If you brew beer, next week is like your Super Bowl. If you just drink beer, next week is still pretty darn exciting.
The Great American Beer Festival runs Thursday through Saturday at the Colorado Convention Center and is expected to draw 60,000 visitors and more than 800 breweries from all over the country.
“I’ve been planning GABF probably for the last two to three months,” said Jules Hoekstra, co-owner of Denver’s Strange Craft Beer Company.
Inside the brewery at Zuni Street and West 13th Avenue, Hoekstra was working Tuesday evening to decorate a beer menu board for “Heather’s Ale,” an annual fresh-hopped IPA that will be on tap for the GABF. Visitors will have the opportunity to sample more than 3,800 beers from hundreds of breweries competing for awards.
“We have so many people coming into town from out of town,” said Hoekstra. “I mean this is one of the most renowned festivals.”
This year, tickets for the three-day festival sold out in just over an hour, about ten minutes faster than the sell-out in 2015. Just like last year, the Colorado Convention Center will be packed with people, brewers and beer.
“It’s a frenzy!” Hoekstra said.
While GABF is undoubtedly about beer, managers at local Denver restaurants like Euclid Hall Bar and Kitchen will argue the food is also important.
“Butchers will do seven pigs later this week in preparation for next week, and that’s not to mention duck and lamb,” said Kurt Fuhrman, manager at Euclid Hall Bar and Kitchen.
Fuhrman said he and his staff have been preparing for the influx of customers since March. Like Jules
Hoekstra over at Strange Craft Beer Company, Fuhrman was able to sum up GABF in one word.
“Chaos!” Fuhrman said with a laugh. “It’s week-long chaos for us. It’s fantastic.”
Fuhrman said he expected business to double next week as beer lovers with big appetites take up tables in the restaurant. While Euclid Hall Bar and Kitchen has held large GABF events in the past, Fuhrman said the restaurant will be scaling back this year.
“This year we’re going to do fewer of them and just kind of be open for the masses – throw a party every night,” he said.
Now’s the time for breweries and restaurants to make their last-minute preparations for the frenzied, chaotic and beer-filled week of GABF.
“I hope to survive!” Fuhrman said.
