…it’s the biggest beer event in the land, the Great American Beer Festival. Yes, now in it’s 26th year, the GABF is bigger and stronger than ever. Better, too, maybe. We’ll see about that as the week progresses, beginning with tonight’s always (relatively) mellow first tasting session.
But that is certainly no doubt that the GABF has established itself as THE seminal beer event in the United States. The city of Denver is utterly sold out of hotel rooms, the festival is sold out for all four sessions, and in the fewer than 24 hours I’ve been in town, I’ve already encountered people from across the United States and as far away as Sweden and Italy.
If there’s still any doubt in your mind, check out these numbers furnished by the presenting organization, the Brewers Association:
- More than 40,000 people will take in the three days of the fest;
- Over 2,800 beers will be judged in the Blind Tasting competition;
- Almost 1,900 of those beers will be available for sampling on the festival floor;
- Over 25,000 gallons of beer will be sampled over the course of the fest, one ounce at a time.
That, my friends, is big by any standards. More later.
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