Where the Craft Is, Downtown Denver Edition

Remember when downtown Denver was awash in craft beer destinations? Euclid Hall, Freshcraft, Lucky Pie, Falling Rock Tap House? All share the common theme of being places where I drank too much, but also are all just fond memories of beer bars who have departed. On a recent visit to the city, I was lucky enough to share hotel elevator space with crowds from both a tattoo convention and some big karate event, so there were plenty of visitors to the city. But the 16th St. Mall was a shell of its former self with the major construction going on there. Used to be you had to go back and forth between homeless people asking for money and SPCA/Greenpeace etc. asking for money. Hardly anyone asking for money there anymore. So where are people going, and more importantly, where are they drinking?

Surprisingly, or maybe not, most craft beer choices in downtown Denver are down to regional or national chains. You have Rock Bottom, who deserves credit for being one of the originals in Denver and staying alive all these years. Mellow Mushroom, the pizza chain with a multitude of taps, does a good job of supporting local and doing events with breweries. Yard House is still always one of the busiest places in town. Rhien Haus, a mini-chain with locations in Colorado, Kansas, and Washington, reminds me of a frat house dropped into a German beer hall. They usually have a decent selection and also serve up good goulash. So the few outliers are places such as Stout St. Social, with a mostly Colorado tap list, as well as beers brewed at their Boulder Social location. I guess Tap Fourteen should be mentioned, though sometimes it has a feel of a frat house that was dropped into a frat house. With a better beer selecton. Also should mention One Up, which is unbearable on weekend nights but a great arcade bar with some decent beers.

Most of the action is going on in the RiNo district, with places like the divey Star Bar putting together great tap lists and some fine GABF events as well. Finn's Manor was hosting a Belgian beer fest this past weekend, complete with bottle pours of Cantillion. Improper City, First Draft (where else can you pour your own Maine Dinner, Lawson's Sip of Sunshine, and Russian River Pliny the Elder???), and breweries like Ratio, Our Mutual Friend, Bierstadt, Odell, round out a few reasons RiNo is drawing the crowds. Cohesion Brewing isn't technically in that official area, but close and worth a visit for a mliko pour. And of course there's all the fun historic bars on Colfax, as well as Cerebral Brewing. If you have extra time, I recommend driving up to Niwot, just outside Boulder, to Fritz Family Brewers, for some of the best lagers being made in the state. Though the Denver beer landscape is changing, there are still many reasons to drink there. You just have to venture further from that Convention Center hotel than in the past.

Drinkin' in the Moonslight

Flock Of Moons opened quietly on Friday, July 14, and though the craft beer world is in a slump overall, Albuquerque craft beer fans flocked to the new brewery. People are already giving it rave reviews on Google, save for the person who won't be coming back because "one of your guests was harassing me." That's a tough thing to hold against an establishment. Guests are a lot like family: you can't just pick 'em, and they're not always welcome guests. Here's hoping she'll give Flock Of Moons another chance. After all, the brewery opened in the former Winnings Coffee space that was notorious for having the most annoying crowd. I had to leave Winnings more than once because someone struck up a one-sided conversation with me. No, I'm not looking for life advice from someone who sits at a table outside this coffee shop every single day, all day. And who carries a sword.

And everything at Flock Of Moons is nice, which should be enough for warranting a second visit. I don't expect much when visiting a new brewery for the first time, but this place had nice touches abound, from the obviously thoughtful logo'd glassware to the snack choices available for purchase (from locally made Cornivore popcorn to mini bags of Snyder's Honey Mustard and Onion pretzels... haven't seen those at a beer bar since Cologne, Germany). There is seating at the bar for about ten, and hightop and table seating throughout the space, as well as six picnic tables on the sizeable patio. Your non-beer drinking friends can even get mixed drink suggestions from 505 Spirits patrons who are just a fence across from 505's patio, and then sneak over there for a quickie while you enjoy your beer.

And will you enjoy your beer? I'd say yes, as all were very nice, especially for a first batch. Lagers are an ambitious endeavor to showcase in the grand opening of a brewery, yet two of the three Flock Of Moons offerings were lagers: a (New) Mexican and a Vienna, along with a hazy IPA. They also currently feature six other NM brewed beers and a Sandia cider on tap. I found their NM lager to be very drinkable, with a bit of welcome hop bite I'd associate more with a German Pilsner. The Vienna had a nutty richness to it, and the hazy, while lacking the opaqueness I prefer for the style, shined from the dominance of the Mosaic hops. Tropical Stout is soon to debut, and a west coast IPA and Czech Lager are in the works. Flock of Moons is a welcome addition to the Albuquerque Beer Scene. I look forward to their upcoming beers.

