2015 GABF Theme Route | Fruit Beers

If life gives you lemons, throw them in an awesome shandy or sour beer. You can find almost every fruit in the pour list for this year’s Great American Beer Festival. From strawberries to blueberries and even guava, the fruit added to beer gives it another level of complexity and often refreshment too. Fruit can be added to pretty much any beer style, which means this theme route can take you to a smorgasbord of flavors on your palette. Chris Day, Tristan Chan, and I looked through the list of GABF beers to help you hone in on fruit beers at the festival. Again, this list is not the end-all, be-all list of fruit beers, but it can help you jump start your adventure. Let us guide your way to the Fruit Beers at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival.

Other themed routes:

• Sour/Wild Beers
• Big Beers
• Rare Beers
• Hoppy Beers
• Unique Beers

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Red Brick Brewing | Georgia’s Oldest Craft Brewery Celebrates 22 Years

This weekend, Atlanta’s Red Brick Brewing Co., Georgia’s oldest craft brewery, is throwing a big birthday bash for its 22 anniversary — and there’s a lot to celebrate.

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Event Recap | Beers Made By Walking

Beers Made By Walking is a national event that highlights unique beers only found at the festival, that were inspired by nature walks in the brewer’s home state. The … Read More

2015 GABF Theme Route | Unique Beers

Check out our other themed routes:

• Sour/Wild Beers
• Big Beers
• Rare Beers
• Hoppy Beers
• Fruit Beers

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Odell Brewing Co. | Mountain Standard Double Black IPA

ABV: 9.5%

This week marks the start of Autumn and while pumpkin beers seem to currently be the rage, I find myself always picking up a 4-pack of Odell Brewing Company’s Mountain Standard Double Black IPA come this time of year. This beer is around for a brief time each Autumn (as it is Odell’s current seasonal release) right around when we are all about to set our clocks back to “Mountain Standard Time”, it is quite the catchy name if you ask me! In conjunction to it being a dark beer and it getting dark at 5 p.m. soon, the name is even more clever the more you think about it. As much as I dread summer ending each year, I do look forward to the release of this special gem!
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How to One Up that Pretzel Necklace

The age old debate on whether to wear a pretzel necklace to a beer festival dates back to Baron Marzen Dortmunder Zwickel Weizendoppelbock III’s attendance at the very first Oktoberfest in 1810, the tradition continued when Benjamin Franklin donned his own braided treat to Thomas Jefferson’s collaboration fest with fellow founding father Samuel Adams. And now we celebrate these pioneers by donning our own tasty carb-tastic accessories. However, as the times change and fashion evolves we’ve learned to upgrade our necklaces to hold much more than mere pretzels. While some have tricked out their gear with beef jerky, cookies, doughnuts and more, we thought we’d take it to the next level by asking Xzibit to… Read More

Brewery Showcase | Fiction Beer Company

7101 E Colfax Ave, Denver, Colorado 80220
400 bbl (expecting to double next year)
Opened September 2014

Hours of Operation:

Wed-Thu: 2:00 pm-10:00 pm
Fri-Sat: 2:00 pm-11:00 pm
Sun: 2:00 pm-10:00 pm

**There is free street parking off of Pontiac Ave.

Prologue: About Fiction Beer Company

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” ― Toni Morrison

One year ago, Ryan Kilpatrick and his wife Christa Kilpatrick brought Morrison’s quote to life and established Fiction Beer Company as the first brewery on Colfax Avenue. Nestled in the East Denver neighborhoods of Park Hill, Montclair, Stapleton, Mayfair, and Lowry, Fiction has become a local favorite. Their motto is “to rewrite the Denver beer scene by combining the two wonderfully imaginative crafts of beer and literature together.” A year later, they have successfully brought their dream to life: releasing over 28 different styles of beer, all of which tie into the world of literature.

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GABF Tour | Denver Breweries You Won’t Find on the Floor

With all the focus on GABF this week, it’s easy to overlook the fact that more than a dozen Denver breweries won’t be pouring at the festival, including some of our favorites. When you have some downtime in between sessions, consider visiting one of these local breweries, especially if you’re an out-of-towner. Many are hosting special tappings and other events to celebrate the fest. Check our event calendar for more details. Read More

2015 GABF Theme Route | Rare Beers

Great American Beer Festival can be a great place to summon your inner-Indiana Jones and find a real treasure in the beer world. Breweries utilize GABF to show off some of their biggest and best beers, but if you play your cards right, you can also find some once-in-a-lifetime finds. Chris Day, Tristan Chan, and I searched high and low through brewery pour lists to find you your Holy Grail.

Let our list guide you and your travel companions on a journey to find some of the festival’s rarest beers. Keep in mind that there are many other gems to find on your own too!

Other themed routes:

• Sour/Wild Beers
• Big Beers
• Hoppy Beers
• Unique Beers
• Fruit Beers

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Creature Comforts | See The Stars Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout

ABV: 10.9%

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. experienced a milestone this month that was marked with a handful of firsts for the brewery. They bottled their first barrel aged stout, which was released at their first bottle release event that turned out to be their largest event since opening. The entire event was calculated with as much attention to the details as possible. The beer, See the Stars, was more than a year in the making. The patience, initiative and discipline to make all this happen shines through the brew it became. Read More

2015 GABF Theme Route | Hoppy Beers

As you can tell from our Sours & Wilds Theme Route, we are trying to make your Great American Beer Festival as incredible and easy as possible. To help you make the most of your festival experience, Tristan Chan, Chris Day and I continue our tour guide services through Hoppy Beers. Coming soon, you’ll have a path through Rare Beers, Big Beers, and Unique Beers. You can check out our Sours and Wilds Route here. We’ll give you the breweries, beers and descriptions, then let you go from there.

