Big Gets Bigger
The Great American Beer Festival’s beer list has grown to 1884 beers, a boost of 230 beers beyond last year.
This years annual event in Denver has bumped up the number of attending breweries to 408, 34 more than last year.
In the GABF beer judging, the number of beers has also risen from 2426 to a total of 2806.
“The GABF’s expanded beer list is a reflection of America’s love of craft beer,” says festival director Nancy Johnson. “At this year’s registration deadline, we realized the beer totals were huge, bigger than our anticipated growth. And we kept getting requests from breweries wanting to serve more beers, and new breweries wanting to pour beer at the festival. So we raised the cap on beers and bought more draft gear.”
“With some minor tweaks to the festival floor layout,” Johnson adds, “we were able to add a few more tables for brewers while still keeping the nice wide aisles people expect at the GABF.”
GABF founder and Brewers Association president Charlie Papazian says the bigger GABF beer list fits perfectly with the 2008 GABF’s mission.
“Boosting the ‘Great’ in Great American Beer Festival, that’s been our major emphasis this year,” Papazian says. “Great beer, great brewers, great beer-drinking country, and great fun. That’s what the festival celebrates, and that’s what makes American beer the best value on the planet.”
