GABF 2017

It was almost overwhelming, all the excellent beer that could be had with little to no waiting. Even the small regional stuff I tried wasn't bad at all. I finally got all my "beer states" knocked out by sampling beer from SD, ND, WV, and AR.

I also noticed on the Sat. Evening session that a lot of brewery employees were hanging around at their booths this year, not just in the "meet the brewers" section.

Also the way they did the lines at the very beginning this year was efficient- I heard that was new. They had a bunch of "holding pens" inside so you were real close to the breweries before it started.

 

They did the holding pens thing last year, too. I think it works out really well. It allows them to ID everyone and hand out wrist bands and glasses well before the show begins. 2+ years ago they were using the doors at Stout and 14th as the main entrance. People were only able to enter and get ID'd a few minutes before the show started. Then they'd blockade the stairs for 15 minutes while someone gave a speech nobody could hear. It was a bit of a mess and never made much sense to me.

My only gripe this year was the floor layout. It felt like things were arranged with no logical flow. Some places were alphabetical, some weren't. Regions randomly stopped and started. Some places were in the "meet the brewers" area with no brewers in sight or even in attendance. Getting from one side of the show to the other was kind of challenging since the main ring only circled 1/2 the show. That's a really minor complaint, though. I've been to 12 GABF's and this was probably the best or 2nd best one I've been to.

 

Was my first time but I thought it was great. Getting everyone "prechecked" meant only a few minutes to get in once they opened the gates which was better then i was expecting. Used the app to hit up places I wanted to get to and pretty much circled through the rest of the time. Even the long lines went pretty fast and they ended up being a bit helpful to take a break between tastes.

 

Drank several Founders KBS, no line at all

 

Never! There's a lot of great leftovers to drink.

 

Like @Dan_K said, no lines for TG, none @ FFF. Bells and weldwerks were the two I waited in. A few places had kicked kegs, but not like a few years ago. Last time I went FFF kicked everything monday night and left town. I noticed that the frat boy contingent was nowhere to be found this year. My guess is it's cheaper to buy a few bottles than go to GABF, finally.

 

Whoa!? No frat boy contingent? Now you've got me interested in coming back next year.

 

We paid $30 each and it was certainly worth it... really impressed by Lone Pine out of Portland— great NE IPAs all around. Had too many beers from so many places, but definitely gonna agree that the overall quality seemed elevated compared to years prior.

 

I still miss the beer garden at Currigan Hall....

 

LOL... never had Fernet Branca huh? @Todd and BA gave Ferentic 100 out of 100 if I remember right

 

Hipster brunch sure is an interesting beer, I've only had the rye barrel and I though that was fantastic as well.

 

Funny guy as well, told me hipsters were plentiful and low cost in his area

 

Not sure, but I may have scored the last 4 pack of SoS on the front range today in Fort Collins. Its so good... amazed by the citrus/pine balance and head retention. Dated 9/21- thanks to Lawson for sending the freshies!

 

I just finished the last can from my four pack. Pretty got-damn impressive. Also enjoyed Big Papi from Commonwealth, a solid NE-ish IPA.

 

I’m already down to my last can

 

I still know a spot with at least 2 SoS packs as of yesterday afternoon (I got my 4 pack earlier in the month and figured I'd let someone else enjoy since i still have a bunch of fresh hop pale ales to work through). PM if interested in the location, but know that you'd have to head to South Metro.

 

Atlas Valley had some as of yesterday in Lafayette.