Break Out That Christmas Ale Early

But not because it's time to celebrate. In yet another craft beer shocker, Anchor Brewing has announced its closure. For many of us, Anchor holds fond memories of drinking Liberty Ale (first IPA-like beer for me), the iconic Christmas release Our Special Ale (annual since 1975), and Anchor Steam (confession: I never liked it! So maybe that's not a fond memory). But the writing may have been on the wall back when Sapporo bought the Anchor brand back in 2017 for $85 million. Trying to refresh legacy breweries is a tricky business. New Belgium caught lightning in a bottle with their Juice Force, but nothing Anchor tried to do really caught on. It seemed to turn into the beer you'd see languishing on the shelf at Cost Plus. And now the brewery staff has been given a 60 day notice. Maybe I'll pop open this 2006 OSA tonight and toast the memory of Anchor Brewing, and lament this closing as a further decline of civilization.

Green City Fest 2023, Pt. 2

The use of Other Half's original taproom was a nice touch, and that area hosted some of my favorite beers of the fest. Human Robot even brought a stitchfass (gravity-pour keg, pictured) of their Hallertau Pils of from Philadelphia. Others were Long Live Beer Works from Providence, RI, who brought The All Seeing Eye Extra DIPA, and Fidens, who brought Triple Jasper TIPA. I would have to give that Triple Jasper my vote, if anyone asked for my vote, for best beer of the festival. Fidens also gets an extra nod for bringing more than one beer. They were also liberally pouring samples of Socratic Questioning 57, Broccoli's Axe, and Deeper Purpose Imperial Stout, as well as handing out stickers like crazy. The Fidens guys seemed to be having the most fun at the fest, or maybe I was just having fun because of how many different beers they poured. No, they were also having a good time. They did have competition in the fun category from the Human Robot guy, who at one point implored everyone to, "Make some fuckin' noise!!! This is a beer fest!!!!" As a jaded pourer at many beer fests where you have to watch for the slightest signs of intoxication, I can really appreciate his enthusiasm. Plus he started some E-A-G-L-E-S chants, which in turn got the New York guys going. Good times.

Green City Fest 2023, Pt. 1

As a relative Luddite when it comes to social media sites, I tend to miss out on a lot of releases and festivals. Take, for instance, Other Half's Green City Festival, which I found out about about two weeks after it took place in 2022. After looking at the guest brewery list and then kicking myself for about 20 minutes, I vowed that I would not miss it in 2023.

And I didn't. Scaled down from 2022's larger venue that boasted over 80 breweries, this year's was held at Other Half's Centre St. location and hosted 38 breweries. I was initially disappointed in that I wouldn't get the variety from the previous year and also apprehensive that the Other Half venue would be too small to host a festival. But I bought tickets anyway, to both the Friday 6-10 and the Saturday 12-4 events, since it was promised that each brewery would be pouring a different beer each day. And can I just give out kudos to Other Half from a lifelong night owl for starting a festival at 6? I'm rarely ready for a beer before 9 pm, but 6 is doable for me.

The flight into LaGuardia was surprisingly on time, and the NYC skyline never disappoints. The wait for baggage at LaGuardia always does. They should look into hiring a second person to unload baggage in the future. Once the wait for luggage was over, the wait on I-278 began, though that was to be expected with a 5:30 pm arrival time. I just can't fathom how people spend day after day in this traffic to and from work. Can the payoff be that great, especially with what you're paying for NYC rent?

If you've got enough money leftover after rent, the answer may be yes, especially if you throw craft beer into the mix. Countless options for food and drink abound, though we decided to go light the night before the big festival...so we started out at Other Half's Domino Park location, a prime waterfront in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Then rode bikes over the bridge to drink some IPAs at The Grand Delancey bar in Essex Market. They only had about, gosh, 8 or so that were worth trying, so had to do all of them. Then walked to Proletariat's new-ish location, where more IPAs called our names even though we tried to tell them we had planned on going light. They didn't listen, just kept calling. We eventually ended the night the proper way, at Joe's Pizza's Union Square location.

