SPECIAL REVIEW: The 2012 Great American Beer Festival

The Dirt
Another year, another Great American Beer Festival (GABF) has come and gone. This year, our sixth straight, hosted over 2,700 different beers under one roof. No, I sadly did not drink them all. But there were some stellar beers as usual.

This year did not start off smoothly. Tickets were a fiasco, as GABF switched completely over to Ticketmaster as the provider. Both the members ticket and public ticket offerings experienced technical glitches that frustrated many, including yours truly. Buying through Ticketmaster also meant the end to free pints at the Wynkoop and 2-for-1 at Winter Park on every ticket. But many did not get tickets this year with the public sale selling out in 45 minutes, so I still feel lucky to have gotten tickets regardless of the snafu. That said, I was sad to learn that not all members tickets were for the member's entrance, which grants ticket holders the ability to wait indoors and enter the festival 15 minutes early to get in line. Times be a changing. What didn't change was our battle plan. Two nights of Beerfest: Thursday and Friday.

What's Special
Once the week of Beerfest arrived, all ill feelings had been forgotten. Before I even set foot into the festival, the week started off with a Deschutes tasting 27 floors above downtown Denver. As a lover of all things Deschutes, this was the perfect way to get the party started.

Deschutes brought six beers for tasting, which was about the most delicious six-pack ever assembled. From left to right, top to bottom: Jubelale, Chainbreaker White IPA, Hop Trip, Black Butte XXIV, Conflux No. 1, and The Dissident. Holy wow Batman. The Jubelale is always one of my favorite holiday beers, bringing great caramel notes especially on tap. The Chainbreaker is my new favorite summer beer, while the Hop Trip excited every bit of the hophead in me. The Black Butte XXIV was thick deliciousness, acting like my dessert with so many dark spice and sweet notes. The Conflux No. 1 (a collaboration beer with Hair of The Dog Brewing Company) was like a high octane sour dubbel and might be one of the best beers I've ever had. And last but not least, The Dissident sour satisfied the La Folie lover in me. Good times!

Highlights
Once the festival started it was clear that there were some new beers that were going to wow us. Here is a small subset of what grabbed our palates this year at GABF:

• Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine - this...this is a barleywine ladies and gentlemen. Central Waters is known for their bourbon barrel aging expertise, and they did not disappoint with this beer. The bourbon was a perfect compliment to the black licorice-like malt and hop combo. The aging in the barrels made this big and intense beer as smooth as a baby's bottom.
• New Glarus Enigma - a delicious sour brown ale with tart Wisconsin cherries. I would have had more if the line wasn't one of the longest at the festival.
• Avery sours - even though Avery isn't far away from me, we always stop by for their sours. This year they sported a barrel aged sour brown that was intense, and a softer slightly fruitier sour that was also delicious.

• Stone 2008 Russian Imperial Stout - as some of you may recall, I aged one of these beers for a year and it was amazing. Turns out aging for four years is more than four times better. This beer was epic: smooth, big, chocolatey, and just plain delicious.
• Stone Drink By 11.09.12 IPA - Stone was on fire this year. This was their version of a Pliny the Elder, and it did not disappoint. Incredibly hoppy, but not bitter, and super fresh pine and citrus notes.

• Real Ale Scots Gone Wild - last but not least is what I deemed the best beer of GABF 2012. Who would have thought that a sour scotch ale would be a good idea let alone so delicious? Real Ale did, cementing why they're possibly my favorite brewery in Texas and probably in my top ten overall. Tart, malty, and a bit of oak with a hint of cherry. It was also the beer I had the most of this year. One of the best beers to ever grace my palate.

Once again a very tasty experience. Other breweries of note were Jester King bringing their tasty Boxer's Revenge and Goose Island's bourbon barrel stout. That said, I'm sure happy I live on the Front Range where a massive variety of great beer exists. But it's sure nice to get to experience other beers I cannot get here.

Cap It
GABF 2012 was a bit more crowded, especially on Friday, and the ticket fiasco was not a fun experience. But the beers were as tasty as ever. No real "it beer" for 2012, although all of the sours I had were spot on so I guess everyone is getting more versed in their creation. Next year we're thinking of changing it up by attending the members-only session on Saturday afternoon rather than the Friday night session, but likely still going Thursday. Yup, we're already planning 2013.

The Final Word