Let's talk about GABF 2014

Headed down Friday, late morning from Ft. Collins. Met the brewers/owners of the place I work for at BSide for lunch. Amazing fried chicken and they had some good stuff on tap, I'll be back for more of that fired chicken. Then was wanting to check out 'one' new brewery I haven't been to, so met a friend at Baere. Enjoyed their beer and really dig their Baere-liner Weis, and also the home made syrups you can add to it. Also at 3.7 ABV a great pre fest beer. Then how could I not cross the street and check out TRVE. Love this place and never make it to the South side enough. Has a pint of Scorn, umm.

Then proceeded to GABF. Work for a brewery so got in about an hour early and enjoyed the peace of the fest without all the people as I planned my early attack. I lined up for TG Assassin about 30-40 minutes before the fest started and the line ended up huge. Then swung around the corner for Huna and the Wicked Weed offerings before most of the public made their way in. That was day one and so much fun.

Went to breakfast at Fogo de Chao for a Brazilian breakfast with Funkwerks. Second year in a row and one of the best deals for food in town this particular weekend, and a perfect start to a Saturday afternoon session. $22 All you can eat, they keep slicing meats, bringing out bacon, eggs, potatoes and rolls till you give in a quit!

Somehow stayed for both sessions that day (working at the brewery and had an extra pass) Needless to say that a was a bit much for an old guy like myself and I'm still feeling it a few days later.

On the drive home (had a DD too) hit 4 Noses in Broomfield (really digging this place too) and Colorado Keg to watch football, awesome sports bar with great craft brew on tap! Great overall, long weekend.

Highlights to many to list or remember Hardywood Raspberry Stout, Boneyard beers, Wicked Weed beers, Beachwood Mocha Machine, Breakside had some nice beers that ended up winning awards, of course Huna and Assasin. Fun times but like the year before, lost my notes somehow but remembered most!

 

Tuesday, went to Barrels and Bottles for He'Brew tap takeover

Wednesday, hosted a trademark dialogue at Comrade Brewing. Great talk, great beer, great information. Superdamp. Hit up Crooked Stave for some beers. Headed to Falling Rock for whatever was on tap

Thursday, lunched at Park Burger, then walked to Falling Rock. Had beer. Walked to Euclid Hall to meet up with @bikingforbeer for, well, a beer. Walked to GABF to pour for Logsdon and Mutiny. Sampled most of Section B, parts of A

Friday, Rare Beer Fest...food was great. Stopped in World of Beer on the way home

Saturday, early rise. Flat tire. Walked to GABF, poured for Mutiny again. Polished off Sections B and A, mozied (?) around for bonus samples. AFter GABF, went to Lucky Pie for lunch. Then Falling Rock. Then Star Bar. Then Falling Rock for Dr. Bill's bottle share (more BA beers??). Walked home, jumped in the hot tub

Sunday, remembered that I have a girlfriend

Today, raided Bull and Bush's tap list (some good ones there, folks!)

 

I headed straight for the mountains for some fantastic hiking and fly fishing. Took up some Rumpkin and a few other fallish local brews. Completely missed all GABF events, a decision in which I don't even slightly regret. Can you tell I loath crowds?

But seriously, glad you had a good time. You deserve it for driving all the way from Arkansas!

 

First year at GABF, first time in Denver. Definitely looking to return.

Flew in Wednesday to participate in Renegade Brewing/Sexpot Comedy's Offensively Delicious, which featured tastings from 10 breweries (Epic, Breckenridge, Schmaltz, Community, Ommegang, Brooklyn, Boulevard, Santa Fe and Fort Collins), comedy from a rep from each brewery, sets from MCs Andy Juett and Jordan Doll and headliners Adam Cayton-Holland and Nikki Glaser. The beers were great and plentiful and everyone was very welcoming, which resulted in my rewriting my comedy set shortly before taking the stage for Brooklyn. All around an excellent intro to the weekend, and I believe they're repeating the event next year.

Thursday we had breakfast at Delectable Egg, which featured a "fiesta skillet" that was a balm to body and soul. I headed to the convention center shortly after with some fellow Brooklyn marketing team members to set up our booth. It took some serious arts-n-crafts time but came out pretty excellent. That night I checked off most of my tasting wish list and spent some time pouring for Brooklyn. While pouring a fellow from Cismontane Brewing in California recognized me from stories he'd heard from my best friend, who is a regular in their tasting room. Small world and a great meet.

