The GABF sells out how fast?!

I had to look that up...

 

I have gone to several GABF's. The past 5-6 years they've become a bit "crazier" which coincides, of course, with the craft beer craze the past 5-6 years.

I hated the first one I went to because I went by myself and I didn't plan and I didn't ask questions. Now, I have a game plan and I have a wonderful time. You probably won't "listen" or "follow" my personal rules, especially since it's your first one. But, the following is what works FOR ME:

MY TOP 20 PERSONAL RULES FOR GABF:

1. Saturday Members Session is THE session to attend. (Yes, there really are fewer people and with all of them being members, you can at least rest assured that most of them are not there just to get drunk! [unlike, especially, Friday night!]). Thurs night is also decent but, believe it or not, you are going to find you really don't need two sessions.

2. Preparation. I don't usually have the patience. However, first and foremost, wear comfortable shoes! For real! My daughter and son in law plan our attack! They review the floor plan and generally figure out where we're going to "go first" etc. We usually deviate but we at least pretend we have a plan. The floor plan will likely be available in advance. Make sure to get the phone app! It's been great in the past and is a wonderful checklist so that you don't have to bring pen and paper! Get a program and review it a bit before you go in, if nothing else.

3. Get there LATE. Yes, you did not mis-read this. I said LATE. The line to get in Saturday at noon is gigantic. I have no reason to get there early and wait for hours, especially since once you've been, you realize that after about 2 hours inside you've gotten almost all of what you wanted and have plenty of time! You just don't have to wait in line and get sore feet before you go inside and walk around for 4 hours and get sore feet! I generally get there about a 1/2 hour late, park in the lot and by the time I get out of parking and walk to entrance about an hour has gone buy which is about right. It takes the line, generally, almost an hour to get in. Then, having gotten there late, I just walk right in. (IMPT: Don't forget your ID; everyone's ID is checked. Then you walk in, get a wrist band; get a glass, and off you go.

4. Don't think you're going to taste everything - you can't.
5. The place is gigantic. Don't get intimidated when you walk in. You actually can visit and get beer from most of the places you want. In fact, most of the time, the majority of vendors don't even have lines in front of them. There is ALWAYS beer available for tasting without waiting.

6. The primary thing that we do is 4 to 6 of us share! Yep. We may all go to one table and get 4 to 6 different beers and share them all. If we run out or if one is a short pour, or we want more...we just go back. But, our biggest secret is that we share. And, it works with our friends that we meet up with even if you don't plan on it. Sometimes someone in line will offer a taste while you're waiting. Then, most of the time, you order something else! (Yes; I'm a ticker. But, that's what you do at these festivals anyway! No sense in denying it. You're only going to get about an ounce of anything - you're not getting "glasses of beer" from 2,000 vendors!) SHARING that is our biggest game plan and it always works - always. Sometimes just 3-4 of us; sometimes the more the merrier.

7. You won't get to all that "rare" and "special" beer. You just won't. Try to get to where you want to go first. However, while you may want KBS, or Black Tuesday, or Pliny or Cable Car.....just know that it has gotten to the point where the breweries don't pour them except at certain times and usually on a posted schedule. Go over posted schedules and try to plan to be back for your desired rare beer a bit in advance. And, just know, they all go very quickly. Period. (Another reason why sharing is great. I share with strangers all day long and sometimes I'll be walking and a stranger with whom I shared an hour before will say, "Hey, did you get to taste the 2001 Pink Wednesday? And, I'll say no, and he or she may say "well, they're out of it now but here....have a taste." This happens to me several times a session, every year. Another reason why sharing is fun and being polite and friendly really beats being rude. And, most people are really not rude and are great!)

8. Eat
9. Drink your rinse water.
10. Take your time. Like I said, no shortage of beer and no way you're going to taste it all in any event.
11. Just know that Lost Abbey runs out of it's premium rare stuff fast.
12. Just know that the Dogfish Head line is huge the entire festival. It doesn't ever get shorter!
13. Just know that the same thing is almost true for Allegash and Founders.
14. Get to the Bruery very early before they tap the Black Tuesday. Goes fast and the line will be tremendous, as will the lines for KBS and Utopias. KBS is usually posted as to when it will be poured. In my experience, not so with Utopias. There will likely be posted signs with a "schedule" as to when the "rare" stuff is going to be poured.
15. The grilled cheese guys in the back are fast, fantastic and inexpensive. I go through about 2 or 3 every festival for myself alone. I probably buy at least a dozen for "our group." I don't mean to slam the rest of the food vendors. They are all great!
16. Try as much of the things you've never heard of or can't get! I live in Los Angeles. I have no reason to stand in line for Bruery beers, even though I am a good customer and friend with everyone there. I get it already. Same holds true for most of the California places. However, I'm all over the places from the south and the East that I've never heard of or will never otherwise get to try.
17. If you start to feel the alcohol too much, slow down, eat, drink water and sit down. Really. This again goes to the point that you can't try it all - don't expect to and don't challenge yourself.
18. There will be a long line for the Men's Room and a much shorter one for the Ladies Room, unlike every other event. Be aware before you have an emergency. (I sound like a dad, I know. But, someone has to tell you these things). The line does move relatively fast - usually. Still, long line - plan accordingly!
19. Members Session usually gets "glass" glasses as I recall. Don't drop it. You won't get a 2nd one.
20. There is the best selection of shirts, hats, and swag you will ever see. Especially the T-shirts and the GABF sweatshirts. There is likely the "cool shirt" from every brewery in the place! Get in line and buy one early. The line at the end of the session is long, hurried and crazy. If you plan a little, you can buy what you want, in the size you want quickly and with no hassle if you're not afraid to carry it or put in your wife/girlfriends purse, or your purse, as the case may be. A lot easier to buy "your stuff" earlier rather than later. And, truth be known, on Saturday afternoon, by the end of the session, several sizes may be gone.

