GABF: Which breweries are not to be missed?

My #1 GABF rule: have a strategy, but be flexible.

In the week prior to the festival, I decide how to attack the festival. Do I want to concentrate on a certain region's breweries that I can't get where I live? Or do I want to focus just on a certain type of beer? Or go whale hunting? Or do I just want to hit the "greatest hits" (and the lines that go with them)? Once you decide on that, you can rank the breweries and their offerings. It makes the festival much more manageable and enjoyable IMHO.

So depending on what experience you're looking for, the answer to your question will be different.

Whale Hunting? Hit up Sam Adams (Utopias), Bruery (Black Tuesday), etc
Greatest hits? Dogfish Head, Firestone Walker, etc
Pacific Rim region? Russian River, Pizza Ports, Lost Abbey, etc
Small underappreciated breweries? Damn, I dont know where to start.

I will say I always have a good time at these booths: Shorts, Pizza Ports, Beachwood BBQ, Blue Moon (Peanut Butter beer....YUMMY).

One final tip: when deciding where to go first, see if you can find out if the brewery is bringing kegs or bottles of that particular type of beer. If they are bringing bottles, it needs to be priority #1.

And most importantly, be flexible. You won't hit everything you planned to, but you'll visit some breweries not on your plan that will blow your mind.

 

My highlights are always Shorts, The Bruery, Dogfish Head, Sam Adams for my Utopias fix, Lost Abbey, and definitely looking forward to Spring House Brewery and their Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout

 

Keep it simple. Find the breweries you want to try then explore the ones you've never tried or heard of before. I've come across some great beers from places that I may have never considered.

 

Download the GABF app on your phone @ http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/news/download-the-all-new-app/
It has the convention center floor map and they will load the beers on Oct 9th.

Great Lakes Region Highlights: Shorts, Surly, Jolly Pumpkin, 3F, Hoppin’ Frog, New Glarus, Half Acre, Bells
Mountain Region Highlights: Odell, Crooked Stave
New England/Mid Atlantic Highlights: Troegs, Capt. Lawrence, Cambridge
Pacific Highlights: AleSmith, Russian River, Lost Abbey, Bruery, Port Brewing, Pizza Port
Pacific NW Highlights: Deschutes, Barley Brown’s, Boneyard

 

The caveat of going to the big name "do not miss" places is that you're one of about 10,000 people with the exact same idea.
Even the staff working the event do this. I've been the 5th or 6th person in line to get in and there is still a line 50 people deep at New Glarus at 5:31 PM. This is not the circa-2005 GABF anymore.
I tend to wander looking for specific styles I enjoy or even just hitting random places I've never heard of.
Unless you like waiting in long lines, the big names tend to be chaotic. Sam Adams would probably be the one exception. They tap Utopias once per evening (8'ish based on memory) and usually that's pretty easy to walk up and get.

One thing worth mentioning though - sometimes you can get lucky and stumble upon a special tapping, so definitely don't avoid all of the big names. Last year I was maybe 10th or 15th in line to get Black Tuesday just due to sheer luck.

 

FTFY

 

I was like "yeah, GABF lambics TO THE DOME!!"

 

Two years ago I got lucky enough tovolunteer for the GABF brew crew and I poured for The Bruery (and Firestone Walker, Russian River and Drake's). We were pouring Black Tuesday, Oude Tart, Loakal Red & Hottenroth. They posted the pouring times for BT & OT at the booth. People started lining up 30+ minutes early......

 

It's part of Drie's new production facility in Joplin, Missouri. Intense Red came out of that facility, if I'm not mistaken.

 

Yeah, um........don't do this.

 

Having a game plan is probably the best advice I could give.In the past we've got in line early enough (read, 2hours before opening) to have entirely too much time to map a course of action. Usually there will be people handing out programs while you wait, so there's ample opportunity to look at the Map and figure out where everything is. I'm a huge swag-*****, so once I get in I head to the booths that are notorious for the best swag before it's all gone.

As far as breweries go, the programs list both breweries and beers poured, as well as contain a handy checklist so you can remember what you had.

Personally, my advice as to what breweries are "miss":
Russian River
DFH
Sam Adams
The Bruery at Tap times
Lost Abbey
The lines for these booths are always super-long, and you'll waste a measurable amount of time for a taste of one pretty damn good beer.

For unique breweries worth checking out (I don't know what the distro is like in Florida)
Shorts
Great Lakes
(as obvious as it sounds) Sierra Nevada
Surly
(and some of the locals) Crooked Stave, Copper Kettle, Funkwerks. I'm sure they'll be packing some very cool specialty beers this year.

I remember last year Upland kept doing timed pourings of Gilgamesh, and I went back for a few of them, and each time there was maybe 10 people in line, and we all kind of made small talk about how great it was that we were getting Gilgamesh while the lines for PtE and DFH were 70 deep.

Also.
Pro-tip. The only can't miss is the Cheese Booth.

 

I agree. It's not worth waiting in a 20 minute line for a beer. DFH always seem to be the worst. There are plenty of excellent beers, so unless you want to take a twenty minute break to recuperate, I'd avoid the long lines.

 

And it's a 1 ounce beer, too......

 

Depends, I went straight to RR & Lost Abbey and got T25, FfaC, Framboise de Amorosa & Track #7 in the first 15 minutes. By the time I moved on, the line was 50+ people deep. Then happily went over to Stone and got their 2008 BBA Imperial Russian Stout.... it's all about preferences and what you know going in to the event. Find out what's being poured first, then be strategic so you at least have an idea of what you need to and want to hit up first.

Most of all have fun. I typically only plan on 20 or so breweries. The other 20 are based on reputation, what's being poured, what people are recommending, friends preferences, etc.

The only time it's worth waiting in line is if it's a big personal wish list beer and you need 20 minutes to 'take a breather'

 

Pro Tip: If you are at the fest with a couple friends (1 or 2 max) and you do want to wait in line for something good get in line and take turns, one person waits in line while the other goes and tries a few beers and comes back and switches with the other person and they go try some other beers before returning. It is the best of both worlds and makes line waits tolerable, good luck...
Note: DO NOT do this with a large group of people, others in line behind you will not be happy
Note: ALWAYS get in line with a "full" beer

 

^this.

And can we lose the "Oooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhh" this year?

And n00bs please read this:
http://www.fermentedlychallenged.com/2012/10/15-steps-to-becoming-douchebag-at-gabf.html

 

Water. Drink it. It's your friend

 

I'd say go wait in that crazy long line at DFH for some gimmicky beers so there's more better beer for me