No GABF Tickets? Denver Beer Fest To The Rescue!

DENVER, Sept. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- It's no secret, the 33rd annual Great American Beer Festival® (GABF) sold out all 50,000 tickets in 32 minutes!

What to do if you don't have GABF tickets?

VISIT DENVER has come to the rescue with the 6th annual Denver Beer Fest – a nine-day celebration of beer to surround GABF with hundreds of other beer-related events at area breweries, restaurants, tap houses and attractions. Running from September 26 to October 4, 2014, Denver Beer Fest offers beer tastings, firkin tappings, beer bike nights, midnight beer breakfasts, beer paired dinners, brewery tours, brewer vs. brewer competitions, meet the brewer nights, tap takeovers, beer quizzes, and even a beer street party with bands, brews and food trucks.

All of the events can be found at denverbeerfest.com.

Blazing the Denver Beer Trail
Also back again in 2014 is the Denver Beer Trail, a free booklet that offers a map and a guide to 20 downtown-area Denver breweries. The passport-sized publication offers a suggested signature beer at each brewery, as well as providing room for tasting notes and a "Been there, drank that" box to check off.  The free guide can be picked up at all participating breweries or at the Denver Information Center at 16^th and California.

This year's top 20 Denver beers are:

1. Elsie Mae (ABV 6%, IBU 30)
   Beryl's Beer Co., 3120-C Blake St.
   Complex and crisp, this multi-layered ale supports subtle sweetness from a healthy dose of Colorado honey, classic spice and pepper notes from the yeast, and finishes with a lingering fruitiness from the white wine barrel.
2. Colorado Red Ale (ABV 6.8%, IBU 46)
   Black Shirt Brewing, 3719 Walnut St. 
   Enjoy notes of caramel, toffee and dark chocolate on the body with an abundance of floral overtones (think Colorado wildflowers) and citrus undertones. This beer is slightly malty, delicately hoppy, and is a celebration of our great state.
3. Toxic Zombie Pale (ABV 5.4%, IBU 29)
   Black Sky Brewery, 490 Santa Fe Dr.
   Toxic Zombie Pale is collaborative effort between Black Sky Brewery and Denver's own metal monsters the Zombie Hate Brigade. It is a heavily malted ale that pushes the senses to the extreme using Colorado grown organic Chinook hops.
4. Blue Moon White IPA (ABV 5.9%, IBU 45)
   Blue Moon Brewing Company at the SandLot, 2161 Blake St.
   Blue Moon White IPA is crafted with four varieties of hops, wheat, coriander, and a hint of orange peel for a balanced taste with bright hop aromas.
5. Autumn Ale (ABV 6.7%, IBU 21)
   Breckenridge Brewery, 2220 Blake St.
   Oktoberfest with an American Ale twist. Brewed with Munich malts and a delicate blend of Bavarian hops, full-bodied nutty-sweet middle, a warming alcohol level and notes of toasted grains. A pre-winter winner.
6. Surette (ABV 6.2%, IBU 30)
   Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, 1441 W. 46th Ave., Unit 19
   Surette is a barrel-aged Provision Saison, matured in oak foeders. Its flavor is dominated by citrusy ripe fruits, exemplifying our mixed culture of Brettanomyces and Lactic Acid Bacteria.
7. Graham Cracker Porter (ABV 5.6%, IBU 20)
   Denver Beer Co., 1695 Platte St.
   A campfire in a glass! This robust beauty has seductive notes of vanilla and mulling spices. It's a rollercoaster of lush chocolate diving into a semi-dry finish of roasted malt and biscuit.     
8. Impertinent Pale Lager (ABV 7%-8%, IBU 85)
   Denver ChopHouse & Brewery, 1735 19th St.
