From the outside, your favorite brewery probably looks normal this week. But behind the scenes, the staff is feverishly preparing contest entries for the Great American Beer Festival, which takes place Oct. 6-8 at the Colorado Convention Center. Those entries — each brewery is allowed up to seven — are due to the Brewers Association by this Friday, Aug. 26.
That means this week and next are some of the best times during the year to drink local beer since the breweries that are entering the festival competition had to make their most worthy beers in time to submit them — and many of those beers are now on tap for you to enjoy as well.
Dry Dock Brewing in Aurora, for instance, is currently pouring Helles and Docktoberfest Marzen, which are both submissions. After Labor Day, the brewery, one of the winningest at GABF in Colorado history, will tap GABF entries Half Moon Pumpkin Ale, Australian Pale Ale, and Philly Dilly Sour, a new beer made with cucumber juice, dill, coriander and sea salt.
Denver’s Comrade Brewing, meanwhile, just tapped More Dodge, Less Ram Double IPA and Powder Session IPA. The former won gold at GABF in 2019, while the latter will be entered for the first time this year. Comrade is also pouring other GABF entries, like Redcon Irish Red Ale, Barrel Aged Quit Stalin Russian Imperial Stout and Superpower IPA.
David Lin, Comrade’s founder, loves this time of year. In 2021, he ventured to Golden to try all of Cannonball Creek Brewing’s entries — several of which have won previous GABF and World Beer Cup medals and are on tap again now. This week, though, he is planning to visit Launchpad Brewery in Aurora, which took home two World Beer Cup medals last spring.
“Everybody in the industry knows that other breweries will be releasing some of their best stuff around now,” said Launchpad head brewer and part owner Paul Mahoney. “So, I try to visit some breweries that have won before or who I think are on the cusp of winning.”
That list includes Comrade and Cannonball, along with Liquid Mechanics in Lafayette, which Mahoney said is his favorite craft brewer in Colorado. Not only that, but when he drives to Boulder County on Thursday or Friday to drop off his submissions at the GABF warehouse there, he plans to stop by Liquid Mechanics, together with some employees of Bent Barley Brewing, also in Aurora. Over the past few years, they have made the drive and the stop a tradition.
For its part, Launchpad has two GABF contenders on tap right now, an English summer beer and an English porter. Next week, it will tap Peacekeeper, a smoked porter, along with a dry-hopped Belgian golden ale.
“It is pretty exciting to get what we believe are our best chances at pulling a medal at GABF packaged and hauled up to the drop-off location,” Mahoney said. “Honestly, it is a bit of a relief once you leave the facility, as you know there is nothing else you can do at that point.”