Today’s theme route focuses on Hoppy Beers. There will be an incredible amount of hoppy beers at GABF, but we’ve looked at all the breweries pour lists to give you the cream of the crop. As we said with the sours, this list is by no means a complete list of all hoppy beers, but it is a great starting point. Take this list as a map to guide your way Hoppy Beers at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival.

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Beer Celebrities You May See at Great American Beer Fest 2015

Great American Beer Festival is a great opportunity for beer geeks, like yours truly, to rub elbows with the best in the craft beer industry. Last year, we introduced you to some of the most famous people in the beer world that you might run across at Great American Beer Festival. Out of that list of 25 celeBEERties, I was able to meet 10 of them, including Garrett Oliver, Dick Cantwell and my beer crush, Sam Calagione.

Most of last year’s class will likely attend GABF this year, but we have a new list of beer celebrities to keep your eye out for, including some of the world’s best brewers, actors/musicians that are trying their hand at brewing, and advocates for the industry. Read More

Odell Brewing Company | Piña Agria

ABV: 6.5% | IBU: 7

Around this time of year, I usually start pining for Odell Brewing Company’s yearly offering of the Friek, a sour ale made with cherries and raspberries. However, Odell recently debuted another beer from their Cellar Series, the Piña Agria, and it’s all I want to drink right now.

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“It’s Not Complicated” | My Chat with Kyle Kinane

In my opinion, Kyle Kinane is one of the best comedians currently on the circuit. He brought his own style to comedy, combining his enticing storytelling with an incredibly unique view on the world. Even if you don’t think you know who Kyle is, you probably do. Kyle is a nationally touring comedian with multiple specials including Whiskey Icarus. He’s been on Drunk History and won the internet on @midnight more than a handful of times. Also he is the gravelly voice of all the promos you hear on Comedy Central.

Coming up on Wednesday night, Kyle will also be the headliner at Offensively Delicious, a craft beer comedy show that kicks off a weekend full of Great American Beer Festival events (check out our preview here). Kyle gave me a few minutes to talk about his rise in the comedy world, his drinking preferences, and also his exciting upcoming projects.
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303 Magazine Presents | Where to Eat Near GABF

Story by Brittany Werges, Food and Booze Editor for 303 Magazine. Check out 303 for more GABF coverage throughout the week!

Every year, during early fall, Denver turns into what … Read More

2015 GABF Theme Route | Big Beers

‘Go Big or Go Home’ is a motto used by brewers and attendees alike at GABF. Many breweries bring some of their heaviest beers to share during the GABF sessions. Tristan Chan, Chris Day, and I looked through each brewery’s pour list to create our list of the best beers above 9.5%. This route can be incredibly rewarding but please heed our warning.

Tread lightly with our Big Beers list, as the high ABV can easily sneak up on you with these delicious drinks.  Big beers can easily lead to an early end to your night and a tough morning the next day. We didn’t just put any big beer on this list. There are a lot of other high-ABV ales for you to find on your own!

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Bell’s Brewery | The Oracle DIPA

ABV: 10% | IBU: 90

Bell’s The Oracle DIPA is a west coast-style IPA brewed in Kalamazoo, MI. This hoptastic brew challenges the likes of Stone Brewing and Lagunitas Brewing with its hop forward dry bitter sensation that overwhelms taste buds with exuberant bliss. I would venture to say that Bell’s has succeeded in their attempt at the style and may have done better than a few indigenous brands.  Read More

2015 GABF | Must Try GABF Events

WELCOME TO GABF WEEK 2015! Lace those drinkin’ boots up, tighten up that lederhosen, and let’s get ready to drink our weights in delicious craft beer!!!!!

We have been updating our events calendar for the last few weeks and we realize that it is as heady as a freshly shaken Belgian beer . . . We are foaming at the brim with events. We have a lot going on but have highlighted some of our favorite events.

What events will you make it to this week?!

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Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

This week I’m bringing you a jam-packed growler full of craft beer news that you need to know. MillerCoors shuts down their North Carolina Brewery, North Texas craft brewers sue the state, and there is an R2D2 mini fridge that will bring you beer. Not compelling enough? How about the news that AB InBev proposed a takeover of SABMiller. Yeah, I knew that would grab your attention. Read on to get the details of these stories and more in this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.

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2015 GABF Theme Route | Sours & Wilds

Attending a session at Great American Beer Festival can be overwhelming, even for the most experienced beer fan. To help you make the most of your festival experience, Tristan Chan, Chris Day and I would like to be your tour guide through several distinct craft beer journeys including Sour & Wild Beers, Rare Beers, Big Beers, Fruit Beers, Hoppy Beers and Unique Beers. We’ll give you the breweries, beers and descriptions, then let you go from there.

Today’s theme route focuses on Sour & Wild Beers, which have gained incredible popularity over the last few years. If you are looking for beers that make your lips pucker and mouth water, you have chosen the right adventure today. This list is by no means a complete list of all sours, but it is a great starting point. Grab some Tums and join us on your journey through Sour Beers at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival.

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