Fest day. After hitting a Brooklyn BBQ spot to fill up, we did some pre-gaming with lagers from Schilling and The Seed at Queue Beer. Located right around the corner from Other Half, Queue is from the same people who run Manhattan's fine Carmine Street Beers. Seemed like half the brewery reps had the same idea, as Queue was busier than I've ever seen it. Finally, it was time to head to the fest. Lined up about 15 minutes prior to doors and there were a good 40 or so people ahead. Other Half did the smart thing and had people scanning tickets and giving wristbands to those in line for faster entry, and it worked well. once in, there were three areas pouring beer: an outdoor tented alleyway, Other Half's original taproom (pictured), and their current taproom. In addition, the sidewalk connection the three areas was roped off so you could get away from the crowds and drink out there with more elbow room. First beer? Went big with Root and Branch Chainsaw TIPA. Big beers were predominant at the fest, and I'm not complaining. I was disappointed, however, to see that each brewery only had one offering. I thought they were going to each have one unique offering per day, as well as others that they'd pour both days. Lines in the alley space were only two or three deep for most pours, except for the Monkish line, where there were usually about 20 people waiting, but the line moved quickly.

2022 GABF Awards

The 2022 Great American Beer Festival annual Awards Ceremony took place Saturday morning, the culmination of 2,154 breweries who entered 9,904 beers. And although there were 9,904 beers judged, there were only 235 people doing the judging, an average of over 42 beers tried per judge. I would almost begin to feel a little skeptical that the judges were able to do a completely competent job after that many beers, yet somehow they manage to award Allagash White a gold medal year after year. This competition is legit, folks.

Aside from Allagash, there were a number of familiar breweries taking awards this year, such as Russian River, Pizza Port OB, Left Hand, Chuckanut, and Breakside. There were 18 first-time medalists at the fest, which makes up about 6% of the medals awarded. Of particular interest to me were the medalists in the Juicy or Hazy IPA category, in which three breweries I have never heard of took the top three spots: City Barrel Brewing Co. out of Kansas City, MO; White Rock Alehouse and Brewery from Dallas, TX, and Flatland Brewing from Elk Grove, CA (it's near Sacramento. I looked it up).

Also of interest was the number of entries in the German-Style Pilsener (that's how the BA spells it) category. Sure, you'd expect American-Style IPA and Hazy IPA to be at the top, and they were, with 423 and 375 entries, respectively. But how about that German Pilsener, with 233 entries?? Lagers are cool, man!

And locally, a show of hands for those starting to sweat wondering if New Mexico was going to get shut out of the medals for the first time since 2006? Yeah, I was starting to wonder. And another show of hands from people who had their money on Flix Brewhouse to be the first NM brewery on the winner board? It took until the 40th category in the busy-named Australasian, Latin American or Tropical Light Lager category, where Flix won the silver with Luche Libre, their Mexican-Style Lager. And from there, the medals continued, not at the pace set by, say North Park Brewing Co., but at a very respectable rate. The next winner was Rowley Farmhouse Ales, who took a gold in the Belgian Fruit Beer category with Grandissant-Montmorency Cherry. Finishing up, we had two medalists in the Scotch Ale Category, where Quarter Celtic won bronze for Kill or Be Kilt, and Ex Novo took silver for Sons of Scotland. This was the first time at GABF where two New Mexico breweries medaled in the same category. The four medals earned by NM breweries matches the number won in 2021. Interestingly, it's also the seventh time in GABF history that NM has taken home four medals at one awards ceremony.

2022 GABF: The Saga Continues

Did I neglect to mention in my previous post that the GABF is turning 40 this year? I would love to go back and drink whatever version of IPA was served then, when there were 24 breweries, 47 different beers, and only 800 attendees! That may be fewer than the amount of people that get stuffed into each corral where patrons wait inside the Convention Center from about 5:15 until 5:30, when they are unleashed to descend upon the brewery reps and festival staff. It seems that getting in line early doesnt guarantee you a spot in the front of the line; rather, you may be, say, 300th in line but end up at the rear of one corral while someone behind you in line ends up at the front of the corral right next to yours. This is a reason why they make high blood pressure medication, but everyone who wanted a sip of Pliny got one so it's all good.

One of the highlights of fests in years past, though not at the 1982 one where there might have been a New Albion or Anchor Liberty Ale shirt, was the merch area, where you could choose from a wall packed with t-shirts from probably a hundred breweries as well as BA-issued merch. This year, the shirts were GABF themed only. Most everyone who attends the fest probably has their fair share of brewery shirts already, but I'm sure there were some disappointed patrons.

