2025 GABF Guided Routes | Best Barrel-Aged & High ABV Beers to Try at GABF

The Great American Beer Festival is finally back! With the insane multitude of beers being served on the festival floor, it can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. So PorchDrinking is once again here to help you navigate that lineup and help with planning your route at the fest. As part of that research, we’ve sifted through every beer pouring at this year’s fest to curate a series of themed routes to help you plan for your GABF based on various styles and flavors.

This morning, we featured lower ABV Lagers, but now we turn up the octane to the best Barrel-Aged & high ABV beers to find at the 2025 Great American Beer Festival. This year’s most prolific barrel-aged producers at the festival include 3 Floyds, Firestone Walker, Maplewood, More Brewing, Radiant Beer, Revolution, River North Brewery, Verboten Brewing, and WeldWerks, to name a few.

Explore a Few Other Guided Routes at the 2025 GABF

• Best Lagers to Try at the 2025 GABF

• Best Hoppy Beers to Try at the 2025 GABF

• Best Sours, Wilds, Mixed Fermentation, and Saisons at the 2025 GABF

Best Barrel-Aged & High ABV Beers to Try at 2025 GABF

3 Floyds Brewing – Fright Section – Booth 2

• Dark Lord – 15% ABV

3 Sons Brewing – Blast Off Section – Booth 1

• Broward County Brand Stout – 14.3% ABV
• Silent Night – 10%

903 Brewers – Score Section – Booth 1

• Black Forrest Cake Stout – 8% ABV
• Banana Fudgesicle Stout – 8%% ABV
• Chupacabra 2 – 13% ABV

AleSmith Brewing Company – Score Section – Booth 3

• Barrel Aged Speedway Stout: Rye Vietnamese Coffee Edition – 14% ABV
• Speedway Stout: Toasted Coconut Vietnamese Coffee – 15% ABV

Avery Brewing – Prost Section – Booth 3

• Limo Tent – 13% ABV

BlackStack Brewing – Prost Section – Booth 6

• Barrel Aged Stout – 14.0% ABV

Boneyard Brewing – Fright Section – Booth 49

• Neighbors With Attitude Barrel-Aged Stout & Barleywine Blend – 13.3% ABV

Breakside Brewery – Prost Section – Booth 10

• Breakside Don’t Worry About That Fireplace!: Blended Barrel-Aged Stout, Barleywine, and Porter aged in Brandy Barrels – 13.5%
• Breakside Learning from Las Vegas Barrel-Aged Stout & Barleywine Blend – 13.8% ABV
• Breakside LIFE Barleywine – 8.8% ABV – Heavy Medal Section

Ex Novo Brewing – Prost Section – Booth 18

• Perle Haggard Pilsner – 5.1% ABV
• 2024 Nevermore Black Barleywine – 11.7% ABV

False Idol Brewing – Score Section – Booth

• Barrel Aged Imperial Stout – 16% ABV
• OG Buff – 13% ABV

Firestone Walker Brewery – Featured Brewery Booth 1

• Parabolita Mocha Latte – 9.2% ABV
• Uber Omni Gruber – 13.6% ABV
• Paso Parabola – 12.4% ABV