Ok. The above are my TOP 20 rules for GABF that I live by. There are lots more, I'm sure, and everyone's "rules" may differ. The above are mine and they work for me.

Have fun! Hope the above helps!

 

Um...what he said ^^ (by the way, are you bringing any Alpine with you??)

I think the main concept is that this is a "festival". Have fun. Enjoy the bagpipers, meet new people, talk to the pourers (I'll be on the first island as always. Front Runners!!), and drink.... water

 

Remind me and I'll tell you what's available at the time and bring you whatever you want. We here in Los Angeles have not had a lot of Alpine from which to choose in several months!

 

Keep an eye on Denver Off the Wagon, Fermentedly Challenged, Westword's Colorado Beer Man, the Denver.Org Denver Beer fest site and, of course, beer advocate's events page. To name a few. Sorry, not posting urls, but they should be easy enough to find.

 

Great post - thank you! I agree with just about everything except point #1. I find that going to two sessions makes the experience much more enjoyable than just going to one. Reasons:

1) You don't feel as rushed/overwhelmed. If you're like me, you'll have a mile-long list of beers/breweries that you want to try. Knowing that you have a second session makes the first much more enjoyable - instead of running around from booth to booth trying to cross off breweries from your list, you know you have a second session at your disposal.

2) Whale-hunting becomes easier. If Utopia is being poured at the same time as Black Tuesday, it doesn't matter if you attend two sessions - you just pick one and taste the other at the next session.

3) You have more time to find the smaller breweries/hidden gems that you'd probably otherwise skip.

4) You get to taste the award winners (assuming your second session is on Saturday)

So yeah, I find the years I attend 2 sessions more enjoyable than the years I attend 1.

One other tip: Breweries don't always pour whales according to their schedules. I can't count the times I've gone up to a brewery's booth, asked if they have their whale beer available, and they just pour me some. Be friendly and ask - it can't hurt.

 

Friday unavailable within 30 seconds....

 

Same with thursday

 

all 3 days were gone pretty much instantly

 

I'm not at all worried about finding them, nor worried about missing it entirely, but the pure resellers are still dicks

 

Yeah shit, is it really sold out?

 

I made a comment about this last year, and a lot of people said that giving them the benefit of the doubt and a chance to right the ship next year was the right call. Well, it's next year, and here we are. I know all the shenanigans are mainly the fault of Ticketmaster, and their shameless quest to aid and abet the scalpers. But some of the blame for this has to fall on the Brewer's Association. Joining the AHA is a necessity at this point really.

 

I'm an AHA member and I still couldn't get tickets to Thursday yesterday, so even that wont guarantee you anything and I was ready the moment they were released.

 

I got to the *specific* page for Friday tickets and kept on refreshing right when the clock hit 8:58. Snagged the last two tickets I needed for our group. Good luck to every one else!

 

https://twitter.com/GABF/status/362608576667189248

Completely sold out.

 

Wow, they should go back to selling them at Old Chicago. What a joke.

 

Why's it such a joke? Craft beer has become so huge over the past 5 years, and this is the biggest best festival in North America. Are you really that surprised? There will be hundreds of tickets available via Craigslist and at the event day(s) of .Always is, with the majority being available face value.

Don't understand why people freak out or blame ticket master or the good people in boulder putting this thing together. It's just beer...

 

I decided after the thursday session last year that I also wanted to go on saturday and was able to find tickets for face value on friday while out and about town. I've found tickets for friends at face value for the last several years in about the week before the event. They'll be there.

There will probably be one more year of this, since the contract with Ticketmaster expires after next year. I can only hope there's some sort of reasonable alternative to prevent scalping and eBay, but I certainly can't think of one.

 

If you figure that out, you'd be a rich man. It's been unpreventable since the dawn of time. Even before the internet there were scalpers.