GABF 2013 – What’s New For This Year?

We are a little over a month away from the biggest beer festival in the US, The Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO.  We caught up with the Brewers Association to find out what is new/what has changed for this years shin dig. Cheers!

Expanded brewpub pavilion: Last year, the Brewpub Pavilion debuted with 24 breweries representing all regions of the country. For 2013, the number of brewers has increased to 36.

New 2013 competition categories: The 2013 GABF competition will judge 138 beer styles organized into 84 GABF professional competition categories and subcategories, plus the GABF Pro-Am Competition. The two new categories are:

• Grodzisz – This straw-colored ale packs a punch with bold flavor derived from oak wood-smoked wheat malt. Originally a Polish style, Grodzisz is a crisp, light-bodied beer that rarely exceeds 3.7% ABV.
• Adambier—A dark beer that hails from Dortmund, this ale has more unusual flavors than its lighter-colored kin. Adambier may be aged in barrels to achieve a slight Brettanomyces or lactic character, which, combined with an ABV ranging from 9%-11%, makes for a full-bodied beer.

New GABF app: Coming later this fall, the GABF mobile app has been entirely revamped and improved. For iOS (iPhone) and Android, the new app will offer:

• Guided tours around the festival based on the types of beers an attendee loves
• Easy brewery locator on the festival map
• The ability to both rate and take notes on beers tasted; users can add them to and check them off their lists within the app
• The 2013 GABF beer list will be released to the app on Wednesday before the festival (Editors note: The Full Pint will be pumping out as many as we can before then)

More beer!

In 2013, attendees will be offered over 3,100 beers from 624 breweries in the festival hall. Additionally, 4,875 beers will be evaluated by 210 judges in the GABF competition, which represents a 12 percent increase from last year in the number of beers judged. (Note: These numbers are subject to change and will be finalized upon the conclusion of GABF; final numbers will be distributed via a press release on October 12, 2013.)

Now I have some sad news for your brewers, members of the media and festival volunteers.  There will be no after-festival reception in the hotel basement. The party commonly referred to as the “Losers party” has been discontinued this year. Here is the explanation:

“The party was originally a small, private, informal gathering to thank GABF judges and competition volunteers. Over the last few years, via word of mouth, the number of people attending this private gathering grew to the point where the Brewers Association is no longer hosting this unofficial event due to liability concerns.”