There were a number of standout beers, but here's my own little awards ceremony: In the Smoothie Sour category, my choice is Peach Pie A La Mode from Peculiar Ales. Many people were talking up the Peach Pie sour from WeldWerks, with good reason, but the peach from Peculiar was the top fruit offering for me. In the wide world of lagers offered at GABF, it's hard to pick a favorite. The Freiheit Oktoberfest from Wayfinder, Hell Yes from ABGB, any of the Templin or Fritz Family beers were worthy. But in the end, I went for multiple samples of You Spund Me Right Round, the Czech Lager from Brieux Carre. All their lagers were top notch, though Head Brewer Charles Hall seemed most excited about Grodz Dammit Bobby, his beachwood-smoked Grodziskie. Brieux Carre gets my vote for best beer names, as they also brought Malcolm in the Mittlefruh, Marza, Marza, Marza!, and the silver-medal winning Crispy Boiz II Men.

For Barrel-Aged Beers, I tried to spread my samples over two sessions, as those can take a toll quickly. I hit the Kane booth early in the Thursday session and started Friday night with the 15% BA Henna from More. And though I was impressed with the Espresso Macaroon Monsters Park from Modern Times, the Kelly's Private Stash Barleywine from Third Eye, and Brew 6000 from Fremont, nothing really came close to the Coconut Coffee Medianoche from WeldWerks. The thickness of this beer was insane. Finally, we saved the IPAs for last, as is the GABF tradition. Favorites included Extra Extra Juicy Bits, the multiple PNW varities from Breakside and Von Ebert, and Double Beezer from Old Irving. But it was the DIPA duo of the West Coast-style Space Lettuce and the hazy Welcome to the Machine by Atlanta's Monday Night Brewing that take my IPA top spot. I could pick either of these as the best IPA of the fest, depending on which style I was in the mood for. Add in a Saison with cherries, a Lambic, and a Barrel-Aged Strong Ale, Monday Night Brewing's GABF lineup takes my overall Best of the Fest. No lagers, but there were plenty of breweries to grab a palate cleansing Pilsner from on the way out to go to Falling Rock...oh. Yeah.

So while we no longer have the Falling Rock Tap House, Euclid Hall, Freshcraft, etc., and now have to venture into RiNo for post-fest activities (and you thought Blake St. got annoying on the weekends!), we do have the triumphant return of the world's best beer gathering: the Great American Beer Festival. Welcome back, old friend. Can't wait for next year!

2022 GABF Thoughts, Part 1

Aaannnddd we're back! Not sure about you, but after two years of virtual fests and wearing a mask while walking outside in an empty neighbrhood, I was beyond ready to go grab a beer with thousands of my closest friends. But first...the metal detectors. A sign of the times that has affected large public gatherings of all interests, the detectors were a necessary annoyance that had me this close to missing the bagpipers who march into the Colorado Concention Center and signify the official start of the Great American Beer Festival. But the 20 minute wait in the security line was entertaining, with someone remarking, "Hey, if I squint, I think I'm waiting in the TSA line at DIA!" (that was me), and also, "Damn it, I knew we should have paid for Pre-Check!" (also me). So I may have been the only one entertained, but we were all in pretty good spirits as we finally entered the festival floor with one minute to spare before the start of the fest.

The festival floor looked different this year than in previous years for a few reasons. First, construction at the Colorado Convention Center forced the BA to reduce the floor space from what was almost 600,000 sq. ft down to under 400,000, resulting in 300 fewer breweries to try. I didn't notice a big difference in festival space or breweries to try, though there were some noticeable absences from the good old pre-buyout days with Stone, Bell's, and New Belgium non-existent. Some breweries beers were being poured from cans and bottles at a special "Wish We Were Here" booth. It did take me a few minutes to realize that I didn't have navigate breweries by region; instead, the booths were set up in alphabetical order. The BA, always keeping us on our toes. Wait until they add Cold IPA as an awards category to join India Pale Lager and Other Hoppy Lager!