Fort George Brewery – Score Section – Booth 25

• Etymology 2024 – 13.1% ABV

Holidaily Brewing – Featured Brewer – Booth G-1

• Santa’s Nightcap – 10% ABV

Lakefront Brewery – Meet the Brewer – Booth B-15

• Brandy Barrel-Aged Imperial Pumpkin Ale – 11.1% ABV

Launch Pad Brewery – Blast Off Section – Booth 18

• Magnificent Desolation: Barrel-Aged Barleywine – 11.2% ABV

Left Hand Brewing – Meet the Brewer – Booth B-18

• Barrel-Aged St. Vrain: Barrel-Aged Tripel – 11.3% ABV

More Brewing Company – Score Section – Booth 37

• Mehndi 2024 – 17.7% ABV

Odyssey Beerwerks – Meet the Brewer – Booth C-9

• Lord FarQUAD – 10.8% ABV

pFriem Family Brewers – Chill Section – Booth 26

• Amaro Barrel Aged Barleywine – 12.0% ABV

Radiant Beer Co. – Prost Section – Booth 51

• Aged to Confection (2024) – BBA Pastry Stout – 13.3% ABV

Ratio Beerworks – Meet the Brewer – Booth C-18

• Genius Wizard: Barrel-Aged Stout – 14% ABV

Revolution Brewing – Score Section – Booth 42

• DETH’S TAR – 14.8% ABV
• 15 YEAR BEER – 15% ABV

River North Brewery – Prost Section – Booth 52

• Barrel Aged Father Time: Barrel-Aged Barleywine – 19.6% ABV
• Barrel Aged Dark Sorceress: Barrel-Aged Imperial Porter – 19.2% ABV
• NightmareFuel: Imperial Coffee Stout – 12.0% ABV
• Barrel Aged God Complex: Barrel-Aged Belgian Quad – 20.6% ABV
• Effed Up Tripel – 16.7% ABV
• Shadowman: Imperial Stout – 16.0% ABV

Sam Adams – Featured Brewer – Booth SA-1

• Samuel Adams Utopias – 29% ABV

Schussboom Brewing Company – Fright Section – Booth 34

• Highland Stag: Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale in 18 Yr Elijah Craig Barrel – 13.1% ABV
• High Speed Quad in Cherry Brandy Barrel – 14.1% ABV

Sierra Nevada – Featured Brewer – Booth BG 22

• Barrel-Aged Ruthless Rye – 8.8% ABV

Sockeye Brewing – Blast Off Section – Booth 47

• Angel of Light: Blonde Barleywine aged in amburana and coffee liqueur barrels – 14.5% ABV
• Seven Devils Single Barrel Reserve – Souza Tequila: Devils Imperial Stout aged in Souza Tequila Barrels  – 10.5% ABV

Sun King Brewery – Prost Section – Booth 33

• The Ghost of Johan’s Ghost: Barrel-aged Robust Porter – 13.8% ABV
• Ouija Heavy (Chocolate Edition): Scottish-Style Wee Heavy Ale – 12.5% ABV

The Bruery – Meet the Brewer – Booth D-7

• Black Tuesday – 19.7% ABV
• BBA Three’s Cocompany: Bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout with coconut, vanilla beans, milk sugar, and oat milk – 13.7% ABV

The Lost Abbey – Prost Section – Booth 67

• Carnevale – 8.5% ABV
• Serpent’s Kiss: Blended Barrel-Aged Stout – 14% ABV

Third Eye Brewing – Chill Section – Booth 36

• Kelly’s Private Stash: Barrel-Aged Barleywine – 13.8% ABV
• Double Astral: Imperial Stout with cocoa nibs and husks – 10% ABV

Toppling Goliath Brewing – Meet the Brewer – Booth D-10

• Assassin – 14.42% ABV

Une Année Brewery – Blast Off Section – Booth 40

• El Zacaton: Imperial stout fermented with almond flour, cacao nibs, cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, ancho chilies, guajillo chilies, habanero chilies, and cherrywood – 12% ABV
• Barrel Aged Peanut Butter Cup – 13% ABV

Verboten Brewing & Barrel Project – Prost Section – Booth 70

• Grow Old With You: Barrel-Aged Barleywine – 13.5% ABV
• Mountain Man: Barrel-Aged English Strong Ale – 12% ABV
• 12th Anniversary Barleywine – 16% ABV
• Others In Darkness: Irish Coffee – 14.5% ABV
• Mojo Filter: Coconut, Vanilla: Blended Wheated Whiskey Barrel-Aged Stout finished with toasted coconut, Madagascar vanilla beans, and Tahitian vanilla beans – 14.5% ABV – Booth 71

WeldWerks Brewing – Featured Brewer – Booth H-18

• Mezcal Barrel Aged Mexican Achromatic – 14.2% ABV
• 2025 Medianoche – 12.6% ABV
• MD Blend #2 – 12%% ABV
• Single Barrel Dubai Chocolate Bar Medianoche – 12.2% ABV