After three loooong years (thanks, pandemic), the Great American Beer Festival is finally back at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. And while the official three-day beer megabash, Oct. 6-8, will be 30% smaller this year, according to the Brewers Association (which hosts it), breweries, bars, restaurants and other venues around the city plan to show up with some of the same enthusiasm they had before the pandemic. At least that’s the plan.
It remains to be seen whether people will again party like it’s 2019. Not only that, but Denver has changed. The Falling Rock Taphouse, once the unofficial headquarters for GABF partiers, closed in 2021, while some other familiar haunts, like Euclid Hall and FreshCraft, are also gone. In their places, however, Denver’s beer scene has continued to evolve, with the openings of young and popular venues like Ephemeral Taproom, Cohesion Brewing and MobCraft Beer.
Wanna dive in? Here’s our guide to what’s going on during the week before the festival and through the weekend. (We will continue to add to this list as we hear of new events.)
Saturday, Oct. 1
Barrels & Bottles Brewery has something to say on the eve of Great American Beer Festival week. “Leading into GABF when all the taps around the state are being taken over with DDH, imperial, pastry, triple fruited, gooey, sticky and what-have-you-nots, [we thought] it would be great to get together and celebrate light, crisp lager in all its glory,” the brewpub wrote on Facebook. As such, its Camp George West location, 1055 Orchard St., Golden, will host its first Krispy King Lager Competition featuring 20 breweries pouring 20 lagers. Brewery reps will be on hand all day.
“With gratitude and appreciation,” Our Mutual Friend Brewing, 2810 Larimer St., humbly hosts its ninth Gratitude Party from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. — an event that takes place annually on the Saturday before GABF. The festivities include live DJs, new merchandise and specialty releases like Gratitude Nine-Lingonberry Saison; Customer Appreciation Session IPA; The Big Expense English-Style Barleywine; and many more.
Monday, Oct. 3
Ephemeral Rotating Taproom, which opened in June at 2301 E. 28th Ave., will feature at least 14 beers (and possibly more) from Portland’s acclaimed Great Notion Brewing this week. The taproom has an unusual concept: Rather than featuring a menu of beers from a wide range of breweries, it focuses on just one brewery every few weeks, with up to 20 taps of its beer. The owners of Ephemeral expect the Great Notion beers to kick quickly.
Tuesday, Oct. 4
First Draft Taproom & Kitchen, 1309 26th St., hosts a Border Wars Tap Takeover featuring beers from breweries in Wyoming and northern Colorado, including Roadhouse Brewing, Snake River Brewing, Purpose Brewing, Grimm Bros. Brewing, Horse & Dragon and more.
Kick the week off early at Finn’s Manor, 2927 Larimer St., which will have stellar beers on tap all week. Oct. 4 and 5, you’ll find beverages from some of the country’s premier producers of hoppy ales.
Wednesday, Oct. 5
PorchDrinking, the influential Denver-based booze and culture blog, celebrates its 10th anniversary with a GABF throwdown featuring some of the breweries and other manufacturers that have “inspired, supported and helped” its staff of writers over the years. More than 35 breweries, distilleries, cideries and more will be on hand at York Street Yards, 3833 Steele St., Suite 1332 (near Cohesion Beer Co.) for the PorchDrinking 10th Anniversary Beer Fest. They include plenty of local beer-makers, as well as several heavy hitters from out of state. Tickets are $60-$75 and include VIP early admission at 5 p.m. and general admission at 6.
Hops & Pie, 3920 Tennyson St., kicks the week off by tapping a variety of beers distributed here by Crooked Stave Artisans. The breweries include Sante Adarius, pFriem, Jester King, Toppling Goliath, Cellarmaker, Riip, Alchemist, Fremont, The Veil, Maine Beer. Co and many more.
Baere Brewing, 320 Broadway, is bringing in sour beers from 10 breweries around the state for a Celebration of Sours starting at noon. They are: Cerebral Brewing, TRVE Brewing, Wild Provisions, Purpose Brewing, Our Mutual Friend, Crooked Stave, Primitive Beer, Westbound & Down, Novel Strand and Mockery Brewing. There will also be glassware, food, non-sour beer, non-alcoholic options and one of Baere’s favorite beer releases of the year on tap and in cans.
Westbound & Down Brewing hosts a grand opening for the LoDo pop-up taproom that opened a few months back. There will be live music, while the restaurant Bruto will be serving grilled fare. The taproom is in the Free Market building in the Dairy Block alley, at 1801 Blake St.
Speaking of Westbound & Down, the brewery will be featured at Sloan’s Lake Tap & Burger, 1565 N. Raleigh St., as the first in a series of GABF-week events. Beers include a collaboration hazy IPA with Sloan’s; Westbound’s ground-breaking Italian pilsner; Meta Blackberry, a mixed-culture sour; and Bourbon Barrel Aged Western Justice Imperial Stout.