Seasoned vets know to go into the fest with a plan, though vets of my reading know that my plan usually goes out the window the second after I try my first sample. This year, I had a general list of breweries to try but I didn't have a particular brewery on the list to try first. A common, and wise, strategy is to go for that first sample at a brewery that will quickly accrue a line and get out of there fast rather than spend the first 10 minutes of the fest in line. I did no such thing, instead stopping at the first booth I saw that was on my list to try, Fritz Family Brewers. All the buzz surrounding this lager producer was merited! And as I noted in my brewery roundup, lagers were everywhere at GABF. Yes, most everyone had an IPA, but the variety of lagers should keep hop haters off ledges for the time being.

By the time I was able to check out 903 Brewers, there were about 903 people in their line that stretched almost to the bathrooms. That's a change from previous years, where bathroom lines stretched almost to the brewers' booths. It's hard to say whether the line for 903 was the longest of the fest. WeldWerks may take that overall title, as their booth had two lines in the front and one on the side for patrons, and a very thoughtful one for industry people. Honorable mention for longest line goes to the Los Dos Potrillos food truck. GABF once again brought back the food trucks, which is great because we've all become accustomed to food truck prices from having them outside breweries. And it certainly beats wasting hours trying to mastermind a way to sneak into the Paired event every year. Back to lines for a sec, I'm still not sure why one brewery I observed that didn't have a crazy line had four beers kicked by 6:30. Was it poor planning, or was the plan to bring a few cans, "sell" out, and then hit the fest like everyone else?

GABF Breweries of Interest, T-Z

Here it is, the final installment of all you need to carry you through to last call at GABF. And if you've made it to last call at GABF, congratulations! I think I may have done that twice in twelve years, though to be fair I was usually trying to get out and start a story, though I also usually just ended up at Falling Rock drinking something I didn't need...cue Chris Black on the PA system..."Ok everyone, get ready for tappings of 2007 through 2010 Full Sail Barleywine!"

Templin Family Brewing How could I leave out the brewery that medaled the last two years in the Kellerbier/Zwickelbier category at GABF? Taking bronze in 2020 and 2021, Granery Kellerbier is on my hit list.

The Austin Beer Garden Brewery Looking back at these GABF choices, I think I've suggested more lagers than anything else. Whoever is complaining that all you can find anymore is hazy IPAs should buy a ticket to GABF. And again, here is a lager factory you need to try. They're also a medal factory, having won seven medals with four different lagers, all of which will be pouring at GABF (Industry Pils, Rocket 100, Hell Yes, Velvet Revolution).

Third Eye Brewing Like Weller barrel-aged beers? Who doesn't?? Third Eye takes their Kelly's Private Stash Barleywine and ages it in two different Weller barrels, Full Proof and Antique 107.

Three Floyds Brewing Will the Three Floyds booth be a mass of adoring fans as it was back in the day? Well, for one, there's no Zombie Dust (yesterday's Heady Topper) being served at GABF. And Three Floyds distribution has expanded, taking from the rarity and therefore some of the lore of this brewery. However, these guys still do barrel aging as well as anyone, and they'll be pouring Crushing Mass, a 15.1% barrel-aged Coffee Stout.

Tonewood Brewing How many New Jersey breweries have you had beer from? For the most densely populated state in the country, there must be a lot of breweries so you'd think I would have had more than just Kane or Carton. And must have, but I can't think of any others right now. I plan on adding to my New Jersey ticks at Tonewood, who is bringing a Saison, Pale Ale, IPA, and DIPA.

Troegs Brewing One of Pennsylvania's largest breweries, Troegs is still cranking out high quality beers. Sunshine Pilsner is one of my all-time favorites, as well as being a five-time medalist at GABF and WBC. That's nothing, says Troegenator Doppelbock, which has taken an astounding eleven medals at GABF and WBC.

Von Ebert Brewing This Portland, OR brewery will be flexing their IPA muscle with Nothing Noble, bronze winner in the IPA category at GABF 2020, and Volatile Substance, the 2021 IPA gold medalist.

Wayfinder Beer A multiple medal winner for their lagers Hell and Freiheit Oktoberfest Wiesn, Wayfinder became even more well known after "inventing" the Cold IPA style. Try all of these beers at the Wayfinder Booth, as well as a Firestone Walker collab.

WeldWerks Brewing Oh, you know there's gonna be a wait to try all the goodies WeldWerks is bringing. Eleven beers spanning a variety of styles, from the Smoothie Sour Peach Pie to two BA Medianoche varities and of course some hazy IPAs, including Extra Extra Juicy Bits and Transmountain Diversion, a collaboration with Casey Brewing.

