GABF Ticket Sale Dates & 2024 Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Update

We’ve got good news and bad news on the beer festival front. Beginning with the good news, the 2023 Great American Beer Festival has announced that tickets will go on sale July 11 and 12 for this year’s event taking place September 21 – 23.

As with years past, tickets will go on sale first to American Homebrewers Association members on July 11 at 10 a.m. MT. Luckily for those looking to get a jump on tickets, this deal is valid to anyone who joins the AHA by June 29. AHA membership also includes the following perks for GABF ticket sales:

An exclusive AXS presale code
Member presale access on July 11
$10 Member discount on all General Session tickets (Note: member pricing is available during the presale only!)
Lower service fees during the presale
First access to Saturday afternoon Member session tickets
First access to VIP Experience tickets

Meanwhile, tickets will open up to the general public on July 12 at 10 a.m. MT via AXS.

And while the beer festival gods giveth, they also taketh. For the fourth year in a row, the commercial tasting portion of Big Beers, Belgians, and Barleywines, one of the premier beer festivals in the country, will be postponed once again.

The official BBBB website has indicated:

“Our primary concern is that room rates & event costs in the Colorado Rockies continue to climb, while the cost of living and travel for attendees – not to mention costs & labor for breweries, are also high,” said event organizer, Laura Lodge. “It’s not a great formula for hosting a destination event, and until we see the economy settle into a better space it doesn’t make sense.”

And while the commercial tasting portion has become a fan favorite, the spirit of Big Beers will live on with the continuation of its Homebrew Competition as it did last year, with dates to be announced in the coming months.

Through its existence, Big Beers has become a staple of the craft beer industry, bringing together some of the biggest names in beer to represent their brewery for a weekend of seminars, pairing dinners, the aforementioned homebrew competition, and pouring at the main beer festival itself all with the backdrop of a world-class ski resort as its venue. Out of an abundance of caution, Big Beers first went on hiatus in 2021 with the onset of the pandemic, but now seems to face additional challenges in its path toward returning.