First Draft Taproom & Kitchen, 1309 26th St., will feature beers distributed by Crooked Stave Artisans, including Parish Brewing, Societe Brewing, Toppling Goliath, Cellarmaker, The Veil, Maine Beer, Great Notion and Nightshift Brewing.
It’s Wisconsin Wednesday at MobCraft/Dee Tacko, 2403 Champa St., which is celebrating breweries from MobCraft’s home state. The newly opened beer maker will also be serving a traditional Wisconsin fish fry; Lakefront Brewery will bring the cheese curds.
Ratio Beerworks is getting out of the office with events at other locations around town. On Oct. 5, the brewery will debut its new Lucky Lighter Kolsch at the punk-themed Occidental Bar, 1950 W. 32nd Ave. Ska Brewing, Half Acre Beer Co. and Boneyard Beer will be there as well.
River North Brewery will tap three barleywines every day this week at its location at 3400 Blake St. The tap takeover will feature vintage, barrel-aged, blonde and double barrel-aged versions of these big, malty brews. There also will be special releases throughout the week.
If you haven’t had a chance to try Jade Mountain Brewery & Teahouse’s delicious and unusual beers yet, this is your chance to get them in Denver. Bao Brewhouse (in the former Euclid Hall space at 1317 14th St.) hosts a tap takeover by the Aurora brewery.
Oskar Blues Grill + Brew, 1624 Market St., hosts the Colorado Brewers Guild for a tap takeover all day long that features breweries from all over the state that are members of the guild. More than 40 taps will be dedicated to breweries in attendance. Live music starts at 6 p.m.
All aboard at Union Station, where the Terminal Bar throws a GABF pre-party by ceding its taps to local breweries from 6 to 9 p.m. on the patio. They are: 4 Noses Brewing, WeldWerks Brewing, Outer Range Brewery, Wibby Brewing, Station 26 Brewing and Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project. Advanced registration is highly recommended on Eventbrite.
Em Sauter is an advanced cicerone and illustrator who has been educating aspiring beer nerds for a decade with cute cartoons under her Pints & Panels moniker. She will be selling merchandise and signing copies of her book, “Hooray for Craft Beer! An Illustrated Guide to Beer” at The Slate Denver hotel (5 to 7 p.m.) and Cohesion Brewing (9 to 10 p.m.).
Thursday, Oct. 6
Hops & Pie gets the party started by tapping beers from Culture Beverage, a distributor, that are rarely seen in Colorado. Not all of these beers might be tapped right away, but they include: Tripping Animals’ Fruited Sky and Everhaze; Drowned Lands’ Sapling and Autumn Terra; Hop Butchers’ Hazy Try Again; Triple Grid and Blazed Orange; Bow & Arrow’s Denim Tux; Wolves & People’s Benjamin Plum and Jarrebees; The Referend’s Berliner Messe; Urban South’s Resonance; and New Glory’s Vanilla Infinite Void.
The High Lonesome, a north Denver spot that’s one part dive and one part hip cocktail bar, will party from 4 to 6 p.m. with its friends at Ratio Beerworks, Maui Brewing Co., Modern Times Beer, Ska Brewing and Telluride Brewing Co. The High Lonesome is at 3360 Navajo St.
MobCraft/Dee Tacko, 2403 Champa St., is celebrating diversity and inclusion in the beer industry with a focus on beers created by brewers from underrepresented communities.
Westbound & Down Brewing dive into West Coast-style IPAs at its new pop-up taproom at 1801 Blake St. in LoDo. The brewery will tap beers from some of the West Coast All-Stars breweries it has collaborated with over the years, including Beachwood Brewing, Boneyard Beer, Breakside Brewery, Cannonball Creek Brewing, Comrade Brewing, Fremont Brewing, Grains of Wrath, La Cumbre Brewing, Pizza Port and Riip Beer. The taproom opens at 11 a.m.
TRVE Brewing plumbs the depth of crispy beers with Bottom Feeders, an annual showcase of lagers that will be held in the brewery’s Dumpster Garden, a patio in the back-alley parking lot next door. From 2 to 10 p.m., you’ll find lagers from breweries around the country.
First Draft Taproom & Kitchen, 1309 26th St., features beers from Boulevard Brewing, Ommegang, Horse & Dragon, Purpose, Mockery, Modern Times, WeldWerks, Cerebral and more.
The Other Half Brewing out of Brooklyn will take over the taps at Cerebral Brewing, pouring several different beers. The brewery is known for its hazy IPAs.