Wren House Brewing If you've been to Phoenix, chances are you've checked out this little house that could. The gold medal winning hazy IPA Spellbinder is their flagship, and yeah they'll be bringing a variety of their Wally hazy Triple IPA series (Good Boy Wally), but they also make some underrated lagers. Try their Kellerbier and Little Spill Pils.

Yards Brewing Raise a sample of Philthy IPA to the Philadelphia Phillies, who made the MLB playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Yards founder Tom Kehoe used to be a fixture at GABF in his Phillies gear back when the team was a perpetual contender, so if you see a guy in a Phillies shirt give him a high five. Or the finger, if you're a Mets fan.

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).

GABF Breweries of Interest, N-P

Almost 3/4 of the way through the breweries once this post is done. Probably a good time to stop for some water that's supposed to stave off that hangover yet never does. Also would be smart to get some food in you, but you don't have time to sit around and eat convention center pizza when you could smash a Clif Bar and be on to the N-P breweries in this list. Or be like the smart person pictured here and hang a sandwich around your neck big enough that it might last you through two GABF sessions.

Nashville Brewing Company This brewery won a bronze medal at the 2018 GABF for NashZwickel. Zwickel is my favorite lager style, in case you're already thinking Christmas gifts. They also took silver in the 2020 in the Munich-Style Helles category for Nashville Lager. My only complaint is that they're not bringing Zwickel My Pickle, their pickle Zwickel.

Nebraska Brewing Melange a Trois is a four-time medalist at GABF. Belgian Strong Goldens are not my favorite but this chardonnay barrel-aged beer is always worth a try. They're also pouring a BA Imperial Brown Ale, in case you're ticking that rare style.

New Terrain 2019 silver for Mirage American-Style Sour, for all you sour fans out there. I can only do so many straight up sours before I start throwing up bubbles, and nobody wants that on their pretzel necklaces.

NOBO Brewing Company I know I said I was going to go after all the smoothie beers this year, but I keep gravitating towards the BA Stouts. The BA 2nd Breakfast, aged for 14 months in Jim Beam barrels with cinnamon, maple, and brown sugar, sounds pretty darn good. May as well try the Jalapeno Honey Blonde while I'm there.

Old Irving Super excited for this booth: for one, they won a silver in 2021 in the Kolsch category at GABF for Della. Wait, they're not bringing that? Ok, well they're bringing Beezer, the 2019 GABF gold winner in the Hazy IPA category. Now, I realize I'm listing a lot of medal winners in my recommendations, and sometimes we try these winners and wonder what the hell the judges saw in the beer in the first place. Fair enough. But you've gotta be excited about Double Beezer, the 8.5% version of Beezer. And it hasn't won a damn thing, so it must be good. And then we have Barrel Aged Gammelhjarted, which is a blend of a Barlwywine that was aged in maple and port barrels with an Imperial Milk Stout that was aged in rum barrels. Ridiculous!

Our Mutual Friend You can stop by the booth and try Inner Light, the Pale Ale that has picked up multiple medals at GABF. Or you can just go to their taproom and have a whole pint of it. But all the beers are free here, if you don't count that $100 you paid for your ticket.

Peculiar Ales Time to take a dessert beer break with Peach Pie A La Mode, a Smoothie Sour with white peaches, cinnamon, vanilla, graham cracker, and candied ginger. How all that is going to fit into a one oz. sample is beyone me. Save room for 305 Pineberry, a Fruited Sour with strawberry and pineapple.

Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey Yup, they're still in business. I don't know that their beers carry the same weight that they did years ago, but I'm showing up for that Duck Duck Gooze 2022 Anniversary Blend. Amazing how little of a line there was last GABF for their world-class beers.

Pollyanna Brewing Boo to a brewery that won two GABF medals in 2021 but isn't bringing either to pour at the fest. Yay for them bringing Fruhauf, a 2016 Marzen medal winner, and Lite Thinking, 2019 medalist in American-Style Lager category.

Port City Brewing They've won medals four years straight at GABF. Not blow your mind styles, just beer done well. Worth a visit.

Prison City Brewing This highly regarded brewery isn't bringing as much as I would like, but they are bringing Mass Riot hazy IPA.

Prost Brewing Because their Pilsner is in my top 3 draft Pilsners in the U.S.

