The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is an annual beer festival hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado.
[1] The GABF was founded by brewer Charlie Papazian, and the first festival was held in conjunction with the American Homebrewers Association's annual conference in Boulder, Colorado in June 1982, featuring 24 participating breweries, 47 beers, and 800 attendees.
[2][3][4] In a private event, held the week prior, judges evaluate the beers in the associated competition.
In 2019, the panel consisted of 322 judges from 18 countries, who evaluated over 9,400 beers.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 and 2021 in-person festival was cancelled with a virtual event held instead.