A beer festival is an organized event during which a variety of beers are available for tasting and purchase.
The Great American Beer Festival
The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is a three-day annual event hosted by the Brewers Association 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 2,000 different American beers. Over 100 beer judges from the United States and abroad evaluate beer in the associated competition, ultimately judging 3,300 beers entered by almost 500 domestic breweries. Gold, silver and bronze medals in 78 beer-style categories are awarded, though not every medal is necessarily 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 2009 festival had 457. In 2009 the festival expanded into a hall one-third larger than the previous year.
The Great American Beer Festival awards gold, silver and bronze medals for excellence in 75 beer-style categories but does not necessarily award medals to the top three finishers in a particular category. When judges decide a category contains three excellent examples of the style, they award gold, silver and bronze medals for the first, second and third place beers, respectively. If judges believe that no beer in the category meets the quality and style-accuracy criteria, they may elect not to award a medal.
Oktoberfest Zinzinnati
Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati USA is an outdoor festival held in downtown Zinzinnati, Ohio that showcases the rich German heritage of Southwestern Ohio, as well as tasty samples of German-style music, food and beer. First held in 1976, the event has grown to be North America's largest Oktoberfest with over 500,000 people attending each year.
Brewtopia: Great World Beer Festival
The Great World Beer Fest (GWBF), originally known as "Brewtopia" was established in 2002 and is the longest running, largest beer festival in
New York City. Billed as the "United Nations of Beer,” GWBF features brewers from around the world in a fun, competitive, and most importantly, prominent festival designed to increase the public's awareness of craft beers. Traditionally held the last weekend in October, the GWBF welcomes an average of 15,000 beer enthusiasts over a two-day 3-session period. Billed as the "United Nations of Beer," GWBF features brewers from around the world in a fun, competitive, and most importantly, prominent festival designed to increase the public's awareness of craft beers. Each session features hundreds of beer samplings as well as live music, lectures and an opportunity to meet and greet your favorite brewers. With it dedication to the enjoyment and education of craft beer it’s an annual tradition.
Traditionally The Great World Beer Festival is held over 2 days and consists of three sessions. A sell out crowd of 15,000 people attended the lats two years and enjoyed samples of hundreds of beer, live entertainment and fantastic food.
Oregon Brewers Festival
The Oregon Brewers Festival is one of the nation's longest-running and best loved craft beer festivals, held annually in
Portland, Ore. the last full weekend in July. Celebrating 22 Years of American Craft Beer! Pouring more than 80 different craft beers from around the country, the Oregon Brewers Festival is the quintessential celebration of craft beer! On a sun soaked July afternoon, there's no better place to sip suds with friends than along the banks of the Willamette River, with the Portland skyline as a backdrop to the west and Mt. Hood towering in the East. Whether you prefer Ambers or Belgians, Pales or Pilsners, Ryes or Stouts - come to the Oregon Brewers Festival, and see for yourself why we're one of the world's best loved craft beer festivals.
Philly Beer Week
The city of
Philadelphia has been brewing beer for more than 300 years. So deep are its sudsy roots, Philadelphia has even been called "the best beer-drinking city in America." Philly Beer Week is a 10-day series of beer events starting on the first weekend in March in Philadelphia as a celebration of America's Best Beer-Drinking City. In 2009 it featured 674 separate beer events. lly Beer Week invites beer lovers to try special dinners and tastings, go on tours of Philadelphia's best pubs and breweries, watch home-brewing technique demos, catch a cask ale festival and more.
The Great International Beer Festival
The Great International Beer Festival is held twice annually at the Rhode Island Convention Center in
Providence RI, usually in April and October. It’s a great afternoon or evening of live music, fun food and unlimited beer sampling. The most recent festival offered well over 200 different beers from 47 breweries, from 11 different states and 7 far flung countries. Aside from being an excellent opportunity for beer lovers to try many different brews from around the world all in one spot, it is also a serious competition for the brewers as medals are awarded in many different categories that range from common styles to highly specialized beers.
The day is split into two separate admission sessions. There’s an afternoon session that runs from 1-4:30 pm, and an evening session that goes from 6:30 to 10:00 pm. They have distinct vibes, so choose accordingly. The afternoon session is a little mellower and is conducive to chatting with the brewers and letting your inner beer geek loose. The evening shift is a little more raucous as you might expect a Saturday night beer session to be. Both, however, will feature a great mix of good beer, good times and excellent local music. You might find anything from a fun cover band to the Celtic folk brilliance of Pendragon.
Northern New England is chock full of great breweries and many make the trek down to Providence for these festivals. Most folks have heard of
Magic Hat from Vermont, but you’ll also get to try their organic beers under their Orlio label. Also from Vermont,
Long Trail Brewing offers a tasty array of popular styles. Portland, Maine is always made proud by the brews of
Shipyard Brewing and
Stone Coast Brewing. Not to be out done, New Hampshire’s
Pennichuk Brewing always offers some big beers in some interesting styles.