GABF Breweries of Interest, R-S

My plan was to wrap up the GABF breweries in one final shot here, but it turns out there were a lot more breweries from R on than I had anticipated. I'll try to get the T-Z finished before the bagpipers begin their march through the Colorado Convention Center.

Radiant Beer Co. An Anaheim Brewery that isn't nearly as known for its adjunct stouts as that other Anaheim brewery. And how could they be, with an operation so small that they won the Brewery of the Year in the 0-250 Barrels category at last year's GABF. I wonder how you could win by making 0 barrels of beer? Well, we really liked their logo, so... Anyway, I was talking about adjunct stouts, as Radiant has one worth checking out at GABF: Comfort Blanket, aged in both 17 yr Wild Turkey Master's Keep and 8 yr Elijah Craig barrels with added pecans, cacao nibs, and maple syrup. Makes me wish IHOP would start offering alcoholic syrups.

Reuben's Brews Big surprise that I'll be in search of IPAs when I hit up the Reuben's Brews booth. How could I resist the Seattle brewery that's bringing Fresh Hop Double Crush (Hazy DIPA with fresh Citra hops) and Hazealicious (WBC Gold Hazy Pale Ale)?

Revision Brewing Remember back in 2018 when Revision won both a gold for IPA and silver for Imperial IPA at the World Beer Cup? You can taste part of that history as Revision will pour their classic IPA at GABF. They also brought Reno as Fuck, their hazy DIPA that I enjoyed at the Falling Rock Tap House East Vs. West event

Revolution Brewing It wouldn't be fair for Revolution to show up without bringing some fantastic stouts. Thankfully, they are bringing Coconut Deth BA Imperial Stout (15%...Lord help us). Still alive? Then get a sip of Thundertaker, the 16.2% BA Imperial Rye Stout.

Russian River (Windsor, Santa Rosa) You thought there'd be a list without Russian River? That's like going to GABF and skipping the New Glarus booth...oh, right. Anyway, Russian River will pour at two booths this year, representing their Windsor production facility and their Santa Rosa taproom. Standouts include STS Pils, Sauvignon Blanc barrel-aged Intinction, Beatification (waited 2 hours in line in Santa Rosa in 2012 for bottles of this. Hopefully the line for a sample won't be quite as long) and a DIPA, Pliny something or other.

Shades Brewing Who wants Thai? You'll be hard pressed to find a more interesting beer list than what they're pouring at Shades brewing, where Kveik yeast is the star. You can try Kveik Nelson, Kveik Peach Cobbler, Kveik Pina Colada...it's like the Bubba Gump of beer.

Short Fuse Brewing You always wanted to try beer from the GABF Brewery of the Year in the 2001-5000 Barrels Per Year category? This is your chance! Don't get nervous as you approach the booth. Act like you've been there before when you ask for a sample of their Tropical Hurt Locker, silver medalist last year in the Fruited American Sour Ale category. also be sure to try Vocal Jam, another Fruited Sour that also took a silver, this one in the Experimental Beer category.

Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico facility Line up, fanboys and girls, to be the first one to try this year's version of Celebration Ale, the beer everyone in the world loves. It's a little malty for me, but it deserves respect for being an iconic seasonal that still remains talked about and sought after. I'm curious about the three barrel-aged beers they're bringing: a BA Coffee Stout, BA Maple Blonde, and BA Bigfoot in EH Taylor barrels. They're also bringing some other one-offs or little known beers, so big props to them for that. A brewery with the notoriety of Sierra Nevada will draw a crowd no matter what, yet they chose to put together a thoughtful lineup of beers. Their Mills River facility will also have a booth, this one hosting the "Applebee's Lineup": Hazy Little Thing, Big Little Thing, and Sunny Little Thing.

Snake River Brewing It's probably time for a pick me up, so head over to GABF vets Snake River for some Speargun, the 2018 GABF gold winner in the Coffee Stout category. Another gold winner they're pouring is Dark Horse, the International Style Dark Lager. And you can't leave without a sample of Zonker Stout, a 10-time GABF medalist!

Spice Trade Brewing I can't vouch for their quality, but Spice Trade is bringing beers that stand out sheerly for their unique ingredients: Basil IPA, which, you guesed it, incorporates basil into an IPA, and Thai Tripel,a Belgian Tripel with kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, coriander, and ginger.

StormBreaker Brewing You say you and all your friends agree, there's not enough British styles represented at GABF? Huh. Bet you're a fun bunch. Well, here ya go: ExtraStormBreaker in the house, fresh off its 2022 gold medal at World Beer Cup in ESB category. Party on, lads.

Sun King Brewery Rumor has it that Sun King has won so many medals at GABF, Jeff Bagby is asking the Sun King team for tips on which pants to wear to the awards ceremony. 29 GABF medals and 9 World Beer Cup medals is quite a feat, and Sun King is nice enough to bring three medal winners to their booth this year for your drinking pleasure: Pachanga, a Mexican-style Lager (bronze, Light Lager; 4 time GABF medalist Cherry Busey, Flanders Red; Barrel-Aged Churrolicious, BA Scotch Ale (WBC gold, Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer).