GABF 2013: Which brewers got locked out?

If I recall correctly, not having a booth does not mean you can't enter the competition. I recall several medal winners that did not have a physical presence at GABF. Personally, I am of the crowd that thinks previous years winners should get first crack at registering, that and limiting booths by chains.

 

I was'nt refering to glitches, problems with servers etc... I was meaning people that lose out on entries or tickets because they did'nt get on at the right exact time. Only so many spaces and a lot more people.

 

I understand what you are saying but you should see the behind the scenes logistics involved. I've been "tearing down GABF for about 13 years as a volunteer. I got promoted to Assistant Teardown Coordinator 3 years ago (still volunteer). It takes around 6 days to set up and we teardown and clean beer lines in a day. We have already had 6- 3 hour sessions working on and cleaning and building beer stands and probably have around 4 more to go before GABF. Not saying more expansion is not doable, but it takes time it has been growing almost every year.

 

NXNW and Flix Brewhouse in Austin didn't get in. They both had pro-am beers and NXNW is a previous medal winner.

 

Sun King won a bunch of medals.

 

Alpine Beer Company didn't get in either. Alpine's my favorite, and Societe's close second, bummer.

 

Well goddamn., no Alpine?

I can't call it.

 

I poured for Alpine 2 years ago and didn't understand why they even bothered showing up. 2 beers, no info, no rep.

 

There were some changes last year to accommodate more breweries for the judging portion like limiting the amount of entries per location and company.

I think the problem with having regional competitions is that there aren't enough qualified judges, volunteer stewards and behind the scenes coordinators to have a proper event. It's already a stretch to have industry folk from all over the world to spend nearly a week away from their operations for the judging and the festival, on top of other events like SAVOR and the Craft Brewers Conference, plus numerous local beer festivals and other events they may participate in throughout the year.

 

Last year they brought Bad Boy, Duet and FiringSquad to the floor

 

If I recall correctly they ran out of beer too???

 

But at least Nelson was one of the two beers. The second beer was Ugly, a black IPA - good but not as good as Duet, Pure Hoppiness, Exponential or Bad Boy.

 

I constantly hear about the quality judge scarcity problem, which is why I'm surprised I'm seeing so many brewmasters calling for this solution. Breweries already complain enough about judging, *especially* when you're a rung down from GABF, so is it a better situation to have brewers complaining that their judging in the regional round was the problem? By its very nature, judging is inherently unreliable, but I've heard second hand accounts of judges just clearly missing the boat on style guidelines, inserting their own interpretation of what a style is "today," and influencing their palate and/or sense of smell while AT the judging. There is complaining about GABF, too, but it doesn't sound nearly as messy as I've heard other events getting.

 

I have had the exact same thoughts regarding the regional comps although this also leaves room for disparity as well...
I was thinking medal placing beers have 1st shot at re-entry,obviously you need the large breweries because of the cash they pump into the system and then leave it to regionals or some other form.
I think moving fwd there will be change,same applies to NHC and the sheer volume of entries/participants this year as opposed to the last few.
The fact that Crooked stave and Thai me up failed entry (IMO) leaves a couple of medal contenders out of the race,2x4 is easily a contender for medal (Gold)...
That being said anyone know if La Cumbre Made it in ?
I also agree about the amount of shit beers available,in fact that is my biggest concern regarding the news of so many quality brewers being shut out,it just degrades the overall quality of the festival.
The last thing needed is a line at a dozen quality breweries that get in (Think Dogfish head) and the rest are there for the use of a dump bucket...

 

They almost all do by Sat. even for the Afternoon sesion...

 

Yeah, I'm thinking about passing this year because of all the 'shit beers' that will be there! The festival is definitely degrading as well And yes, please more Dogfish Head!!! La Cumbre has one great beer. Don't go if it's not your thing, Falling Rock and all the other great breweries and bars in the state have awesome events going on all week, I mean if you can't find enough solid breweries and beers to satisfy your 3-4 hours there's something wrong. (reminds me of March Madness)

 

What (people) don't realize is the contribution made by AB to the GABF (and I'm not talking about InBev beer donations). Without going into details the AB plays a major role in the festival,lets just say w/out them (right now) there would be no festival...

