007 festival sold out the week of the event, while the 2014 event sold out in just over four hours.
What is the Great American Beer Festival?
In a typical, non-pandemic year, the Great American Beer Festival is the American brewing industry’s top public tasting opportunity and competition. Tasting sessions offer attendees the opportunity to tour America’s brewing landscape, one ounce at a time, with access to more than 4,000 different beers from over 800 of the nation’s finest breweries. The GABF gathers practically every type of beer from all of the regions of the country, and are arranged alphabetically in the festival hall. The festival allows visitors to taste the largest number and the widest variety of hand-crafted products in the American beer industry. We look forward to celebrating our 40th anniversary in person October 6-8, 2022.
Who puts on the Great American Beer Festival?
The Great American Beer Festival has been held every year since 1982 and is presented by the Brewers Association, a not-for-profit educational and trade organization that is devoted to making quality brewing and beer information available to anyone. The Brewers Association also promotes and protects American craft beer, American craft brewers, and the community of brewing enthusiasts. The Brewers Association serves craft brewers and homebrewers and produces bi-monthly magazines and books about the brewing industry.
How much are tickets?
Pricing information for the 2022 GABF will be posted to the Tickets page.
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When is the GABF Competition Awards Ceremony Livestream?
On Saturday, October 8, 2022, watch the GABF Competition Awards Ceremony live stream. Learn more.
GABF Official Numbers
| 2021 | 2020* | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance | n/a | n/a | 60,000 | 62,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 49,000 | 49,000 | 49,000 | 49,000 | 49,000 |
| Breweries at the Festival | n/a | 1,100* | 800 | 800 | 800 | 780 | 750 | 710 | 624 | 578 | 466 | 455 |
| Beers at the Festival | n/a | n/a | 4,000 | 4,000 | 3,900 | 3,800 | 3,800 | 3,500 | 3,142 | 2,774 | 2,375 | 2,248 |
| Breweries in the Competition | 2,192 | 1,720 | 2,295 | 2,404 | 2,217 | 1,752 | 1,552 | 1,309 | 732 | 673 | 522 | 516 |
| Beers in the Competition | 9,680 | 8,806 | 9,497 | 8,496 | 7,923 | 7,227 | 6,647 | 5,507 | 4,809 | 4,338 | 3,930 | 3,523 |
| Categories Judged | 97 | 91 |
107 + Pro-Am + 70 Collaboration |
102 + Pro-Am + Collaboration |
98 + Pro-Am |
96 + Pro-Am |
92 + Pro-Am |
90 + Pro-Am |
84 + Pro-Am |
84 + Pro-Am |
83 + Pro-Am |
79 + Pro-Am |
| Number of Judges | 170 | 115 | 322 | 293 | 276 | 264 | 242 | 222 | 201 | 185 | 167 | 151 |
| Avg. Number of Beers in each Category | 99.6 | 97 | 88 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 72 | 61 | 51 | 51 | 48 | 42 |
| Category with Highest Entries | Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale: 427 | Juicy or Hazy IPA: 377 | Juicy or Hazy IPA: 348 | Juicy or Hazy IPA: 391 | American-Style India Pale Ale: 408 | American-Style India Pale Ale: 312 | American-Style India Pale Ale: 336 | American-Style India Pale Ale: 279 | American-Style India Pale Ale: 252 | American-Style India Pale Ale: 203 | American-Style India Pale Ale: 176 | American-Style India Pale Ale: 150 |
| Medals Awarded | 290 | 272 | 318 | 306 | 293 | 286 | 275 + 3 in Pro-Am | 268 + 3 in Pro-Am | 252 + 3 in Pro-Am | 251 + 3 in Pro-Am | 248 + 3 in Pro-Am | 236 + 3 in Pro-Am |
| Volunteers | 118 | 72 | 4,280 | 4,393 | 4,308 | 3,732 | 3,400 | 3,300 | 3,245 | 3,023 | 3,411 | 3,281 |
| Volunteer Hours Worked | 4,131 | 3,105 | 63,623 | 68,596 | 66,854 | 57,681 | 55,188 | 47,214 | 41,919 | 54,515 | 52,075 | 43,679 |
