The Great American Beer Festival (GABF ) is a three-day annual event hosted by the Brewers Association held at the end of September or the beginning of October in Denver, Colorado. The GABF brings visitors from around the world to sample more than 1,800 different American beers. Over 100 beer judges from the United States and abroad participate in the evaluations of one or more beer styles, ultimately judging 2,300 beers entered by more than 450 domestic breweries. Gold, silver and bronze medals in 75 beer-style categories are awarded, though not every medal is awarded in each category. Started in 1982, the GABF was created by Charlie Papazian in Boulder, Colorado. The original GABF had 22 participating breweries and the 2008 festival had 432.

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Statistics

2004

• Attendance - 28,000
• Breweries at the fest - 334
• Beers at the fest - 1,454
• Breweries in the competition - 398
• Beers in the competition - 2,016
• Medals awarded - 201

2005

• Attendance - 29,500
• Breweries at the fest - 377
• Beers at the fest - 1,672
• Breweries in the competition - 466
• Beers in the competition - 2,335
• Category with most entries - American Style India Pale Ale: 103
• Medals awarded - 206

2006

• Attendance - 41,000
• Breweries at the fest - 384
• Beers at the fest - 1,668
• Breweries in the competition - 450
• Beers in the competition - 2,402
• Category with most entries - American Style India Pale Ale: 94
• Medals awarded - 203

2007

• Attendance - 46,000
• Breweries at the fest - 408
• Beers at the fest - 1,884
• Breweries in the competition - 473
• Beers in the competition - 2,973
• Category with most entries - American Style India Pale Ale: 120
• Medals awarded - 222 + 3 in Pro-Am

2008

• Attendance - 46,000
• Breweries at the fest - 432
• Beers at the fest - 2,052
• Breweries in the competition - 472
• Beers in the competition - 2,902
• Category with most entries - American Style India Pale Ale: 106
• Medals awarded - 222 + 3 in Pro-Am ^[1]

Awards

Brewery of the Year

Award	Brewing Company or Brewpub	Brewer
Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year	Anheuser-Busch, Inc.	Doug Muhleman
Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year	Pyramid Breweries, Inc.	Simon Pesch
Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year	AleSmith Brewing Co.	The AleSmith Brewing Team
Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year	Rock Bottom Brewing	Rock Bottom Brewing Team
Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year	Redwood Brewing Co.	Bill Wamby

Pro-Am Competition

Note: GABF Pro-Am entries are brewed by professional craft brewers based on award winning homebrew recipes from American Homebrewers Association Members. Recipes are scaled up and brewed at a craft brewery for submission into the competition.

Medal	Brew	Brewing Company	Professional	AHA Member Brewer
Gold	Barking Dog Scottish Ale	Big Time Brewing Co., Seattle, Washington	Bill Jenkins	Jeff Niggemeyer
Silver	Bamberg Hellerbock	Starr Hill Brewing Co., Crozet, Virginia	Matt Reich	Lyle Brown
Bronze	Irish Red	Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colorado	Doug Odell	Alex Grote

There were 58 Pro-Am entries in 2008. ^[1]

See also

• Craft beer

References

1. http://www.beertown.org/events/gabf
2. http://www.beertown.org/events/gabf