Volume 4, Issue 19
September 19 - October 2, 2002
A showcase of the 'Best of the Best' in Beers
"Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire." --David Rains Wallace
by Flavia Salazar
Have you ever wanted to sample the best of the best or try something new? How about being able to sample over 1,200 different beers served by 300 of the nation's finest breweries? Then the Great American Beer Festival is the place you want to be. The festival will be held Thursday, October 3 through 5 in the Colorado Convention Centre downtown Denver.
The Festival, which this year will be celebrating its 21st birthday, is expected to draw 20,000-plus beer enthusiasts during its three-day run. The opening night will feature live music from Marty Jones & The Pork Boilin . Poor Boys, with special guests the Railbenders, and Scottish Bag Pipe will perform during opening sessions of the event. There will be plenty of exhibits on site . breweries, ski resorts and many more.
"The Great American Beer Festival really is a celebration of the brewer's art here in the United States," Todd Ashman, of Flossmoor Station Brewing Company, said. "I love being part of the tradition the Great American Beer Festival has become. Having beer in a showcase of some of the best craft-brewed beer in America is really an honor. For twenty years this event has sought to promote, educate and celebrate great beer, and it has done a wonderful job."
The first Great American Beer festival was held in 1982 at the Harvest House hotel in Boulder, with 22 breweries, 40 beers and 800 attendees. The Festival moved to Denver in 1984, and by year 10, the numbers had grown to 7,000 attendees, 150 breweries and 500 beers. It has grown to be the biggest Beer Festival in the West and even made The Guinness Book of World Records for the most beers tapped at one location.
"What people in Denver don't realize is that Denver is considered the Munich of the West, the Napa Valley of beer," John Hickenlooper, owner of Wynkoop Brewery, said. "This is the greatest opportunity in the world to sample a full array of styles and appreciate the incredible diversity of beer that America has to offer."
For those looking to taste a particular beer from a state or region, or who focus maybe on stouts, pilseners or pale ales, there will be plenty of helpful floor navigation. The breweries are being arranged by region on the festival floor, and in case you need some help with geography, you can always consult giant, color-coded maps that will direct you to the location you have in mind. Public tasting sessions are being offered Thursday, Friday and Saturday, starting at 5:30 pm and running until 10. On Saturday afternoon there will be a special connoisseur tasting session.
"The Great American Beer Festival is like the Super Bowl of beer events," Chris Black, owner of the Falling Rock Tap House in Downtown Denver, said. (A festival countdown clock hangs above Falling Rock's doorway, exciting beer enthusiasts about the festival weeks before the event.)
Last but not least, the festival hosts one of the Nation's largest and most prestigious tasting competitions. There will be ninety professional judges from both the U. S. and abroad who will be evaluating approximately 1,900 beers, representing 400 breweries from almost every state. The gold, silver and bronze medals in the 58 beer categories will be awarded October 5 at 1:30 pm during the connoisseur tasting session.
"Certainly, the GABF is a great opportunity to get the public introduced to a wide variety of beers. A big part of what we do is educate the consumer," Brian Simpson, media relations for Bristol Brewing Company, said. "With the craft brewing industry where it's at these days, there is a lot more complexity in the brewing scene. So it's a good opportunity for brewers to get together and sample a wide variety of beers, and the judging part is fun. We've done pretty well there in the last couple of years."
Tickets for this event are on sale, available now and may be purchased in advance at the Great American Beer Festival official website, www.beertown.com, some of the finer Denver area beer retailers, restaurants and TicketMaster. Event tickets vary from $35 in advance to $40 at the door. Passes for all three days of the Festival are $110 (for Association of Brewers members) or $135 (for non-members). Each ticket gets you a coupon for a $20 lift ticket from Winter Park Resort, a tasting glass, festival program and six-ounce pour at the beer garden. Group discounts and designated driver tickets are available. You must be 21 or older in order to be allowed in, so don't forget your ID.
"The Great American Beer Festival is truly America's great celebration of beer and brewing-- from humble beginnings when there were few 'exotic' beers being made to today' s overabundant riches provided by several hundred of our country's best breweries," wrote Tom Dalldorf, of Celebrator Beer News & BeerWeek. "It also has served as an annual gathering for the industry, enhancing the camaraderie and knowledge of the participants. All beer lovers owe the Great American Beer Festival a debt of gratitude."
"Whiskey's too rough,
Champagne costs too much,
Vodka puts my mouth in gear.
I hope this refrain,
will help me explain,
as a matter of fact,
I like beer." -- Tom T. Hall
"Many battles have been fought and won by soldiers nourished on beer" -- Frederick The Great
All Rights Reserved © 2002 Go Go Media, LLC, Denver, Colorado