A first-timer’s experience at Great American Beer Festival

I walked into the largest room I’ve ever been in and it was empty. As the volunteer group started to move about the Convention Center floor, I just stopped to take it in. I made it to the Great American Beer Festival.

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GABF Fancy Cork Route

Contributed by Cori Flinchbaugh the Draft Wench

Ok, so you’re going to the Great American Beer Festival but there are now over 2,000 beers to choose from, what do you do? I usually suggest to first timers to pick a beer style or two (IPA, Belgian, Porters or Stouts, Fruit Beers, Sour Beers) and stick to it.

If you don’t know what style to choose or are looking for something fun and different, a friend and I came up with “Fancy Cork Night.”  We go around and drink only beers that come in 750 ml bottles (Russian River has smaller ones too) usually with a fancy cork and cage. These beers are typically “Seasonal/Specialty or Sour.” It’s kind of like a delicious scavenger hunt.

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New Belgium Brewing Company- Fort Collins, CO

New Belgium Brewery was where it all began. It was in those same recycled bike framed bar stools in New Belgium’s tap room that I first embarked on my own journey into craft beer.

Virtually every Friday afternoon my buddy Cody and I would duck out a bit early and delve into the wide world of brew. It was here that I discovered my first sour. What the hell?! This beer, La Folie tastes like liquefied shock tarts! How is this possible?!

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Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and New England GABF Regional Breakdown

Today we continue our regional coverage by breaking down the Mid-Atlantic and New England Regions.  All of these are smaller regions which is why we decided to group them all together, however what they do have to offer packs a punch.  With the likes of Ommegang, DogFish Head, Surly, Boston Beer and Allagash, these are can’t miss regions!

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Pacific Great American Beer Festival Regional Breakdown

Pacific (CA, HI)

The Pacific region boasts one of the most impressive lineups of breweries at the fest.  One could really spend an entire session in this region alone.  We were able to find out what several of these breweries will be pouring!

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Oskar Blues Brewing Company | Longmont, CO

I mentioned in a previous article that Wynkoop Brewery is essentially the antithesis of what people expect of a microbrewery. Large, sometimes cavernous confines that house much more than just a bar and gathering area. Well, if Wynkoop is on one edge of the spectrum, Oskar Blues Brewery is on the other. Read More

GABF Denver Beer Bars Guide

Coming to town for the Great American Beer Festival is about more than just the festival itself.  It involves local breweries, restaurants, the city of Denver, and beer bars.  We decided to break down some of the local Denver beer bars that you may want to check out just in case you couldn’t already find enough beer.

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Southeast Great American Beer Festival Regional Breakdown

Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN)

Don’t count out the southeast region just because it doesn’t boast a tremendous beer history.  This region is an up and comer.  With Cigar City anchoring the field and two solid showings out of Lexington, KY, the southeast has the opportunity to make major in roads in the brewing community in the near future.

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Renegade Brewery – Denver, CO

Renegade Brewery could be one of the best breweries in the city of Denver that non-residents may have never heard of. Brian O’Connell’s brew laboratory specializes in taking traditional styles and adding one twist to completely differentiate their beers from the rest. Even their flagship Ryetous refuses to conform to the base line IPA category with it being a rye IPA. “There is no theme to our style other than being creative without going completely off the wall,” said O’Connell.

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PorchDrinking.com Redesign: Letter from Chris Knost

PorchDrinking.com Redesign

When Tristan asked me to redesign the site, I knew I’d have my hands full. How could I transform an already great content driven site and redesign the aesthetics to reflect the culture, community and enthusiasts that both read and write it’s content?

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Upslope Brewing Company- Boulder, CO

What’s in a name? Orographic Lift Brewing Company doesn’t have the same ring. Upslope winds occur when air is elevated up the sides of large land masses (our Colorado mountains) via wind and then cools adiabatically and condenses, causing precipitation. Unless you’re an absolute meteorology nerd, you probably just read blah, blah, blah, but deep down everyone loves nerds and everyone loves precipitation. No matter how you slice it or dice it precipitation is the main ingredient in our coveted barley pops. Upslope Brewing adds the malts, hops and yeast, while their namesake winds provide the water. Read More

PorchDrinking.com Getting a Makeover

So we never really do things in the most orthodox manner.  So when Chris, our web designer asked if we could shut down the site for the next three days to completely revamp our look and feel… well I just said go right on ahead.

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Southwest Great American Beer Festival Regional Breakdown

The Southwest – land of Mexican food, cactus, and hot weather. There is nothing more perfect than beer to cool the heat. With a growing craft beer scene, the southwest has been cranking out award winning beer. Here our a few breweries and what they will be pouring  at the Great American Beer Festival.
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River North Brewery- Denver, CO

River North Brewery opened a little over six months ago, specializing in Belgian style ales. I happen to specialize in drinking Belgian style ales, so RiNo quickly became a favorite local brewery. Scratch that, a favorite anywhere brewery. Read More

Ultimate 6er – Boardwalk Empire

I originally wanted to do an ultimate 6er based around the show The Newsroom, but considering the first season ended awhile ago, I decided to go with the next best thing: Boardwalk Empire. I warn you, this 6er is not for the lightweight. Believe me, I know. I have apparently reverted back to freshman year of college when, according to my good friend Stew, I got sloshed on acorn shots. I had to split this 6er between two nights, and I was barely able to take notes at the end of both, so enjoy!
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The Official PorchDrinking.com Presidential Debate Drinking Game

Tonight, the two men running for President will go head-to-head in Denver for a televised debate on domestic policy issues. According to the latest popular vote polling, it’s a dead heat (although according to the electoral vote, it’s already a landslide). While this campaign is not as exciting as the “Hope-And-Change,” “I-Can-See-Russia-From-My-House” quotes of 2008, the presidential debate tonight promises us a unique opportunity to see democracy in action and discern the ideological rifts between our candidates and our nation.
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Pacific Northwest GABF Regional Breakdown

Pacific Northwest (AK, OR, WA)

The Pacific Northwest – land of salmon, mass-consumer coffee, towering evergreens, and rocky, rainy coast lines. And, not surprisingly, a rich craft beer community. From the rugged mountains of Alaska, to the coastline communities of the Puget Sound to fixie riding hipsters of West Burnside, the Pacific Northwest offers up some of the Nation’s most recognized craft beer names with new breweries continuing to pop up in small towns and large cities alike. Here are our favorites that we’ll be attending at the Great American Beer Festival.
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Odell Brewing Company- Fort Collins, CO

One overcast September day, Odell Brewing harkened me to the Mecca of craft brewing, Fort Collins, for a few cozy tasters in their amazing taproom. As Lee Holliday and the Time Off crooned scintillating blues for the live music night, I admired the walls, embellished with huge rich oil paintings of their highly recognized and highly revered microbrews: Cut Throat Porter, Easy Street Wheat, Levity Amber, IPA, and of coarse 90 Shilling.
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Great Lakes Regional GABF Breakdown

Starting today we’ll be bringing you a regional break down of breweries you should definitely stop by during the festival.  In some cases we were also able to find out what specific beers they’ll be bringing.  Today we kick off our coverage on the Great Lakes region.  This includes breweries from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
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Strange Brewery – Denver, CO

I recently discovered that I’m kinda a weird dude. My friend Paula recently called me out for being an “Asian, hipster, frat boy from Kentucky who also listens to bluegrass/country music.” I guess she has a point. Perhaps that’s why I find Strange Brewery in Denver, CO so endearing.
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