Friday we took a trip with some of our sales team members to Oskar Blues (both brewery and restaurant for lunch) and Left Hand. Oskar Blues was particularly notable for their Death By Coconut, which took a silver medal at the festival and is thusly damnably hard to find (hint hint, those of you with trading stock.) We made it back to the session that night to hang with some friends from Empire Brewing, try more beer and meet up with an old hometown friend who recently moved to Boulder.

Saturday was the first time I realized how little sleep I was getting, but oh well. We attended the awards in the morning, buzzed through the afternoon session then walked to the Cheeky Monk for lunch. We then headed to TRVE Brewing, where we briefly saw the Alstroms at the tasting room bar. "Hail Saison, Worship Despair" wins for best beer name but their StoutO))) was the best I tried there. The beer, metal music soundtrack, demon-labelled barrels and awesome merch designs make TRVE a must in Denver. A quick stop among the medal-seeking masses at Argonaut, a caffeine run and a change of shirt later and I was at the center for a packed last shift pouring for the final session.

Sunday found us in line at the Denver airport bright and too early, cheek to jowl with a collection of brewers, beer lovers and distinctly worried civilians who weren't expected this sort of crowd on a Sunday morning flight. I've managed to shake off the jet lag, squirreled away my new bottles and told my stories to those who listen. The fest was great and I hope to return to the revelry many more times.

 

Here's my week:
Trip to Grapevine and the Young Guns Dinner on Wednesday
WTF on Thursday
Poured for Perennial at Rare Beer on Friday
Bull & Bush Brunch on Saturday (@Mebuzzard is correct - they have TONS of great taps)
Stapleton Tap House on Sunday...as it's close to home and I like not having to pay for 6-packs of pumpkin beers

This is the first year I've missed the main GABF event in 5 years and I don't really regret it at all. It would have been nice, but no biggie. Overall, I really couldn't have been happier. Do I have minor gripes about a few things? Sure...but they don't really matter. When the worst problems of my week are Uber bills and disappointment in a vegan food truck, I'd say things are pretty damn fine.

 

2nd GABF visit (consecutive), 3rd visit to Denver

Thursday
Flew in from Seattle very early - stopped for coffee, hit Grapevine for a bottle run, lunch & a pacifico at Las Tortas (mmm). Took a shower and drank a NG cranbic and split an Avery Pumpkyn before heading to the Thursday PM session (sooo much better than Saturday PM). Boycotted all lines - had great beers at Melvin, Snake River, Beachwood, La Cumbre, etc etc. Wrapped the night up at Falling Rock with a bunch of fried food and some Cigar City releases.

Friday
Got up early, drank some coffee, grabbed lunch at denver central station (quite cool!) and headed to the Beers Made by Walking Event, which is a really great concept. Rented some b-cycles and biked to the Source where we crushed beers for about 3 hours at Crooked Stave before sneaking in a few at River North. Dined at Osteria Marco, opting to go the cocktail route rather than the Great Divide Pairing.

Saturday
Got up at 5am, summited Quandary Peak (14er) and drank a River North Rum Barrel Quandary on the summit (note: i live at 0.0 feet above sea level - altitude is my bitch). Dropped into Breckenridge, grabbed a sandwich at stella's hungry horse (um, awesome) and took it to Broken Compass Brewery for a few beers. Drove back to denver, showered, headed to freshcraft for the surly event and then falling rock for a bunch of releases (most notably all of the great new belgium things)

Sunday
Got up early, did the Crooked Stave Brunch at Lou's in the Highlands. Walked to Prost for a few beers in the hot sun, met up with some other friends at Crooked Stave for about 4 more hours of draining their kegs.

I think that covers it. Pretty awesome, but really still not over the fact that Avery didnt do the Barrel Aged Bike Ride this year

 

Monday, I hit the Falling Rock kickoff, like always. Drank Deliverance, Nitro Ten Fidy, & Consecration.
Tues/Wed, I didn't do shit.
Thurs, I was at Great Divide by noon, followed by Epic, River North, and then Falling rock. The Deschutes pre-party was next, with Imperial Cinder Cone and stuffing my face with chicken wings and french fries to lay the base for the festus. At the festus, I again loved the 666 from Sun King... but my favorite overall was the one that made me smile the most... the Grozdinski (sp?) from Live Oak. Good lord, they should can that for the summer and make a fortune.
Fri was recovery and work.
Sat night was a bottle share with friends in from AZ that saw a LOT of rare sours opened that had the "ooh-ahh" factor... but I'm not a sour guy, so it was lost on me. I was glad to see the friends, though.
The end.

