2025 GABF Beers and Breweries to Try, G-M

Galveston Bay Brewing You say you've been reading this whole time and haven't seen me recommend a single Wee Heavy to try? Read no further! Megalodon is a 10.5% Wee Heavy style that might convince you to try haggis (if you drink enough of it. Not enough samples in the world to get me to do it.). Captain's Coffee Stout (GABF Bronze 2021) will also be poured.

Ghost Town Brewing Their Nose Goblin DIPA has won four medals at GABF/WBC in the highly competitive Imperial IPA category. Ossuary, a two-time medalist in the Robust Porter category, will also be featured.

Green Mountain Beer Company The world needs more rye whiskey barrel-aged stouts. Green Mountain delivers. Ryefecta uses two kinds of rye in this Imperial Stout. Also try the Rosy Dawn Watermelon Sour and Dunkler Helm Schwarzbier.

hear.say The way the beers are named at this brewery remind me of an E.E. Cummings poem. I'm intrigued. over.look Fruited Sour and vanta.ray Russian Imperial Stout are on my radar.

Icicle Brewing Three different medal-winning beers will be poured at Icicle's booth this year: Alpenhaze (Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale, GABF 2022/WBC 2023), Icicle Premium Pilsner (International-Style Pilsener, WBC 2023,2025), and Dragontail (Australian-Style Pale Ale, WBC 2025).

La Cumbre Brewing Elevated IPA won GABF Gold in the IPA category in La Cumbre's first year of competition at GABF in 2011. Impressive, to say the leas.t Their Project Dank IPA wont the National IPA Challenge in 2014, so it's safe to say this brewery knows how to brew an IPA. But don't sleep on their Oktoberfest.

Ladd and Lass Brewing How many Fresh Hop Triple IPAs have you ever had? I can think of zero on my end, so I'm running straight to Seattle's Ladd and Lass to try the 10% Fresh Hop Holographic Memories. I'm also going to try one of the few Cascadian Dark Ales (remember those??) being poured at the fest: The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors.

Lake Time Brewing I'm not officially endorsing Astronaut Sauce, the Belgian-style Pale Ale with Galaxy hops. But I'm intrigued by a Galaxy-hopped Belgian, as should you be. Give it a shot.

Lakefront Brewing Pumpkin beers use to be all the rage at GABF. Craft beer used to be all the rage back in the day. Things change. But for damn sure I'll be trying the 11% Brandy Barrel-Aged Imperial Pumpkin Ale from Lakefront Brewing, which has been cranking out craft beer since before and after it was cool.

Lawson's Finest Liquids Remember how excited you were to get your hands on your first can of Sip of Sunshine? I still fondly recall at one of Falling Rock Tap House's East vs. West IPA Showdown events where Lawson's dropped a surprise keg of Double Sunshine after Sip kicked. I needed no more beer in me at the time, but I sacrificed. Anyway, both Sip and Double Sunshine will be featured.

Live Oak Brewing Co. No surprise to see Live Oak on this list, what with their industry-standard Hefeweizen and Pilz, Czech-inspired Pilsner.

Loose Ends Brewing I was going to write that Loose Ends is one of only 11 Ohio breweries at the fest. Then I realized that Pennsylvania has two attending (and one distillery). Now that's an only. Loose Ends' Kardashev Ascension is a hazy Triple IPA with Riwaka, Rakau, and Motueka, and I think you should try it.

Martin House Brewing Ok, I'm not saying you need to try it. But I have to admit, Martin House did hit label gold with their Best Maid Pickle Beer. Almost makes me want to try it. I will instead go for Imperial Texan, of of the few Imperial Red Ales at GABF. I'll also take a small sip of the 16% Roadhouse Coffee Imperial Stout, even though it's aged a peculiarly short 3.5 months in whiskey barrels.

Meanwhile Brewing Is there anything this Austin brewery can't do? It shouldn't be a surprise that they are Gold medal winners at GABF for their Pilsner and at WBC for their Helles, considering the strong Austin lager culture. But they also won GABF Silver for Secret Beach IPA. All of those, plus their Oktoberfest, will be poured at the Meanwhile booth.

Moonlight Brewing If you haven't had Reality Czeck Pilsner, where have you been?? This may be the lesser known Santa Rosa, CA based brewery, but they've been brewing top quality beers since 1992. Also try their Death and Taxes Dark Lager.

More Brewing Yes, More makes my list every year. Sorry if I'm a sucker for their huge BA Stouts, such as the 2024 17.7% Mehndi, aged for three years in six different barrels. Also, More is the underrated king of Milkshake IPAs in my opinion. Try out the Mango Double Marbles and see for yourself. You might want to start out with the Czech Pilsner before trying those two palate wreckers (RIP Green Flash).

