Off to Great American Beer Festival

In 24 hours I am flying to Denver to attend my third Great American Beer Festival. In 2012 Sarah and I attended the Saturday evening session with Kim, Zach, Thayer, and Shon, not knowing what we were getting ourselves into. In 2015 Zach and I had a solid game plan for the Saturday afternoon session that got quickly disrupted by Randy Mosher, Samuel Adams Utopias, and Great Divide Barrel-Aged Yeti right near the entrance.

This year I will be attending all four sessions including the Friday evening PAIRED craft beer + food event. I’ve never been to a food tasting event, and this seems like a five-star experience. As I said earlier, I’m excited to work my way through 48 different seafood, poultry, pork, beef, and vegetarian dishes that are perfectly partnered with beautiful beer. I’m also looking forward to being able to take my time and explore the Pro-Am Competition, to talk with the guilds and Meet the Brewers, and to meet folks who won medals in 2018. I’m also very interested in trying Brett Pilsner with lobster, in hearing more about chicha and pulque, and listening to both brewing veterans and up-and-comers talk about their craft. There’s also going to fresh hopped beers straight from Washington and the original 40 year old Sierra Nevada brewhouse. And having four sessions means taking my time meandering the 800 breweries pouring 4000+ beers on the Colorado Convention Center floor.

I also get to participate in the North American Guild of Beer Writers meeting and awards on Friday. I’m thrilled to learn more about writing from folks with years of experience. I already have impostor syndrome, but they accepted me into the club and I’m going to make the most of it. I am going on a Visit Denver-sponsored brewery tour, which I don’t know much about yet which makes it all the more exciting.

And on Saturday I’m going to the Colorado History Center Beer Here! exhibit with John before the afternoon beer session with John, Zach, Dan, Chris, and Chris. It’ll be great to follow along without the dreaded FOMO and, at the same time, be able to nudge the group towards the newly discovered unsung breweries that either I tried already and heartily recommend, heard good word of mouth during previous sessions, or received medals Saturday morning.

Since I am going to both enjoy and to work on a few long-term writing projects this will be an interesting balance like a well made Vienna Lager. The new MyGABF app is going to be my friend as much as Maps and Untappd. I’ll be posting photos and tweeting throughout this experience, so be sure to follow me at @muralbrewing and @Mural_Brewing. I’ve never taken a selfie with a famous person before, but if I run into someone like Dr. Nikol Jackson-Beckham,  Bart Watson, Randy Mosher, Ray Daniels, Charlie Papazian, Theresa McCulla, Stan Hieronymus, or the hundreds of brewers roaming the mighty halls, I will definitely geek out. Message me if you want to meet up. Stay safe, stay hydrated, try new things. Cheers!