You can also find Other Half and Cerebral beers at Finn’s Manor, 2927 Larimer St., which continues a stellar week of tap takeovers. Other beers on tap on Oct. 6 will be from Vitamin Sea, Humber Sea, Finback and Beachwood Blendery.
Sloan’s Lake Tap & Burger, 1565 Raleigh St., gets friendly with the Pacific Northwest today. Find beers from Boneyard, Ecliptic, Great Notion, Fremont, pFriem and Deschutes.
As it does every year, Lowdown Brewery + Kitchen, 800 Lincoln Ave., will host Indiana’s 3 Floyds Brewing for a tap takeover all day long. 3 Floyds doesn’t distribute beer to Colorado, so this is a rare event. Beers include Gumballhead, Zombie Dust, Broodoo Harvest Ale and Alpha King, along with many more. No tickets are needed.
Beer writer and educator David Nilsen, in town for GABF, will lead a curated chocolate-and-beer pairing at Lady Justice Brewing, 9735 E. Colfax Ave. from 1 to 3 p.m. Nilsen, an advanced cicerone and host of the Bean to Barstool podcast, will discuss each of the four chocolates he has paired with Lady Justice beers, including the new Barrel-Aged Rye Porter, aged six months in a Laws Whiskey House Secale Rye Whiskey barrel. Get tickets, for $30, here.
Vintages of Epic Brewing Co.’s seasonal delicacy, Big Bad Baptist, make an appearance at the brewery in RiNo, 3001 Walnut St. Stop by 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. to enjoy a 2019 version of Bigger Badder Baptista, brewed with smoked malt and aged in whiskey and mezcal barrels, as well as a 2019 vintage of Big Bad Baptist Sextuple Barrel, aged in whiskey barrels alongside six different barrel-aged ingredients. The party is free to attend and food from Wright Sausage Co. will be available for purchase.
Friday, Oct. 7
TRVE Brewing debuts an event that it hopes will become an annual tradition: Iron Maidens, which celebrates breweries that are owned or operated by women (or that have women who are the lead brewers). “We count ourselves beyond fortunate to keep company with and pour beer alongside those on this list,” the brewery said about its inaugural lineup, which includes Burial Beer Company, Bierstadt Lagerhaus, Wah Gwaan Brewing, Resident Culture, Goldspot Brewing, Novel Strand, Jagged Mountain and Lady Justice Brewing. The tapping runs from 2 to 10 p.m. in TRVE’s Dumpster Garden, 227 Broadway, which is the parking lot patio next door in the alley.
GABF is the biggest week of the year at Hops & Pie, and this might be one of the biggest nights of GABF. The pizzeria is featuring a wide swath of beers from WeldWerks and Casey Brewing, both elite Colorado breweries.
Finn’s Manor, 2927 Larimer St., continues a stellar week of tap takeovers by hosting Jester King, Sante Adairius, Chuckanut, pFriem, La Cumbre, Wayfinder, Perennial, Riip, The Veil, Great Notion, Alesong and Greencheek.
Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery, 1139 20th St., is celebrating hops from around the globe by tapping collaborations it has made with Mill95 Hops, ZA Hops, Crooked Yard Hops, Flathead Valley Hops and Montana Craft Malt. The brewery will also feature guest taps from Our Mutual Friend, Vail Brewing, MobCraft Beer, Diebolt Brewing, Launch Pad Brewing, Baere Brewing, Payette Brewing, and Lady Justice Brewing.
Cart-Driver always seems to end up at the center of things during GABF, and this year is no exception. The restaurant, at 2500 Larimer St., will host Ratio Beerworks for a special happy hour party featuring $2 oysters and $5 cans of GABF award-winning Dear You Citra French Saison on the back patio.
The Denver Rare Beer Tasting returns to the McNichols Building, 144 W. Colfax Ave., for its lucky 13th edition. Organizers have released a list of 58 of America’s leading craft breweries that will be serving unusual, rare and highly sought-after beers. A benefit for Pints for Prostates, a prostate cancer awareness group, the tasting costs $200 per person, and the tickets include lunch, a tasting glass, a T-shirt and all the beer you can drink. There will be only one session this year, from noon to 4 p.m. (and only 600 tickets available). Info at pintsforprostates.org.
MobCraft/Dee Tacko, 2403 Champa St., and Wyoming’s Melvin Brewing will revive the Falling Rock Taphouse’s former tradition of hosting an IPA Throwdown. The draft lines will be full of the most sought-after IPAs in craft beer, and former Falling Rock owner Chris Black will be on hand.
It’s GABFiesta time at Raices Brewing, which celebrates diversity within the craft brewing industry by offering live music and beer starting at 1 p.m.