Morgan Territory Another perenial addition to my annual list, Morgan Territory Brewing just keeps on adding medals. Since last year's GABF Guide, they took three more GABF medals and two WBC medals, for a total of 21 GABF and 10 WBC medals over the years! HopTomic Imperial IPA has wpn Gold at both GABF and WBC, as has The Cushman Dortmunder.

Mythmaker Brewing Mythmaker makes the list for concocting some interesting beers in a world where it's hard to have new combinations. Pineapple Wowie, for instance, pairs beechwood-smoked malt with pineapple puree, creating a flavor that the brewery describes as a "BBQ'd pineapple slice". Anniversary Three is a wine barrel-aged sour with apricot puree and dry-hopped with Krush hops. They round out their offerings with both a pickle and a pumpkin beer, as well as a Fresh Hop IPA.

2025 GABF Guide: Breweries and Beers to Try, A-F

We proudly present to you our highly subjective guide to breweries and beers we think you should try at the 2025 Great American Beer Festival. Here you'l find some new, some familiar names. You'll see enough big stouts recommended to make you say, "I'm a lager person, this guide is BS!" Relax, you'll find plentry of lagers thrown in here as well. In any case, we hope this guide will help steer you towards a few booths you didn't already have on your list. Enjoy the fest!

3 Floyds The more cities I visit, the more 3 Floyds beer I see in stores. But they've still got that lore, and they're bringing the 15% Dark Lord Imperial Stout, as well as Permanent Funeral DIPA.

3 Sons The lines will be long for this Florida brewery, as their pastry stouts are some of the most sought after in the country. Try Silent Night, a hot chocolate stout with Tanzanilla vanilla and marshmallows; and Broward County Brand Stout, a 14.3% barrel-aged monster with cacao and vanilla.

903 Brewers Expect another long line, but with many good things waiting at the end. 903 always brings the sweet stuff, and this year they'll pour beers such as Churro and Caramel Ice Cream Cream Ale, Black Forest Cake Stout, Banana Fudgesicle Stout, and Chupacabra 2, with rum-soaked oak chips, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and coconut.

Abita Brewing This familiar name will have two booths, with the NOLA one serving up a Patersbier, a not-oft seen style that monks brewed as their everyday drinking beer. Tastes like a lighter, more accessible versian of a Trippel.

AleSmith BrewingThe Speedway series of Imperial Stouts has been hit or miss, but the Barrel Aged: Rye Vietnamese Coffee Edition is top notch. Wash it down with some NA (0.3%) Speedway. Yes, it's a real thing.

Bankhead Brewery You want a Bock? You got it. How about a 2023 GABF Gold from (naturally) a Texas brewery? Bankhead's Hootenanny fits the bill. It also took Bronze in 2024.

Brewery Rikoli How's about a good ol' 13% IPA to get GABF kicked off right? Wheat Ridge, CO's Brewery Rikoli offers you The Statik. Reminds me of the old Founders Devi Dancer.

Barebottle Brewing Double Mango Flossi is a mango lassi-inspired fruited sour with vanilla, spices, mango (duh), and lactose.

Breakside Brewery This Oregon stalwart will be pouring 10 different beers at their two booths, plus a GABF Gold Barleywine at the Heavy Medal booth. Can't go wrong with Fresh Hop Wanderlust IPA, nor with the Imperial Stouts Don't Worry About That Fireplace and Learning From Las Vegas.

Blackstack Brewing Has this St. Paul, MN brewery ever poured at GABF? I don't recall seeing them. Specific beers for the fest are unclear, but they promise to bring a DIPA (their specialty) and a BA Stout.

Boise Brewing Did you know that Black Cliffs from Idaho's Boise Brewing is a four-time medalist in the American Style Stout category at GABF? And it'll be pouring at their booth, as will Jagged Shard, an Imperial Red that has also taken medals at both GABF and WBC.

Boneyard Brewing I always make it a point to stop and try Boneyard's Notorious, a Triple west coast IPA. It's quite intense. They'll also be pouring Neighbors With Attitude, a 13.3% Imperial Stout/Barleywine blend.

Boston Beer Company The Sam Adams is going heavy on the light, meaning N/A stuff. But they'll still be pouring the 29% Utopias at some point. Will I be there at the right time? Never have thus far!

Bow and Arrow Brewing Gotta shout out a local, and a good one. Bow and Arrow probably has the most ambitious sour program in Albuquerque.

Cannonball Creek It's too bad this brewery is only bringing one IPA, as they make some good ones. Still, Project Alpha is sure to be worth a stop.

Cohesion Brewing The best Czech-style lagers in Denver pouring at GABF? With no Lukr faucets?? This should be interesting.

Crooked Stave Brewing It's good to see Crooked Stave is still producing beer, as they have kind of faded from prominence in recent years. Stop by their booth and see if Nightmare on Brett is still as good as the old days.

