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.
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