UPDATE: In case you missed it, this was an April Fools’ Day joke.
Denver, Colorado April 1, 2025 – The Brewers Association announced sweeping changes to its premier consumer event, saying it was time for the Great American Beer Festival to follow the interests of craft drinkers.
The GABF has long been held in Denver and brings tens of thousands of faithful drinkers to the Colorado Convention Center for small pours of hazy IPA, fruited sours , and barleywine. Hard seltzer and canned cocktail samples have also been available in recent years.
In 2024, the festival unveiled themed areas, including one dedicated to outer space, another to sports, one for horror fans, and, of course, an Oktoberfest pavilion. Still, attendance has dropped since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and consumer drinking habits continue to evolve.
Great American Beer Festival Changes for 2025
Now, the BA is set to make its biggest overhaul since GABF was founded in 1982.
“We realize that most people who come to Denver for the GABF want to spend all their time at Bierstadt Lagerhaus,” says BA President Bart Watson in an exclusive interview with All About Beer. “So that’s where we’re going to meet them.”
The BA announced today that GABF for 2025 will move from the sprawling convention center to a simple information kiosk on the lower level of the beloved lager brewery on Blake Street. It will be located just under the This Week in Rauchbier flag hanging from the rafters.
“Not since we moved the fest to Baltimore for one ill fated year in 1998 has the GABF undergone such transformation,” says Watson.
Given the size of the kiosk, samples will not be available. However, volunteers will be happy to provide verbal descriptions of beers from breweries that won the GABF selection lottery.
VIP ticket holders will still receive a commemorative biodegradable plastic cup.
The massive change to GABF makes sense in the long run, organizers say. With more than 10,000 breweries in the country, beer drinkers have become accustomed to long afternoons in kid-and-dog-friendly taprooms with full glasses of beer, comfortable seating, and music at a reasonable level.
“Attendees can hear about beers from all across the country while waiting on their Slow Pour Pils,” says Ashleigh Carter, Bierstadt’s co-owner and head brewer. “We hope folks have fun imagining Brut IPAs, barrel-aged cream ales, and whatever craziness Dogfish Head will roll in with. Then they can go back to enjoying a Helles in a proper mug, like the goddess Ninkasi intended.”
Adapt or die
“We’re not saying this is forever, but in this world you need to adapt or die,” says Watson. “This is us adapting. Maybe next year we’ll go up to New Belgium in Fort Collins. Folks really seem to love that Voodoo Ranger.”
The 2025 GABF is scheduled for October 9-11. Tickets will go on sale in August.
While the 2024 iteration of GABF allowed the American Homebrewers Association to offer small-batch demonstrations, the limited space at Bierstadt Lagerhaus won’t allow for its return.
Instead, men wearing socks and sandals will pass out an AHA pamphlet containing a recipe for a 5-gallon batch of a perfectly lovely brown ale.
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