Great American Beer Festival
The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is an annual beer festival hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado. Typically held in late September or early October, the event is currently held at Denver's Colorado Convention Center. Established in 1982, it is the largest ticketed beer festival in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world.
History
The GABF was founded by brewer Charlie Papazian, and the first festival was held in conjunction with the American Homebrewers Association's annual conference in Boulder, Colorado in June 1982, featuring 24 participating breweries and 47 beers.
In a private event, held the week prior, judges evaluate the beers in the associated competition. They then award medals in over 100 beer style categories. In 2019, the panel consisted of 322 judges from 18 countries, who evaluated over 9,400 beers. There were 800 breweries and 4,000 beers. In 2023, 250 judges from 10 countries evaluated 9,298 entries. There were 263 breweries.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 and 2021 in-person festival was cancelled with a virtual event held instead.
Statistics
For a list of all medalists, see the List of Great American Beer Festival medalists
2004
- Attendance - 28,000
- Breweries at the festival - 334
- Beers at the festival - 1,454
- Breweries in the competition - 398
- Beers in the competition - 2,016
- Medals awarded - 201
2005
- Attendance - 29,500
- Breweries at the festival - 377
- Beers at the festival - 1,672
- Breweries in the competition - 466
- Beers in the competition - 2,335
- Category with most entries - American-style India Pale Ale: 103
- Medals awarded - 206
2006
- Attendance - 41,000
- Breweries at the festival - 384
- Beers at the festival - 1,668
- Breweries in the competition - 450
- Beers in the competition - 2,402
- Category with most entries - American-style India Pale Ale: 94
- Medals awarded - 203
2007
- Attendance - 46,000
- Breweries at the festival - 408
- Beers at the festival - 1,884
- Breweries in the competition - 473
- Beers in the competition - 2,973
- Category with most entries - American-style India Pale Ale: 120
- Medals awarded - 222 + 3 in Pro-Am
2008
- Attendance - 46,000
- Breweries at the festival - 432
- Beers at the festival - 2,052
- Breweries in the competition - 472
- Beers in the competition - 2,902
- Category with most entries - American-style India Pale Ale: 106
- Medals awarded - 222 + 3 in Pro-Am
2009
- Attendance - 49,576
- Breweries at the festival - 457
- Beers at the festival - 2,100
- Breweries in the competition - 495
- Beers in the competition - 3,308
- Category with the most entries - American-style India Pale Ale, 134 entries
- Medals awarded - 234 + 3 in Pro-Am
2010
- Attendance - 49,000
- Breweries at the festival - 455
- Beers at the festival - 2,248
- Beers in the competition - 3,523
- Category with the most entries - American-style India Pale Ale, 150 entries
- Medals awarded - 236 + 3 in Pro-Am
2011
- Attendance - 49,000
- Breweries at the festival - 466
- Beers at the festival - 2,375
- Breweries in the competition - 526
- Beers in the competition - 3,930
- Category with the most entries - American-style India Pale Ale, 176 entries
- Medals awarded - 248 + 3 in Pro-Am
2012
- Attendance - 49,000
- Breweries at the festival - 578
- Beers at the festival - 2,774
- Breweries in the competition - 666
- Beers in the competition - 4,338
- Medals awarded - 254
2013
- Attendance - 49,000
- Breweries at the festival - 624
- Beers at the festival - 3,142
- Breweries in the competition - 732
- Beers in the competition - 4,809
- Beer categories - 84
- Category with most entries - American-Style India Pale Ale, 252
- Medals awarded - 254
2014
- Attendance - 49,000
- Breweries at the festival - 710
- Beers at the festival - 3,500+
- Breweries in the competition - 1,309
- Beers in the competition - 5,507
2015
- Attendance - 60,000
- Breweries at the festival - 750
- Beers at the festival - 3,800
- Breweries in the competition - 1,552
- Beers in the competition - 6,647
2016
- Attendance - 60,000
- Breweries at the festival - 780
- Beers at the festival - 3,800+
- Breweries in the competition - 1,752
- Beers in the competition - 7,227
- Beer categories - 96
- Category with most entries - American-Style India Pale Ale, 312
- Medals awarded - 286
2017
- Attendance - 60,000
- Breweries at the festival - 800+
- Beers at the festival - 3,900+
- Breweries in the competition - 2,217
- Beers in the competition - 7,923
- Beer categories -
2018
- Attendance - 62,000
- Breweries at the festival - 800+
- Beers at the festival - 4,000+
- Breweries in the competition - 2,404
- Beers in the competition - 8,496
2019
- Attendance - 60,000+
- Breweries at the festival - 800+
- Beers at the festival - 4,000+
- Breweries in the competition - 2,295
- Beers in the competition - 9,497
- Beer categories - 107
- Category with most entries - Juicy or Hazy IPA, 348 entries
- Medals awarded - 318
2022
- Attendance - 40,000
- Breweries at the festival - 500
- Beers at the festival - 2,000
- Breweries in the competition - 2,154
- Beers in the competition - 9,904 entries
- Beer categories - 98
- Category with most entries - American Style India Pale Ale, 423 entries
- Medals awarded - 300
2023
- Attendance - 40,000
- Breweries at the festival - 500+
- Beers at the festival -
- Breweries in the competition - 2,033
- Beers in the competition - 9,298
- Beer categories - 263
- Category with most entries - Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale, 365 entries
- Medals awarded - 263