Danville Brewing Seven-time medalist at GABF and WBC, Danville will be pouring winners Chux (2017 GABF Bronze in Imperial IPA category), and Hop Magee (2025 WBC Bronze in the Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale category).

Devil's Backbone 32 medals at GABF and 16 at WBC is nothing to sneeze at, though you may have turned your nose up at this brewery once they sold out to AB InBev. But maybe you'll want to try their six-time medal winner Vienna Lager.

Ex Novo Brewing Corrales, NM is home to this brewery that always has an eclectic list. Mass Ascension IPA and 2024 Nevermore Barleywine with smoked gigs and cacao nibs are highlights to hit at GABF.

False Idol BrewingThis Texas brewery will be pouring OG Buff, a 13% Imperial Stout with Madagascar vanilla.

Fast Friends Beer Co. Austin breweries crank out quality lagers, and the ones I tried at Austin's Fast Friends rank right up with the well known breweries in the area. Stop here for a palate-cleansing Helles.

Fat Head's While they've evolved into kind of a brewpub chain, I still enjoy grabbing some pours of Hop Juju DIPA. And how can you pass up Head Hunter IPA, a six-time GABF/WBC medal winner

Figueroa Mountain Brewing The only thing more impressive than their eight WBC medals is their thirty-four GABF medals! Hoppy Poppy English-style IPA, I Dunkled in My Pants, Stagecoach Stout, Davy Jones Brown Ale, and Danish Red Lager are all multiple winners and pouring at the booth.

Firestone Walker BrewingFirestone Walker sees Figueroa Mountain's medal count and says, "Hold my beer." 33 WBC and 53 GABF medals is a stunning achievement, though it's an Omnipollo/FrauGruber collaboration I want to try most. Uber Omni Gruber is a 13.6% DBA Imperial Stout with coconut, vanilla, coffee, and hazelnut. I'll save room for a couple pours of Pivo Pils.

Dripline Czechs the Boxes

I have to admit, I postponed a visit to Dripline Brewery for awhile, specifically because I had heard of its reputation for being a very "family friendly" brewery. Now, I'm not against families, as I have one myself. No kids, though. I've found they're great for other people, but I'm better off with dogs and cats. I'm also not against kids at breweries, it's just that I've noticed that when kids have fun, kids start screaming. And screaming children is not something I enjoy while I'm drinking a beer. Screaming children should be reserved for when I'm on a plane and they're seated directly behind me, which is basically every time I fly.

However, I've found myself going back to Dripline time and again for their Czech Up Pilsner. This beer is so good that I barely notice the kids running around. And to be fair, the kids running around have been very well-behaved and the noise levels low relative to the amount of fun they seem to be having in the large open area. Dripline wisely installed a Lukr faucet (also known as a side-pull tap) that is widely used throughout Czechia. The tap design along with special screens create a beer with a dense foam head that you could eat with a spoon. Those of you who prefer an "airport bar pour", the ugly pour with zero head, well, this is not the pour for you. The pour in the photo is the Mliko (all foam) pour, but expect the standard Hladinka pour to have a good two inches of foam to it. I wish more local breweries would get a Lukr installed. Aside from Dripline, I've only seen this tap at Bow and Arrow. Czech Up Pilsner alone makes Dripline worth the visit, though everything I've tried has been solid. Oh, and they have the best-priced burgers in town.

GABF 2025 Tickets Are Live!

Tickets are officially on sale for the 2025 Great American Beer Festival! The event takes place at the Colorado Convention Center from Thursday, October 9 through Saturday, October 11. Session times are from 5:30-9:30 Thursday and Friday, and 12:30-4:30 on Saturday.As with last year, there is no Saturday evening session. Tickets for Thursday night cost $85, while Friday and Saturday cost $95. If you think you can handle it, go for the the three-day fest pass for $220.

Last year also brought major changes to the festival, which is in its 47th year of celebrating craft beer. 2024 saw ready to drink cocktails to the festival floor. I may have sampled one or two myself. And for the first time, the fest will host the Distilling Experience, where 20 different distilleries will pour .25 oz pours to those who probably were catching a nice buzz from the beer but certainly wouldn't say no to a nip of craft gin or whiskey, thank you. And that size pour is perfect for distilled spirits, in my opinion. I've always felt like the 1 oz beer pours could be bumped up a bit, especially to experience the good lagers at the fest, of which there a surprising amount in 2024. But distilled spirits? Yeah, .25 oz will do just fine.

Themed areas return for 2025, including the popular Meet the Brewer section. My personal favorite section has always been the heavy medal section, where previous GABF medalists show off their beers.

Finally, Paired returns for another treat-filled flavor extravaganza, with world-renowned chefs showing their chops as their bites are featured alongside craft beers and cocktails. Paired is a separately-ticketed event. Get your GABF tickets while you can at https://www.axs.com/gabf