Station 26 Brewing brings back Same Day IPA, which it will distribute in kegs to nearly 40 bars and restaurants around town for tappings at different times. The GABF tradition is a hoppy beer that is finished, kegged, delivered and tapped all in the same tap. See Station 26’s Facebook page for a list of locations to try the very fresh beer.
First Draft Taproom & Kitchen, 1309 26th St., features beers from Other Half Brewing, Vitamin Sea Brewing, Finback Brewing, Tripping Animals, Primitive Beer, Drowned Lands, Peculier Ales, Jolly Pumpkin, Wolves & People, Bow & Arrow, Hop Butcher and more.
Stop by Epic Brewing Co. in RiNo , 3001 Walnut St., for the Firkin Fiasco, which includes five small-batch tappings of uniquely flavored beers. Examples include the Banana Split, a Hefeweizen with lactose, banana, cacao nibs and cherry; Rose Light, Epic’s lager conditioned on rose petals; and Big Bad Baptist Gone Nutty, its famous imperial stout flavored with hazelnuts, peanuts and almonds. Tap in on the fun 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 8
Finn’s Manor, 2927 Larimer St., continues a stellar week of tap takeovers by hosting WeldWerks Brewing, Casey Brewing & Blending, Tripping Animals, Outer Range and Resident Culture.
Not all recovery brunches are created equal. Sloan’s Lake Tap & Burger gets you on the mend with a menu from celebrity chef Carrie Baird, along with chefs Chet Henderson and Zach Carlton. As for beers, you’ll find the extremely rare Founders French Toast Backwoods Bastard, as well as Boulevard Stuff of Legend BBA Oreo Stout and Downeast Donut Cider.
After days of indulging in American-made beer, perhaps you’d like some international flavor to cleanse your palate. Hop over to Cerveceria Colorado, 1635 Platte St., which brings back its annual Great Mexican Beer Fiesta. Attractions include lucha libre wrestling matches, folklorico dancing, a market featuring artisans, food trucks and, of course, beer. Cerveceria Colorado, an offshoot of Denver Beer Co., collaborated with several Mexican brewers on special releases for the event featuring ingredients native to their home region. Those include a prickly pair and blue corn saison made in partnership with CervecerÃa Hércules; a pilsner with soursop fruit and agave syrup made in partnership with Cerveza CaserÃo; a pozol porter created in partnership with CervecerÃa Cielito Lindo and Denver’s Cultura Chocolate; and a ginger-hibiscus seltzer made in partnership with Cervecera Cru Cru.
Cerebral Brewing, 1477 Monroe St., hosts its second annual Market Research night with guest lager cans from all across the country. The brewery is also re-releasing some special cases from its cellar, and dropping a few different collaborations.
Cerebral also heads out into the field for Field Research night at Hops & Pie, 3920 Tennyson St., which will tap beers from Cerebral and its friends, including Vitamin Sea, Humble Sea, Finback, and Other Half, along with plenty of swag. Things kick off at 11:30 a.m.
As it does every year, Comrade Brewing will open early on Oct. 8, at 10 a.m., for a GABF awards watch party. The ceremony will be live-streamed, and Comrade has some skin in this game. There will be Lamar’s donuts available and Comrade will tap Grapefruit Superpower IPA.
OK, so it’s not beer, but it does have GABF in its name. The Post Chicken & Beer in LoHi, 1575 Boulder St., will hold its Great American Bubbles & French Fry Festival (GABFFF) from 3 to 4:30 p.m. featuring “a hot and crispy assortment of fries. Think shoestring, waffle, steak, tots, potato chips, sidewinders, chicken thigh fries and more. With all the dipping sauces you can dream of: Green Goddess, Spicy Mayo, Black Garlic, Dukes Mayo, Caviar Beurre Blanc, Wendy’s Frosty Dairy Desserts, ketchup,” organizers say. (A VIP session with Levasseur Trait de Saison 2015, caviar deviled eggs, fried chicken bites and caviar bumps starts at 2:15.) General admission tickets are $59 per person; VIP is $139. Buy them here.
MobCraft Beer/Dee Tacko, 2403 Champa St, tips its cap to the lighter beer styles with its Lager Lounge, which will roll out lagers from a variety of breweries.
Em Sauter is an advanced cicerone and illustrator who has been educating aspiring beer nerds for a decade with cute cartoons under her Pints & Panels moniker. She will be selling merchandise and signing copies of her book, “Hooray for Craft Beer! An Illustrated Guide to Beer” at Lady Justice Brewing (1 to 3 p.m.).
Sunday, Oct. 9
Say goodbye to GABF week at Cohesion Brewing, which hosts Let’s Lager, featuring lagers from Outer Range Brewing, Tripping Animals Brewing, Live Oak Brewing, Novel Strand Brewing, Resident Culture, Wild Provisions and more. DJ Schooley will be spinning tunes.