Pure Project I love any of the murky IPAs that Pure Project produces. I also love that they're bringing Cup of Gold, their collaboration DIPA with Alvarado St. Brewery, another brewery I love. Don't skip Corylus, the 13% Imperial Stout aged in Breckenridge Bourbon barrels with hazelnuts, cacao, and coffee.

GABF Breweries of Interest, H Through M

Continuing on with my choices of breweries to visit at the 2022 Great American Beer Festival, I submit to you a number of interesting choices to try in the H through M-named breweries.

Handmap Brewing How does a Jim Beam Barrel-Aged Rauchbier sound? Different, for sure. Gotta try BA Daryl's House.

JAFB Wooster Brewery This Ohio brewery took silver in the American Style IPA category at GABF 2021 for their JAF IPA. They'll also be pouring a Mosaic single hop IPA.

Kane Brewing It's a no-brainer that I'll be visiting Kane's booth early and often just for their A Night to End All Dawns BA Imperial Stout. But they're also bringing Dripping Maple, a French toast inspired bourbon and cognac-aged Imperial Stout with vanilla beans, cinnamon, and maple. Wouldn't hurt to try Bierhalle, their Marzen, while I'm there.

Kilowatt Brewing Speaking of maple, Kilowatt will be pouring their GABF gold Maple Smoked Maibock. Very curious to see how all those flavors work together.

La Cumbre I drank their Dortmunder until it was all gone...or so I thought. They saved some for GABF.

King's Court Brewing Company Missing that local Imperial Red that was so good? Come to this booth for Frogs Like Possum, the 2019 GABF silver medal winning Imperial Red Ale.

Launch Pad Brewery Not in the smoothie realm, but Strawberry Moon Blonde Ale with strawberries, lactose, and vanilla is worth a taste. I hope.

Live Oak Brewing A classic brewery doing classic styles that will have people lining up for their Pilz, HefeWeizen, and Oaktoberfest. Pretend you're drinking it on a sunny summer afternoon in Austin for the perfect sip.

Living Waters This Nashville brewery is bringing two sought after BA Imperial Stouts, which of course I'll force myself to sample, but it's the Triberg German-style Pilsner that I'm really interested in.

Maplewood I love those Chicago breweries. Maplewood is pouring two DIPAs I can't wait for, as well as Fizzle Drizzle Cherry Limeade, a fruited sour with sweet and sour cherries and lime. It's Sonic for adults.

Marble Brewery-MavLab Attack of the Keller Bs is another local lager that I couldn't get enough of. You non-NM residents reading (anyone, besides Russian bots?) should try this one. And High Plains Pilsner from Canteen. And Ex Novo. And all the other NM Breweries.

Metazoa Brewing Rosie the River Otter won gold in the Herb and Spice category at GABF last year for a Blonde Ale with hibiscus and plums added.

Modern Times Too many people pissing on Modern Times for their poor planning and not enough people lamenting the fact that we could be losing some of the best barrel-aged stouts if Maui messes with the MT formula too much. For now, we'll at least be able to drink the Monsters' Park BA Espresso Macaroon Edition Imperial Stout.

Monday Night Brewing Staying on the heavier stuff, I'm also ready for some Tie Xi, the 11th anniversary Strong Ale from this Atlanta, GA brewery that blends Stout, Quad, Brown, Barleywine and Dopplebock.

Moontown This little Indiana walked away with two bronze and one silver at GABF 2021, along with Brewery of the Year in the 501-1000 Barrels category. Two medal winners will be at their booth: Fortieth Parallel Pilsner (bronze in Bohemian Pilsner category) and Moonlite (silver in American Cream Ale category). I'd also like to try Cecil, their hazy IPA.

Mountain Cowboy Brewing I'm a sucker for any Caddyshack-themed beer, so I'll be stopping here for That's a Peach, Hon, the peaches and cream sour ale with peach puree, vanilla, and lactose. Mrs. Haverkamp would approve. Think those two are still alive?

MORE Brewing Did I mention I love Chicago breweries? Perhaps none more than this one, whose DDH Space Boots was my IPA of the fest in 2019. Sadly, they're only bringing Morever for their hoppy offering, but I'll be happy drinking Barrel-Aged Henna: Birthday, the 15% Imperial Stout with pecans, vanilla, coconut, and cacao nibs. I won't turn down a chaser of Watermelon Chula, a spiced Gose with added watermelon. Friday morning could be a rough one.