 

I have a one-year old this year so mine was tamed down from previous years, also a local:

Monday - Falling Rock kick-off at 5pm
Tuesday - beer run
Wednesday - beer run, lunch at Hops & Pie for CSA tapping, Crooked Stave's bottle release
Thursday - beer run
Friday - GABF, ended night at Stueben's on walk home

And opened something(s) nice from the cellar each night at home.

 

Monday-Wednesday: Sat in a work conference in Orlando
Thursday: Scrambled to sell my WTF tickets last minute during breaks in the conference
Friday: More Orlando conference

At least the hotel bar had Cigar City and Bells, though the Jai Alai keg was not fresh and the Two Hearted was bottled in early June

 

Monday: Hit up FR for the tapping party
Tuesday: Worked
Wednesday: last day off... Hit up brewers rondevu. Post game at undisclosed brewery
Thursday: Worked AM, ran downtown for Thursday session. Poured/tasted. 1UP and others later, ended the night at 4AM.
Friday: Walked to work, brewed, hit up Hops & Pie after, had some great beers.
Saturday: Worked for an hour, ran down to award ceremony, moved car, Afternoon session, food at Osteria Marco (company tradition), then a full night session of pouring and dealing with the incredibly drunk.
Sunday: picked up kegs, worked, sobered up.
Since then, worked.

 

Wednesday: missed our 1pm Seattle>Denver flight (not my fault, the bosses actually). Ended up getting to Falling rock at 12:30AM with a quick pitstop in Phoenix...managed to sneak in 5 beers before last call

Thursday: 'work' during the day. At lunch, met a friend for delivery of some CS Mama Bear Cherry Pie . 1st time ever at a GABF session. Got in early with media pass and hit my top wants. Cable Car, Assasin and a few others. Laughed at the ridiculous Cigar City line. Glad I've had Huna before. After GABF headed to Euclid Hall for the most insane beer dinner I've ever had. Avery you're nuts. But it was amazing.

Friday: 'work' day again. Managed to sneak out and hit Mr B's to grab some limited Avery stuff at 2pm (just a coincidence we were there on time) and more CS and Prairie. Enjoyed a rattlesnake and pheasant hot dog! Evening GABF session again, mostly wandering and exploring, trying to find some hidden gems, focusing on styles I like. Headed to Falling Rock after.

Saturday: Woke up (did I even sleep?) at 3:45am for a 6am flight(s) back to YVR. (and I almost missed it, do your cab drivers always go so slow?!?! ) Oh and then I went and took photos at a beer festival in Vancouver just before 2pm...

All in all it was a blur but a super fun time. I'd do the festival again but only 1 night (was kind of a work thing). I have a feeling I only saw a tiny bit of how amazing Denver is. MUST GO BACK!

 

Had food poisoning Sat night halfway through GABF. Fucking sucked. Missed like every place I really wanted to check out, including Melvin. Fuck.

 

What the hell did you eat? So I don't go to that place.

 

I'd rather not say.... ahem. I'm quite embarrassed by it, cause everyone will immediately say "well yeah, idiot, of course you'll get sick"...







... King Soopers sushi. THERE, ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!??!?!??!!?!! /sobbing

 

I hear ya - the 6 month old this year put a damper on things. I had to "resort" to going to daytime things, like Surly at B Side/Star Bar, CSA thing at Hops & Pie, etc... but all those and WTF on Thurs and GABF on Sat (until food poisoning hit anyway) was mighty fine.

 

Monday-Wednesday: Worked
Thursday Friday: Beer Runs
Saturday: Hit up Freshcraft for Surly Darkness and Pentagram (2 amazing beers!) Then went next door to Blake Street Vault for Oscar Blues Tap Takeover. Had nitro BA Ten Fidy, BA Gubna, and Shipwrecker Circus Barleywine. All of the beers were awesome.
Sunday: Recover.

Overall not a crazy GABF week but got to try three beers that I have been wanting to try for quite awhile. (Darkness, Pentagram, and BA Ten Fidy)

Would definitely like to attend the actual GABF next year.

 

Well, yeah, id....oh. Beat me to it.
To be fair, that ain't sushi

 

This would've been my ideal itinerary. Instead with work and a 3 month old, "only" hit up WTF Thursday and Firestone/Surly at Freshcraft Saturday.