GABF
The PorchCast Ep 63 | Ken Grossman – Sierra Nevada Brewing
October 4, 2019 | Tristan Chan
In episode 63 of the PorchCast, the whole squad sat down with Ken Grossman, founder of Sierra Nevada Brewing, at the dawn of the Great American Beer Festival to talk about their 40th Anniversary.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
2019 Great American Beer Fest | Standouts and Recap from Day One
October 4, 2019 | Mike Zoller
As bagpipers marched into the Colorado Convention Center Thursday evening to officially usher in the 38th annual Great American Beer Festival the PorchDrinking team was feverishly sampling as many beers as possible, to discover hidden gems and standouts from night one.
Great Divide Brewing Company | Mexican Chocolate Yeti
October 4, 2019 | Seth Garland
Fans of Denver staple and craft beer OG Yeti from Great Divide already know the importance of starting with a quality base beer before throwing a bunch of variants out into the saturated market. With Yeti–one of the most recognizably branded beers in the country–there’s no shortage of variants, ranging from horchata and chai to the beloved barrel-aged chocolate and vanilla Stouts that have made their way onto store shelves at different points in time.
With so many solid variants available in stores, and even more available at Great Divide’s taphouse and RiNo Barrel Bar, how do you pick just one to review? And with so many other beers to choose from in the craft beer market at-large, how does a brewery stay relevant?
Ultimate 6er | ‘Lover’ Comes to Great American Beer Festival
October 3, 2019 | Danielle Engel
The Great American Beer Fest is an awe-inspiring menagerie of beer. Good beer, weird beers, surprising styles, and not nearly enough time to give them all a thoughtful pause. It can be overwhelming to know where to start, so we over at PorchDrinking have several different routes that we have planned out to make it easier for those who love specific styles. There isn’t really a wrong way to do GABF (except not drinking water, please drink water) so here is a way to dive in that is more musically inclined.
PorchDrinking’s 2019 Great American Beer Festival Survival Guide
October 2, 2019 | Mathew Powers
The Great American Beer Festival began in 1982 with 24 breweries serving 47 beers to fans for a single, five-hour session. Today, the number of external events exceed the beers poured at that first fest, and the convention hall will allow patrons to select from more than 3,500 beers. What do you drink? Where do you go? How can one possibly navigate such a colossal beer experience? We at PorchDrinking.com have tried to make the process simpler, writing more than a dozen stories on the event. And, to further simplify it, we have now put all those stories in one location.
First a few important notes on this year’s festival:
- A few tickets still remain for Thursday Night and Saturday Night sessions. Tickets available here.
- This year’s festival format returns to booths being arranged alphabetically by region.
- Attendees of ALL sessions will receive glass cups instead of plastic.
- Thursday Night, Friday Night and Saturday Night Sessions begin at 5:30, Saturday’s Day Session begins at Noon. For first time attendees, we recommend arriving at least an hour and a half before your session to wait in line.
- Don’t forget to check out other sections for hidden gem beers. The Brewers Guild section has guild representatives from several states that bring beers from breweries that aren’t otherwise pouring on the festival floor.
- The Heavy Medal section has beers pouring from past GABF medal winners.
- There’s a Fresh Hop booth with all fresh/wet-hopped beers.
- Several breweries will have special timed releases that aren’t otherwise listed on the pour list. Modern Times Beer, for example, will have a different special release each day of the fest.
Enjoy GABF. Enjoy Beer. Enjoy Craft in all it glory. And here are more tools to help you enjoy the week.
2019 GABF Guided Routes | Fruit-Forward Beers to Try at GABF
October 1, 2019 | Karen Mills
This was made possible by Molly’s Spirits, your go-to stop for some of the best local and national beer drops throughout GABF week and beyond!
For the past two months, … Read More
2019 GABF Guided Routes | Sour & Wild Beers to Try at GABF
October 1, 2019 | Tristan Chan
This was made possible by Molly’s Spirits, your go-to stop for some of the best local and national beer drops throughout GABF week and beyond!
For the past two months, our staff has been researching styles for each beer pouring at the Great American Beer Festival. As part of that research, we’ve sifted through that list of beers to bring you a series of themed routes to help you plan for your GABF based on various styles and flavors.
2019 GABF Guided Routes | Hoppy Beers to Try at GABF
September 30, 2019 | Tristan Chan
This was made possible by Molly’s Spirits, your go-to stop for some of the best local and national beer drops throughout GABF week and beyond!
For the past two months, … Read More
2019 GABF Guided Routes | Lagers & Session Beers to Try at GABF
September 30, 2019 | Tristan Chan
This was made possible by Molly’s Spirits, your go-to stop for some of the best local and national beer drops throughout GABF week and beyond!
For the past two months, … Read More
2019 GABF Guided Routes | Big Beers & Pastry Stouts to Try at GABF
September 30, 2019 | Tristan Chan 1
This was made possible by Molly’s Spirits, your go-to stop for some of the best local and national beer drops throughout GABF week and beyond!
For the past two months, our staff has been researching styles for each beer pouring at the Great American Beer Festival. As part of that research, we’ve sifted through that list of beers to bring you a series of themed routes to help you plan for your GABF based on various styles and flavors.
GABF Spotlight | The Best DC Metro Area Beers
September 30, 2019 | Casey Street
The 2019 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is almost upon us and with it, more than 4,000 different beers at your disposal. With so many amazing brews to try and so little time, PorchDrinking.com is bringing you the best beers to try in the history of mankind. Or rather, we’re bringing you the best beers to try from the Washington D.C. metropolitan area at the 2019 GABF.
Among Virginia, Maryland and D.C., there are too many good breweries to handle. So we’ve narrowed down the list to the top beers in the area. It’s a tough battle with each brewery bringing the heat at GABF, so start with the recommendation and then see what else they have to offer.
GABF Spotlight | The Best Pacific Northwest Beers
September 27, 2019 | Karl Kalinkewicz
Going to the Great American Beer Festival, or GABF, is like going to another giant establishment with four letters: IKEA. If you don’t have a plan, things are going to turn out ugly. You end up with a shopping cart/stomach full of things you didn’t need, and because of your inability to resist the siren’s call you’re going to cover your home with all sorts of terrible colors.
Here at PorchDrinking.com we’re playing the Jedi to your beer Padawan, guiding you through the overwhelming forest of malts to beer nirvana. Our experts have selected a few noteworthy beers from their region that you need to seek out. So make a list, stick to the plan and do not be distracted by the beautiful celebrities. Here are seven great beers to try, all hailing from the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Detailed Pour List | What’s Pouring at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival
September 26, 2019 | Tristan Chan 1
This was made possible by Molly’s Spirits, your go-to stop for some of the best local and national beer drops throughout GABF week and beyond!
While the initial pour list for the 2019 Great American Beer Festival was first announced two months ago, we’ve gone through the list and updated each beer with detailed style descriptions (as best as available) to help you plan for your festival tasting experience.
GABF Spotlight | The Best Chicagoland Beers
September 26, 2019 | Mike Zoller
There will be more than 4,000 beers poured at this year’s Great American Beer Festival. It is impossible to try every beer there, it would even be a feat if you tried 3% of all the beers being poured at the event.
I went through the pour list of every Illinois brewery pouring at GABF this year and picked out a handful of beers that if you’re not from the state, should be on your list to try. Keep in mind that pour lists do change and so I’m going off of what is available on the festival’s website. I’ll also give you an honorable mention beer from each brewery that may not be the most hyped up beer they have, but it’s still worth trying.
Also, know that a lot of breweries submit beer for judging but don’t make the trip out to Denver to pour their beer. So if you saw that your favorite brewery sent beer to GABF, it doesn’t mean that they are actually going to be there for you to try. Read More
GABF State Spotlight | The Best Ohio Beers
September 24, 2019 | David Nilsen
I’m just going to cut to the chase: We make some really good beers in Ohio, and if you’re going to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver on October 3-5, you’ll get to taste quite a few of them. To help you plan your tasting tour, here are some of my favorite Ohio beers that will be poured at GABF.
2019 GABF Out-of-State Beer Drops Available in Denver
September 19, 2019 | Tristan Chan
This is a sponsored post from Molly’s Spirits, your go-to stop for some of the best local and national beer drops throughout GABF week and beyond. | Header Photo by Miguel Rivas
As we’ve all come to know, the Great American Beer Festival has far greater implications for Colorado beer fans that extend beyond the four-day festival itself. One of those external benefits is the growing practice of out-of-state breweries utilizing the week to make a special limited drop of beers either as a means to test the market, or just to make a splash to help grow their brands.
Fiction Beer Company | Electrum Bronze
September 19, 2019 | Scott Davidson
Last year, the Brewers Association introduced Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale category at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival, becoming the first national competition to recognize the category. It was one of the highest entered categories of 2018, with 132 entries from across the United States. Only three breweries won medals, Fiction Beer Company in Denver, Colorado was among the winners, earning a Bronze Medal for Madame Psychosis.
The Complete 2019 GABF Week Events Guide
September 16, 2019 | Mathew Powers
For one week a year, Denver and the surrounding metro area turn upside down for the Great American Beer Festival. While the festival floor is a great place to sample thousands of beers from all across, the events happening outside of the festival have become equally as impressive and formidable. From tap take-overs to beer dinners, special release to actual full-blown separate beer festivals all together have broken off of GABF. So, to help provide some perspective and frothy guidance, we have made that navigation a bit easier with a 2019 GABF Week Events Guide. Too much to sort through and choose? Don’t worry, chuggernaut, we got you covered.
The World Lupulin Challenge | A New Hop-Forward Beer Competition Calls for Entries
September 12, 2019 | Max Sundermeyer
The World Lupulin Challenge is a new competition born out of the desire to identify and recognize the best commercially brewed IPAs and Pale Ales. The Challenge will award gold, … Read More
2019 GABF Pour List | Here’s What Every Brewery is Pouring at GABF
July 31, 2019 | Tristan Chan 2
For years, the folks at the Brewers Association have tightly guarded their pour list for the Great American Beer Festival, opting not to release that list until the week of … Read More
recent comments