A How-To Guide for Great American Beer Festival 2022

It’s been three long years since the last in-person Great American Beer Festival in Denver… but finally, in 2022, it’s back and ready to rock our world (and our livers) once again! GABF boasts over 500 breweries and over 2000 different beers, an absolutely overwhelming number for even an experienced beer festival attendee. So we thought we’d write up a How-To guide for the 2022 Great American Beer Festival to provide some guidelines for newcomers with GABF tickets— or craft beer lovers who are rusty from a year or two away from the festival circuit— to help you beer fest in style and make the most of your time on the convention center floor.

BEFORE YOU ARRIVE:

– Do research!

While this is perhaps the most daunting task associated with Great American Beer Festival, it’s perhaps the most important as well. There are too many beers for you to *remotely* drink them all— in fact, even if you only selected beers that you would absolutely love to try, and only drank those for the entire session, you still wouldn’t get to all of them. Since that’s the case, why on earth would you settle for drinking beer that doesn’t light your world on fire? You need to look through the breweries who are attending— and the beers they’ll be pouring— and try to figure out where your priorities lie.

This may depend on how many sessions you’re attending. Maybe it depends on where you live. Maybe it depends if you’re more interested in drinking familiar favorites or more interested in trying new things. Maybe you want to spend time in line for the timed pours of the giant stouts and barleywines. Whatever you choose, make a game plan, go through the list of breweries/beers, and decide what your top priorities are.

– Pack appropriately!

Before heading to Denver, I always bring a fanny pack for stickers, coasters, and the like. I bring some twine and a bag of pretzels, because a nice pretzel necklace always hits the spot at a beer festival. I bring an external battery for my cell phone, because a long festival day filled with photos and the occasional note-taking can drain your battery down to zero, and you’ll need enough juice to call that Uber after. I bring a refillable water bottle, because even if I’m not bringing it to the festival, best believe you’ll want as much water as you can chug before and after. Finally, I try to bring comfortable pants, because there’s nothing worse than getting a couple of hours into drinking beer and realizing that the bloating has made your pants too snug.

IN THE HOURS BEFORE THE FESTIVAL:

– Eat something!

It’s basic science. Most of the absorption of alcohol that occurs in our digestive system occurs in the small intestine (there’s far more surface area there). So if we make it harder for alcohol to get to the place in our body that absorbs it most quickly, we can delay the impact that alcohol will have on our bodies. Trust me, you do *not* want to be the annoying too-drunk person who gets removed from the festival. So eat something first: something high in protein or healthy fats, something that will take a long time for your stomach to process, so that it slows the beer’s impact. This does not mean eating beforehand will prevent you from getting drunk— but if you spread out the absorption over a longer period of time, the manifestation of its impact will be minimized.

– Arrive early!

If you arrive 15 minutes before the festival starts, you’ll be ushered toward the back of a lengthy stampede of beer-loving maniacs. And if you’re in the back, you’ll be getting inside later and will be facing long lines at hyped breweries before you even have a chance to find where they are. So grab some food to go and get to that line early, so that you’re leading the stampede rather than helplessly following the herd.

ONCE YOU’RE INSIDE:

– Head straight to the table you expect to have long lines!

If you’re someone who has Three Floyds, WeldWerks, Russian River, Kane, or the like on your list of breweries you can’t wait to have this week… I have news for you. Those are on everyone’s list. If you can be toward the front of the line to enter, and you head right to one of the breweries that you expect will be busy? You might get to be one of the fortunate souls that doesn’t have to spend lengthy time waiting in line for delicious beer.

– Take a lap by your favorites!

Few things are more valuable once you have your first pour or two in your system than taking a lap and getting the lay of the land. See if you can get a feel for which of your top priority breweries have long lines and which might be more readily available. See when your top priority breweries might be doing timed pours. Learning a little more about where the lines are and when the biggest, most hyped pours are happening will help you determine some of your schedule for the rest of your session.

– Drink water!

