For the second year in a row the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), America’s largest ticketed beer festival, has been cancelled due to COVID-19. The 40th staging of the festival has now been pencilled in for October 2022 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
America’s Brewers Association, that organise the festival, will still host the 2021 GABF competition and awards ceremony that typically coincides with the festival. Winners of the world’s most prestigious professional beer competition will be revealed during the Brewers Association’s annual Craft Brewers Conference & Brew Expo America on September 10. The awards ceremony will be livestreamed from the Bellco Theatre on The Brewing Network. More information about the competition and awards ceremony is available at GreatAmericanBeerFestival.com.
The Brewers Association said despite the country’s vaccination efforts and gradual reopening “the health and safety concerns for large indoor gatherings, like GABF’s 60,000-attendee event, remain”.
“We are disappointed to cancel the festival portion of GABF for the second year in a row,” said Bob Pease, president and CEO for the Brewers Association. “While we will miss celebrating with beer lovers and our craft brewing community, we are excited to continue with the GABF competition and national passport program this year. We look forward to convening in person for the festival’s 40th anniversary in 2022.”
The national passport program runs from September 17 through until October 17 and allows holders exclusive access to deals at participating breweries nationwide. More than 1,100 breweries from all 50 states participated in the inaugural program last year.
Denver Beer Week, that usually coincides with GABF each year, will shift its dates to correspond with the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) September 9-12. From September 10-18, the nine-day celebration of craft beer is anticipated to feature more than 200 events including tap takeovers, rare beer tastings, meet the brewer events, and more.