Yesterday
(which also happened to be the one year anniversary of Montana Beer!), general sale
tickets for the Great American Beer Festival
came and went (selling out in 41 minutes). Held each year in Denver (this year
it’s October 2-4), over 700 breweries will be present and pouring at the
largest brewfest in the world.
Last
year, 49,000 people showed up, grabbed their glasses, and went to work on
over 3,000 craft beers over the course of three days. Admittedly, I have not
yet been to a GABF, though it’s high on my bucket list. Although, I have been
to a Boulder Strong Ale Festival,
which was as jaw-dropping as it was delicious.
Montana
Beer Finder wrote about the Montana breweries that won last year, and in
previous years, but when a
list was recently published that highlighted which breweries were present
last year but not pouring this year, we reached out to a few of them for
comment.
The list of
Montana breweries who poured last year but not this year is: Draught Works, Big
Sky Brewing, Bowser Brewing Company, Kettlehouse, and Montana Brewing Company.
Sean Graves
of Montana Brewing Company
tells us, “We have poured beers down there for probably the last 10 years. Last
year we were in the brewers’ pavilion. There were no volunteers working, so we
were required to be at the booth the whole event. We generally only send
two people to the festivals. They felt like the missed out on getting to
explore new and exciting styles. We will be back to pouring next year,
but this year we will be focused in on learning about new trends.”
Last year’s
GABF was marked with the hundreds and hundreds of breweries who missed getting
in because of an unforeseen spike in demand for booth space. In an effort to accommodate
more breweries, the Brewers Association offered many on the waiting list the
opportunity to pour their beer in the brewers’ pavilion (which meant no
volunteers to pour and no beers could be judged).
“If you love
beer,” continues Graves, “it is a life changing experience, especially if you
win awards. The first year I attended we won best Brew Pub and 3 Gold
Medals. It was an unforgettable time.”
Graves also suggests to other breweries attending for the first time, "Take as many people from your staff as possible."
Joe Petrilli
from Big Sky Brewing Company told us that Big Sky Brewing only does the GABF
every other year.
As of yet,
we have not heard back from Draught Works, Bowser Brewing, or Kettlehouse.
The Montana
breweries that are attending and pouring at GABF this year include:
- Carter’s Brewing
- Madison River Brewing Company
- Neptune’s Brewery
- Red Lodge Ales Brewing Co.
- Überbrew
Doug Bailey,
“Beerbarian” for Red Lodge Ales Brewing Company, told
Montana Beer Finder:
For
us GABF has multiple uses. Winning a medal is pretty awesome. It is
the biggest competition in the country, so winning means a lot. It also allows
us to get out of the brewery, experiment with some new creative styles, and
come back with some great ideas! It allows us to mingle with our peers in the
industry and talk about things that do and don't work and how to make our
product all the better. We proudly represent Montana as best we can, and
staunchly believe some of the best beer in the country comes from our awesome
state and we love to share that fact with all of the people who visit GABF.
We wish all
the Montana breweries attending and competing in the GABF the best of luck.
Tell us, have you been to GABF, or are you going this year for the first time?
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