 

DFH Comment was to the fact that we don't need huge lines at the few good breweries that get in,there are a lot of breweries there that are just not all that good.
My (comment) on La Cumbre is a question that's all,I've only had one of their beers and would be interested in seeing what else they offer.
If you read the thread you would see that the "shit beers" comment came from another comment on the previous page that I quoted...
I have access to all sessions and don't need to attend the 4 hour frat party to search out one or two "great beers",it would be nice to know I or any attendee going can stroll up to the majority of tables and find a solid brew rather than to sit in long lines for something.
I'm not saying that there is going to row after row of beer suitable for dumping only but if the event is a free for all and anyone w/ cash to use this as an advertisement gets in and better breweries get shut out then Yes,it does degrade the overall quality of the festival.

 

Yea, the festival is TOTALLY DEGRADING!!!

There are more than one or two, or even just a "few" good beers. GABF proves always worth it. I mean I don't even talk to anyone but the servers and brewmasters and people I came with, so why does it matter if there are other people there just to drink beer?

My list from last year:

 

Awesome list, some overlapping with mine. I agree that there are always some great gems to find at GABF, Southampton Black Raspberry lambic was my jewel of the night- I must have gotten 15 glasses of that until the keg popped and there was almost no line for it. Here's my list from last year-

(512) Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter
Allagash Coolship Resurgam
Austin Beerworks Einhorn
Avery Odio Equum
Avery Oud Floris
Bend Ching-Ching
Brooklyn Fiat Lux
Central Waters BB Barleywine
choc Gose
Crabtree Berliner Weisse
Crabtree Raspberry Berliner Weisse
Crooked Stave Peitie Sour
Dark Horse BB Pt5
DESTIHL Saint Dekkera Reserve Flanders
DESTIHL Saint Dekkera Reserve Framboise
DESTIHL Saint Dekkera Reserve Gose
DESTIHL Saint Dekkera Reserve Sour Apricot Ale
DESTIHL Saint Dekkera Reserve Sour Hawaii Ale
DESTIHL Saint Dekkera Reserve Sour Strawberry Ale
Drake’s Scorched Earth
FiftyFifty Totality Imperial Stout
Foothills Sexual Chocolate
Founders KBS
Freetail Ananke
Freetail El Porto Gallito
Freetail Fortuna Roja
Freetail Raspberry Ananke
Funkwerks Deceit
Goose Island Brewpub xocolatl
Jester King Das Uberkind Vieille Saison
Karbach BB Hellfighter
Kona Lemongrass Ginger Luau
New Belgium Love Felix
New Glarus Raspberry Tart
New Glarus Enigma
NXNW Barton Kriek
O’Dell’s Woodcut #6
Oskar Blues Whiskey Barrell aged Ten-FIDY
Pizza Port Bacon and Eggs (coffee porter)
Real Ale 15
Rivertown Lambic
Rivertown Ojos Negros
Rivertown Sour Cherry Porter
Russian River Framboise for a Cure
Russian River T25
Short’s Peaches n Crème
Southhamptom Publick House Black Raspberry Lambic
Strange Brewing Cherry Kriek
Surly Coffee Bender
The Bruery Black Tuesday
The Bruery Hottenroth
The Bruery Sans Pagaie
The Bruery Smoking Wood
The Lost Abbey Framboise de Amorosa
The Lost Abbey Track #7
Weyerbacher Sour Black

Wish I had got a chance to try…

Crooked Stave Persica
Deschute’s Plum Line
Drake’s House Sour (Sat. only)
Fish Reel Ales Belgian Sour
Marble Cuvee D'Abricot
Olde Hickory Event Horizon