The 2025 Great American Beer Festival (GABF), hosted by the Brewers Association, takes place October 9–11 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. As the largest beer festival in the U.S., GABF showcases thousands of craft beers, ciders, seltzers, and other beverages, alongside a prestigious competition for independent craft breweries. Tickets are available now!
What’s New for 2025
This year introduces the Distilling Experience, featuring 20 distilleries offering 0.25-ounce samples of whiskey, vodka, gin, and more. Alongside beer, attendees can explore ready-to-drink cocktails, hard kombucha, cider, and zero-proof beverages.
The festival includes themed experience areas, such as:
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Prost! – German biergarten vibes
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Score! – Sports-themed zone
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Fright – Halloween-inspired setup
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Blast Off – Focus on beyond-beer drinks
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Chill – Relaxed backyard hangout with live music
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Meet the Brewer – Connect directly with craft brewers
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Mile High Stage – New for 2025, featuring live music and contests
Why Brewers Attend
GABF is a key platform for breweries to showcase innovation and connect with beer enthusiasts. The GABF competition awards medals across over 100 categories, often boosting winners’ sales and visibility. It’s also a networking hub for small breweries to engage with peers nationwide.
PAIRED Program
The PAIRED beer-and-food experience pairs small plates from top chefs with limited-release beers and cocktails. A separate ticket is required for this event.
Ticket Information
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General Session: $85 (Thursday, October 9), $95 (Friday, October 10 or Saturday, October 11)
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Three-Day Pass: $220
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PAIRED: $129 (standalone) or $199 (combined with GABF session)
Why Fans Love GABF
Beer enthusiasts flock to GABF to sample diverse styles from across the U.S., often including new and limited-release brews. The festival also offers themed entertainment, live music, silent discos, and costume contests.
Why It Matters
GABF remains the ultimate celebration of American craft brewing, offering brewers and fans alike a unique opportunity to explore and celebrate the industry. Secure your tickets now for this unparalleled event!
Great American Beer Festival History
The Great American Beer Festival (GABF), launched in 1982 in Boulder, Colorado, by nuclear engineer and homebrewing enthusiast Charlie Papazian, emerged as a pioneering celebration of American craft beer. Initially a modest event with 24 breweries, 47 beers, and 800 attendees, it was born from Papazian’s vision to showcase the burgeoning craft beer movement. Held under the auspices of the Brewers Association (then the American Homebrewers Association), the festival aimed to elevate small-scale brewing, spotlighting innovative flavors and techniques. By bringing together brewers and beer lovers, GABF laid the groundwork for a cultural shift, transforming beer from a mass-produced commodity into an artisanal craft, fostering a community that valued quality and diversity.
Over the decades, GABF has grown into the largest beer festival in the United States, now hosted annually in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center. By 2024, it featured over 2,000 beers from more than 500 breweries, drawing tens of thousands of attendees. The festival’s prestigious competition, judged by industry experts, awards gold, silver, and bronze medals across numerous beer style categories, setting benchmarks for excellence in craft brewing. GABF has not only championed the growth of independent breweries but also influenced global beer trends, making it a cornerstone of American beer culture. Its inclusive, festive atmosphere continues to attract enthusiasts and professionals alike, cementing its legacy as a catalyst for the craft beer revolution.