You don’t have to go to Germany to celebrate Oktoberfest – just head over to Denver, Colorado, to drink up at the 26th Great American Beer Festival from October 11-13, 2007. This event is not only the country’s largest ticketed beer festival, it’s also the marquee competition for commercial beer brewers.
Ask anyone who’s picked up a pint of beer in the last decade, and they’ll tell you how far the industry has come. The nation’s imbibers no longer have to settle for mass-market brews; they can take their pick of 1,400 craft brewers creating artisanal beers for a variety of tastes. Many of these specialty brewers can be found at the Great American Beer Festival; just last year, the festival counted 384 breweries serving and more than 1,650 beers for sampling by the public. The competition itself included 450 breweries, who presented 2,410 beers in 69 categories for judging by 103 judges from 9 countries.
Last year, 41,000 attendees – breaking 2005’s total by 28 percent – came together at the Great American Beer Festival to enjoy the largest selection of U.S. beers ever collected in one place.
The same growth enjoyed by the Great American Beer Festival can be seen in the marketplace. Sales of craft beer continue to expand – 2006 saw a 17.8 percent increase, and the brews have enjoyed a 31.5 percent upshot in the last three years – even as large domestic brewers have to deal with stagnant numbers. American beers are now among the best in the world, and many of those leaders can be found at this get-together in Denver.
This year, the Great American Beer Festival will update its practices by adopting "green" policies carried out in conjunction with the Denver Convention Center, where the event is taking place. The bottles, glasses, programs, and other products used in the festival will be recycled, greatly decreasing the waste stream from the gathering. Festival organizers are also encouraging and promoting the use of public transportation to reach the event, thus reducing the fest’s carbon footprint.
Great American Beer Festival
October 11-13, 2007
Colorado Convention Center
Denver, Colorado