   The Impertinent Pale Lager allows fuller hop flavors to dominate the beer as lager yeast tends to create a dryer malt character.  Base malt is Pilsen lending a slight nutty flavor; Citra Hopps denotes an almost peachy flavor.
9. RiNo Pale Ale (ABV 5.8%, IBU)
   Epic Brewing, 3001 Walnut St.
   This is a bold and unpretentious beer born out of the River North Neighborhood. Combining premium English Maris Otter malt with German Specialty grains and Pacific Northwest Hops this ale is complex and robust, but also very easy going.
10. Gadabout (ABV 6.8%, IBU 60)
    Former Future, 1290 S. Broadway
    Similar to an IPA, this India Pale Lager is fermented with lager yeast. Moderate bitterness and a smooth piney, citrus hop flavor, this lager will leave a lasting impression.
11. Colette Farmhouse Ale (ABV 7.3%, IBU 60)
    Great Divide Brewing Company, 2201 Arapahoe St.
    Brewed with barley, wheat and rice and fermented at high temperatures with a special blend of four different yeast strains, COLETTE is fruity and slightly tart, with a dry finish that makes it that rarest of treats.
12. Barrel-Aged First Descent Old Ale (ABV 15.5%, IBU 50)
    Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery, 1139 20th St.
    One of Westword's favorite Colorado craft beers in 2013, First Decent has a caramel male character enhanced by five months of aging in whiskey oak barrels.   
13. Selfish (ABV 5.4%, IBU 25)
    Lowdown Brewery + Kitchen, 800 Lincoln Street
    Grapefruit, tangerine and pineapple complement this light bodied ale, but without the pesky bitterness of a traditional pale ale.
14. Kölsch (ABV 4.5%, IBU 22)
    Prost Brewing Company, 2540 19th St.
    Delicate and pale with a less subtle citrus aroma, this is a hallmark of the classic style from Köln.
15. Elevation, Triple  IPA (ABV 11%, IBU 100+)
    Renegade Brewing Company, 925 W. Ninth Ave.    
    Elevation is a big IPA. Sitting at 11% ABV with over 100 IBU's, you might expect something overwhelming, but Elevation exhibits perfect balance. Not overly bitter or boozy, be careful for this is a delightfully drinkable big IPA.
16. J. Marie (ABV 7.5%, IBU 23)
    River North Brewery, 2401 Blake St., Unit 1
    True to the origins of the Farmhouse style, this ale is brewed with only two malts, one hop, and one yeast-strain. Simplicity tastes good.
17. Rocktoberfest (ABV 5.7%, IBU 25)
    Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, 1001 16th St. #100
    Rocktoberfest is a crisp Marzen brewed malty sweet from the Vienna Malts with nice subtle toast from the Munich Malts. 
18. Cherry Kriek (ABV 4.7%, IBU 15)
    Strange Craft Beer Company, 1330 Zuni Street, Unit M
    Think cherry pie in a glass. Think cherries picked from the tree. There's so many tart pie cherries crammed into every glass even the foamy head is red.
19. Scorn (ABV 5.2%, IBU)
    TRVE Brewing Company, 227 Broadway, #101
    This is the perfect beer to pair with ultra-negativity. Scorn has mid-range alcohol content with a biting bitterness and over the top dry hopping with Citra and Mosaic.        
20. Belgorado Belgian-Style IPA (ABV 6.7%, IBU 45)
    Wynkoop Brewing Company, 1634 18th St.
    This fresh, exciting ale uses bright Belgian yeast and a smooth, light malt profile to tame the bold hops within.  Brewed entirely with Colorado-Grown hops and malts, it's local with an adventurous streak.

Some Other 2014 Denver Beer Fest Events
Just some of the events taking place at Denver Beer Fest include.  All events can be found at DenverBeerFest.com:

• Fresh Hop!
  Falling Rock Tap House, Sept. 27
  This event will take over all of Falling Rock Tap House, recently named one of the top 5 Great American Beer Bars of 2014 by CraftBeer.com, to showcase a medley of fresh hopped beers created by breweries across the country. What is a fresh hopped beer? Here's the timeline... Hops growers have about 24 hours to get the hops from the farm to the brewery's drying kiln before they start showing signs of spoiling. But if these hops connect with that batch of beer within that 24-hour window, then eureka! You've got one heck of a beer. These beers are exciting because every beer is different, all have varied levels of hoppy flavor and are super exclusive due to the fresh hop process.
• Ales, Lagers and Beyond: Tasting and Appreciating Beer 
  Metropolitan State University, Sept. 29  
  Taste and learn about the major styles of beer and how to analyze flavor, pair with food, and serve in glassware that maximizes your enjoyment of beer.‌‌ The $35 fee includes instruction from one of the world's foremost experts in craft beer, all beer samples and light food samples, and a Spiegelau craft beer tas‌ting kit ($50 value) to take home.‌ During this two-hour session, participants will: Taste and recognize the characteristics of beer styles such as lager, ale, IPA, stout, pilsner, and more; learn about beer styles of major beer regions of the world including Germany, the British Isles, Belgium, and America; engage your senses in learning to analyze flavors of beer and food and learn how to select the right glass to increase your enjoyment of beer. Sample food items with their best corresponding beers to gain the knowledge to create your own pairings at home. Beer U, indeed!
• Midnight Breakfast at Euclid Hall  
  Euclid Hall, Oct. 2
  Avery Brewing Company and Euclid Hall Bar & Kitchen are welcoming the GABF attendees in great American style right after the first GABF session on Thursday, October 2nd. The doors at Euclid Hall kick open at 10:45 p.m. and the breakfast gets underway at 11:00 p.m. Enjoy an epic breakfast and special Avery brews like Meretrix, Uncle Jacobs, 2003 Czar, and a few other pulls from the cellar.
• Offensively Delicious:  A Craft Beer Comedy Show. 
  Oriental Theater, Oct. 1
  Renegade Brewing and Sexpot Comedy present a craft-beer comedy show! Ticket includes an unlimited sampling from 10 breweries including Renegade, Epic, Breckenridge, Brooklyn, Community Beer, Ommegang, Santa Fe, Schmaltz, and Boulevard. The comedy show will kick off with an Open Mic featuring "comedians" from our participating breweries. Stick around for the professionals to come on stage – Andy Juett, Adam Cayton-Holland, and headliner Nikki Glaser.
• Beer Flights at DIA
  Denver International Airport, Sept. 19 – Oct. 4
  Denver International Airport (DIA) will host a temporary beer garden in the center of the Jeppesen Terminal. "Beer Flights," presented by the Colorado Lottery, will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4. Admission is $10 and visitors must be 21 or older with a valid ID. Admission to the event includes a souvenir glass, a bag of pretzels provided by Southwest Airlines, and access to 10, 2-ounce samples of beer. A total of 11 Colorado breweries will be represented.

About Denver Beer Fest
The 6th annual Denver Beer Fest is organized by VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau, to offer more beer events around the Great American Beer Festival® (GABF) – organized by the Brewers Association – and also give local breweries, tap houses, bars and restaurants an opportunity to showcase their products to the 50,000 beer lovers who attend the "Super Bowl" of beer festivals, as well as Denver locals who can't make GABF 2014.  Denver Beer Fest is presented by VISIT DENVER, in partnership with the Colorado Brewers Guild, ZTrip, Westword, Boelter Beverage, the Downtown Denver Partnership and Southwest Airlines.

About VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau
Celebrating 105 years of promoting The Mile High City, VISIT DENVER is a nonprofit trade association that contracts with the City of Denver to market Denver as a convention and leisure destination, increasing economic development in the city, creating jobs and generating taxes. A record 14 million visitors stayed overnight in Denver in 2013, generating $4 billion in spending, while supporting nearly 50,000 jobs, making Tourism the second largest industry in Denver. Learn more about Denver on the VISITDENVER website and at TOURISMPAYSDENVER or by phone at 800 2 Denver. Follow Denver's social media channels for up-to-the-minute updates at: Facebook.com/visitdenver; Twitter.com/iknowdenver; Instagram.com/visitdenver; and YouTube.com/visitdenver.

With press or photo inquiries, please contact:
Rich Grant: (303) 571-9450 or [email protected]
Debbie Park: (303) 571-9451 or [email protected]
Sarah Welch (303) 571-9418 or [email protected]

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SOURCE VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau