In advance of this year's GABF, which begins September 21 at the Colorado Convention Center, we sat down with six longtime attendees to talk about how the fest has evolved over the years, and to hear some of their favorite memories and their ideas for making the fest even better in the future.
Dev Adams is an Advanced Cicerone with experience in the brewing industry dating back nearly two decades, when she worked at Flying Dog. Chris Black owned and operated the legendary Falling Rock Tap House in Denver from 1997 to 2021. Wayne Burns founded Burns Family Artisan Ales with his wife, Laura Worley, in 2018. Stan Hieronymus is a lifelong journalist who has been writing about beer since the early 1990s. Beth Walter was the keg coordinator for GABF for fifteen years and works at Burns Family Artisan Ales. Robin Zimmerman, who recently began writing about the Denver brewery scene, has been a fan of craft beer since the 1990s and has home-brewing experience.
Here's what they had to say:
Chris Black ran Falling Rock from 1997 until he closed the bar in 2021.
Jonathan Shikes
Adams: In 2006. I was the tour guide for Flying Dog Brewery at 24th and Blake, and since we were one of a tiny handful of breweries in Denver, it was absolute madness all week. Back-to-back-to-back tours — I even slept in the still house at Stranahan's one night. I got to go to GABF with the brewery on Saturday night and made wings, ears and a tail to wear. It seems like breweries who were on the floor had a more festive approach back then: It was the fest we could really let loose at. There were fewer breweries, of course, but it had the same frenetic energy we all know and love. The biggest difference was that the awards were held in the hall during the Saturday members' session; it was so fun to actually be in the room when folks won, especially as a consumer (or non-brewing employee).
Black: In 1997, I showed up with my brick of a cell phone and handed out about a thousand business cards over two sessions. Friday night, at about 9 p.m., my brother calls me and says, "Stop handing out cards and get your ass back here." We were starting to get a line; things were getting crowded.
Burns: In 1997, GABF was a lot quieter and a lot smaller. Everything was word-of-mouth. I didn't own a computer then. For example, I found out about Great Divide when I got to Denver.
Hieronymus: In 1993. That was the year they moved from the Merchandise Mart to Currigan Hall, which, for those who attended before, was a big deal. Compared to today, [the beer list felt] pretty manageable. There were something like 900 beers, but we only counted 26 pilsners on the roster, 28 bocks and 67 stouts. One thing we sensed immediately, and was certainly true through the ’90s, was that this was a place where brewers — and to an extent others in the industry, like the people selling beer — could learn about experiments taking place across the country. It sped up change.
Walter: My first GABF was in 2005. My first year, the event only took up two of the six halls upstairs at the convention center. My last year, we had the entire upper floor of six halls. We didn't even know what specific beers would be there until you walked up to the booth and asked! No app, no printed beer list, no signs unless the brewery put one up. Just try your luck!
Zimmerman: I was just getting introduced to craft beer by a friend in 1994. Ticket prices were $25 to $35, but I was concerned that I would not get my money's worth, since they would only serve an ounce at a time. I later realized that you can drink a lot of beer an ounce at a time! There was always a buzz in the air; it was always packed and busy.
What are some of the things that you like or dislike about the fest then and now?
Adams: The layout now is very confusing, and it can be super easy to get lost from beers you want to try and your friends. Not having a proper app that works offline just exacerbates that issue. Last year, they also shut out guilds from having booths, and I think that really hurt small producers who can't afford to come to the fest itself. It seems like more breweries are just sending beer and not pourers — and I think that hurts the overall vibe. I want to talk to people who work at the breweries, not just volunteer pourers. What I love is the awards ceremony and how joyful it is. I love that most Colorado breweries gather in the same area in the theater and we all cheer each other on. It's such a high. It's also awesome that it's broadcast live so that folks not in the room can still experience it.
Black: I was really not happy a couple of years ago when they did that stupid Jameson thing. We won't let Budweiser have an end cap — and I was part of that decision, and I'm very okay with that — but we'll give the second-largest liquor producer in the world 15,000 square feet? It was fine for a brewery, but I thought it was a very poor position for the organization to take.
Hieronymus: I miss having the awards ceremony in the hall. Of course, it would be nice if the lines were shorter, if brewers were there to pour their beers and it was possible to talk to them about the beers. But how do you do that?
