Some breaking news from the Brewers Association hit our inbox Tuesday as the future of the organization’s premier event, the Great American Beer Festival, is changing in a big way.

After decades as a three-day event inside the spacious Colorado Convention Center in Denver, GABF is scaling back to two days and will move outdoors to the Levitt Pavilion in the suburban Ruby Hill neighborhood.

The event will be held Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11 from noon to 4 p.m. both days. Tickets go on sale in June.

“Great American Beer Festival has always reflected where American craft beer is headed,” said Ann Obenchain, vice president of marketing and communications of the Brewers Association, in the press release. “Taking the festival outdoors lets us re-imagine what’s possible and we’re excited to bring fresh energy to the festival and provide an experience that feels uniquely Colorado.

“This isn’t just a venue change for us, it’s an evolution. We’ve listened to our attendees and we’re creating an outdoor festival that invites people to explore, discover, and celebrate craft beer in a completely new way — one that’s all about gathering your friends, finding your spot on the lawn, and enjoying great beer and good times together.” 

Levitt Pavilion figures to present some new challenges. There is the always unpredictable Colorado fall weather, of course, but it is also located well south of downtown where the majority of the city’s hotels and restaurants are situated. It is unknown at this time if some sort of shuttle service will be set up for both attendees and participating breweries.

The venue is not equipped with a large parking area (and honestly, most guests should not be driving anyway), so this could put a strain on folks attending due to the omnipresent surge pricing by rideshare companies that happens every GABF. While folks with AirBnB’s in the area should benefit, it is a major gamble to move the event so far outside downtown.

There are few nearby restaurants, breweries, or bars for pre- or post-event gathering. Hopefully a shuttle service will be provided for guests and the many volunteers.

Also in question (fear not, we asked and are waiting to hear back) is the future of the GABF competition and awards ceremony. It was not mentioned at all in the press release. (UPDATE) All we got back was that it will be Sunday at 10 a.m. for the ceremony, no details beyond that.

In the past, the competition is held with beer judges in the weeks leading up to the festival. It was then held at various locations within the convention center on Saturday morning before an exclusive session just for BA members and homebrewers (which is now apparently a thing of the past).

While we await further information, we cannot help but view this as another moment in the nationwide decline in craft beer’s popularity. GABF used to be an event with a mad sellout of tickets and packed halls. Clearly, since the pandemic its popularity has diminished. Our last trip up in 2022 saw far fewer breweries with booths from outside Colorado as expenses had just become too great for many smaller places to participate.

If the rising costs of the competition are likewise keeping entries on the decline, this could be very well mean the end is nigh on many aspects of what was once the crown jewel of craft beer events in America.

We will hope for the best, but brace ourselves for the worst. We listen to metal for a reason, right?

— Stoutmeister