The Great American Beer Festival in Denver Oct. 11-13, is the king of all U.S. beer fests. This year, 2,700 different American beers from 580 breweries will be served; that's a lot of different beers. Almost 50,000 people will attend, and tickets sold out in 45 minutes.
In case you get bored after all those beers, there are also brewing exhibitions, forums with famous brewers and food pairings.
Another key component of GABF is the competition. This year, 185 judges will critique thousands of beers from 676 breweries covering 135 beer styles, according to the festival. Winning a gold, silver or bronze GABF medal is a big deal.
Jared Barnes, brewmaster at Darwin's on 4th, will be heading to Denver to represent the downtown Sarasota brewpub. Peruvian cuisine is quickly growing in popularity, and Darwin's wants to take advantage of that trend and promote their Peruvian-influenced beers.
"We want to be the first ones to get that out there," Barnes said. The GABF is a great place to promote themselves, he said.
Barnes is also entering five of his beers in the competition:
• Chicha, made with Peruvian purple corn
• Ayawasca, a strong Belgian dubbel
• Oak-aged Ayawasca, pretty self-explanatory
• Lemongrass Saison, a Belgian-style farmhouse beer made with spices
• Charapa, brewed with cacao nibs, peppers, annatto and honey
Barnes, who said he'd be thrilled to get a bronze, let alone gold or silver, plans to send regular updates from the festival. Stay tuned.