Walter: I miss the "good old days," when it was smaller. It's so much harder to get around to all of the sections now, just because of the distance to travel. I really dislike the years the BA sorts the breweries alphabetically overall instead of within regions. It's easier to try breweries that are new by going to regions I haven't been to. I like that there are more chances to see what the American Homebrew Association is doing, with their booth and the ProAm competition. A lot of folks don't know how awesome and important the AHA is.
Zimmerman: Entering the festival is much better [today]. It's much more efficient now with checking tickets, IDs and staging people to enter.
While GABF is scaled back from its peak, the festival is still one of the largest beer festivals in the world.
Brewers Association
Adams: Last year. It was my third year as a judge, but my first that I was a judge and there was an [in-person] festival. It was really, really cool to sit in the awards and see people whose beers I judged win. It was a different level.
Black: In 2001, we started doing the kickoff event on Monday at five o'clock. Back then, people's idea for GABF promotions was to put a sign out saying buckets of Sam Adams for ten bucks. I thought, that's not what this is about. It's about getting really cool beers and having really cool breweries and hanging out and drinking amazing stuff that you can't get the rest of the year. One year we did 31 events in six days. My favorite years, though, were probably the last couple of years at Currigan Hall in the late ’90s. There was a loft area, and tickets where you could get six-ounce pours. I don't think there was a facility better designed for what we were doing than Currigan Hall.
Burns: 1998 was my first year going to Falling Rock, and from then on it became a big part of GABF.
Hieronymus: Walking around the hall with [actor] George Wendt on a Saturday afternoon in 2009 was fun. The awards ceremony was still in the hall, and there was lots of cheering, and we could go try the latest winner. Not everybody gets to do that. But he stopped and shook hands, people raised their glass and shouted "Norm!" and took a different sort of memory home with them.
Walter: Not one year, per se, although my very first year will always be in my top three. It was so new and fun and unique. The first year we had badges as part of Beer Service, so it was easier to move around behind the islands and booths.
Zimmerman: My first year. It was new and exciting and full of beer. Having just moved to Denver the year before, I was just getting introduced to craft beer and was overwhelmed with all the beers at the festival.
How do you feel about the addition of non-beers this year?
Adams: I'm torn. On the one hand, I think it dilutes the point of it being a beer festival. On the other, having truly gluten-free options is a good thing. There are some really fun, truly gluten-free beers out there, so it's kind of a bummer that people might skip over them because seltzers and ciders are "easier." It could also cause some issues with local breweries that will have to spend even more energy explaining that they don't have cider because legally, they can't — an already contentious issue with customers.
Hieronymus: It doesn't bother me, nor does drinking any of them interest me. I remember when David Pierce at Bluegrass Brewing in Louisville was told to quit pouring mead.
Walter: Redstone Meadery used to be a part of GABF, until the rule came out that nothing but beer could be poured. Then they let Jameson in a few years ago. So it's not that surprising, just weird.
Zimmerman: I'm against it. Maybe ciders, since they are an established product, but I think seltzers are a fad that the big hitters are exploiting so that they can offer something new and trendy in the category of lighter, sweeter and boozy. I don't think they'll last longer than wine coolers or Zima.
What is one way that the current festival could be improved?
Adams: My favorite idea would be that breweries who make the final table (or just those who medal) would be eligible to be part of the "GABF Tour" — a festival of the best breweries touring across the U.S. to give a little taste of GABF to everyone. I would also love it if all beers that make the final judging table get publicly recognized. The number of great beers I've had that just barely didn't medal breaks my heart, as I will never know who made them.
Black: Keep the fest small, like it is now. It's not "small," but it's way smaller than it was, which is fine. And it's the same thing a lot of breweries need to do, is stop focusing on the people that aren't really your customers. Stop worrying about the people that are only coming to your brewery because you have three new things that are just the same beer with three different flavors pumped into it.
Hieronymus: Better signage. I know there is a lot, but — perhaps because some breweries have bigger booths and because of the "not beer" areas — even with map in hand, it can be hard to get from point A to point B.
Walter: I'd like it to go back to being a bit smaller. Not as small as my first year, but not as huge as it has become. I feel like there's been a lot of wasted floor space the past few years, and there's reasoning behind it, but it just makes it feel awkward to me.
Zimmerman: I would like for brewers to be available more. The brewers' forum is okay, though it's better to talk to a brewer about their beer while you are drinking their beer.
One thing that all six of these festival vets emphatically said when asked: The festival should always stay in Denver.
The Great American Beer Festival runs from Thursday, September 21, through Saturday, September 23, at the Colorado Convention Center, 700 East 14th Street; get info and tickets here. And don't miss our ultimate guide to the event.
