The 2013-2014 year is going to be HUGE for craft beer in the state of Colorado.  This year Denver will play host to the Craft Brewer’s Conference, the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival, starting with GABF in October.

The Brewers Association announced Monday that this year’s Great American Beer Festival will take place October 10, 11, and 12.  Tickets will go on sale to American Homebrewers Association members on July 30 at 10 a.m. for the Saturday MT and general public tickets will be released the next day, July 31at 10 a.m. MT with tickets weighing in at $75 per session through Ticketmaster.

So how do you avoid last year’s ticket crunch and ensure snagging passes to one of the most in-demand events of the year?  Here are some options (without having a hook up in the industry, though that really does help):

1) Become a member of the Brewers Association or American Homebrewers Association.  Membership grants you access to the July 30th pre-sale and ups your odds on getting in.

2) Employ the same tactics the pros use for snagging pre-sale concert tickets:

• Create your Ticketmaster account ahead of time and log in before the sale goes live.
• Make sure your account settings are all up to date with billing information correct.
• Be on the ticketing page at least 5-10 minutes prior to the on-sale time. 
• Begin refreshing the page 2-3 minutes prior to the on sale time.
• DO NOT BE LATE!

3) Give in to the scalpers (but here are more tips if you do)

• If you’re trying to buy for a large group and you don’t want to risk waiting, you’ll have to scour Craigslist or StubHub
• If you can afford to wait, wait till the day of when scalpers are starting to sweat not being able to unload tickets.
• If you’re real ballsy wait till 30 minutes after the festival has started and really drive the price down.

Best of luck to all festival goers, we’ll have more for you leading up to the sale date!