No Tickets for GABF? Denver Beer Fest to the Rescue!

Denver Beer Fest 2013– a  nine day celebration of all things beer is here!

The fifth annual event runs through October 12 and will feature more than 300 beer related events at area breweries, restaurants, tap houses and attractions.  From beer tastings to firkin tappings, events include beer bike nights, midnight beer breakfasts, beer paired dinners, brewery tours, brewer vs brewer competitions, meet the brewer nights, tap takeovers, beer quizzes, and even a beer street party with bands, brews and food trucks. All of the events can be found at denverbeerfest.com.

“We originally launched Denver Beer Fest as a way of celebrating and welcoming the Great American Beer Festival to town, but it has grown now to become a major city-wide celebration of craft beer,” said Richard Scharf, president & CEO of VISIT DENVER.  Scharf points out that in the past year, Denver has been recognized as one of America’s top beer cities by USA Today, Travel + Leisure, Condè Nast Traveler, GQ, Esquire, CNN and others.

At the same time, the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) has become the largest beer festival in the nation and an event so popular that tickets sold out this year in less than 20 minutes. Scharf said that the more than 300 beer events of Denver Beer Festival will allow those who were not able to get GABF tickets an opportunity to still experience Denver’s rich beer culture.

“Denver is always a great city for producing craft beer, but during GABF and the week leading up to it, we welcome the nation’s top beer lovers and more than 300 media to our city,” said Mayor Hancock. “Denver Beer Fest is a way for the city to showcase to these visitors and to our own residents the creativity and diversity of our booming craft beer industry for which Denver has become known around the world,” Hancock said.

Denver Beer Trail

New in 2013 is the Denver Beer Trail, a free booklet that offers a map and a guide to 14 downtown-area Denver breweries. The passport-sized publication offers a suggested signature beer at each brewery, as well as providing room for tasting notes and a “Been there, drank that” box to check off.

Special “Fourteener” glasses have been prepared to help launch the Denver Beer Trail, and will be available for a limited time at all 14 participating breweries. The “Fourteener” glass has a fill mark at 14 ounces. “When you go to England, you order a pint of beer; in Germany you get a liter, but in Colorado, we feel you should order a ‘Fourteener’ in honor of the state’s 54 14,000 foot peaks,” Scharf said.

He said the purpose of the Denver Beer Trail is to get people to visit downtown Denver and surrounding neighborhoods to try different craft beers. Scharf cautioned that people are asked to drink responsibly and, of course, not attempt to drink 14 beers at one time. “We hope people will keep these booklets and visit Denver breweries many times,” he said.

The 14 participating breweries are: Black Sky Brewery; Breckenridge Brewery’s Colorado Craft; Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project; Denver Beer Co.; Denver ChopHouse & Brewery; Epic Brewing; Great Divide Brewing Co.; Our Mutual Friend Malt & Brew; Pints Pub Brewery & Freehouse; Prost Brewing Company; Renegade Brewing Company; River North Brewery; Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery; and Wynkoop Brewing Company.