We’ve all had post-festival hangovers. You know what will help prevent the worst possible hangover? Drink copious amounts of water. My general rule is an ounce of water for every ounce of beer. Now, does that mean you’ll have to wait in bathroom lines more than you’d like? Maybe. But better to drink some in a bathroom line than to find yourself face down in a bathroom toilet later. Especially if you’re attending multiple sessions, you really need to make sure you’re hydrating at every possible moment. GABF allows you to bring a clear, empty, plastic water bottle with you— I strongly encourage you to do so.

– DUMP!

The most important advice I could possibly give anyone attending a beer festival: if you get a pour of beer, and you decide you don’t *love* it? Take a couple sips and dump the rest. You have very precious space in your body for beer over the 4.5 hours of GABF. You don’t want to be filling it with beer you merely *like,* because every ounce of beer you don’t love is taking the place of beer you might. Brewers know dumping happens— they will not be shocked or offended. If you’re concerned about waste, by all means, ask for a smaller pour (that’s what we usually do). But I cannot emphasize enough the importance of dumping. If you want to make the most of your GABF ticket price, there’s nothing more valuable than pouring out the remainder of your glass if you’re not over the moon about the beer.

– Eat something!

I know I said to eat something before the festival. But it’s a long festival! It’s four and a half hours of drinking! If you ate something at 3, best believe you’ll also want to eat something around 7 or 8. There will be terrific food options at the Colorado Convention Center, so make sure you take a break and load up on some protein before returning to the festival floor.

– Don’t forget the special tables!

In addition to all the amazing breweries that will be pouring during your visit, there are also three other tables pouring terrific beer. At the Heavy Medal table, there will be a slew of past GABF winners being poured. At Collab Nation, you’ll see some cool crossovers and collabs from craft breweries, home brewers, and more. At Wish We Were Here, you’ll see beers being poured from breweries that couldn’t personally be in attendance. The best thing about these tables: what’s being poured at each table will switch daily. I consider these an absolute must to swing by, inspect, and see if some surprise diamonds in the rough lie in waiting.

– Arrive EARLY for timed pours!

If Utopias are pouring at 7 and you arrive at 6:58, I’ve got news for you, friend: you’re out of luck. Many of the timed pours will have lengthy lines. You’d rather be early than late. Show up with a full pour of something you love, and exercise some patience. The early bird gets the worm. Or, in this case, the barrel-aged beer.

– Make friends!

People at GABF, whether on the brewery side or on the attendee side, are there because they love the community that craft beer create. If you love a beer, tell the people at the table! Ask questions! If you overhear strangers chatting, wondering what they should get next, give them a friendly recommendation! I’ve made friends at GABF, and I know you can too. After all, beer is a social lubricant. So put yourself out there and chat with folks! A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met.

AFTER YOU LEAVE:

– Uber/Lyft/walk home!

Do not be dumb enough to think you can drive. You can’t. Stop. Don’t even think about it. Plan on drinking as much as you’d like, and plan on a *safe* travel home.

– Eat something!

I know your belly is full of beer. I know you probably don’t want to eat. You’ll be happy if you put more protein in your stomach after the festival. Trust me. Spread our that alcohol absorption the best you can.

ARE YOU GOING TO MULTIPLE SESSIONS?

So are we! (I’ll be there Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for the member’s session.) First of all, congrats, you live a very blessed life! Your liver will hate you, but your memories— if you have them— will be rich and wonderful. I strongly recommend you distribute the “big line” breweries over the two sessions. If you see something with a massive line Thursday, make that your first stop Thursday. Try to discover some awesome new breweries. There are breweries from plenty of states that will never distribute to where you live— so try them now while you can! Maybe consider making one session a slower “timed pour” session and one session a “try as much as you can” session. As long as you’re planning ahead, you can do no wrong! And, of course, remember to eat something.

Hopefully this guide helps you! If you see us at GABF, please stop us and say hello— and please consider following us on TikTok and Instagram. Thanks, and let’s make this year’s Great American Beer Festival the best one yet! Cheers!