The Best Craft Beer Festivals in the United States

Craft beer festivals are every beer aficionado's ultimate dream. Beer festivals are a chance to sample a variety of craft beers, beer styles, and talk to the actual brewmaster about their craft beers. No matter the season, there are literally hundreds of beer festivals held in the United States. So how do you choose which beer festival to attend? If you are serious about beer, there's really only one beer festival list to have.

Great American Beer Festival (GABF) - Denver, CO
www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com
This is the largest beer festival in the USA. In 2008 over 46,000 people crowded into the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO to sample over 2000 beers over a three day period. 450 breweries competed for medals in 75 beer style categories. Beers are judged by a panel of domestic and international judges with medals awarded for the top three beers in each category. Once the awards are announced, the brewers quickly run out of these beers.

If you plan on attending, visit the GABF festival website and download the lists of previous years winners. Use them as a tasting guide. The Thursday night session is relaxed and the brewers have all their beers out. Saturday night is basically drunken college student night. Expect to get beer splashed on you. The Saturday Member Only session is more expensive but the lines are shorter and the brewers are required to have all their beers out. Buy your tickets early as the festival does sell out.

One tip - don't drop your tasting cup on the floor. You'll quickly find out why.

My favorites:
Boulder Beer - Hazed & Infused
Oskar Blues - Old Chubb, Dale's Pale Ale
New Belgium Brewery - Mothership Wit
Redstone Meadery - Boysenberry Nectar, Sunshine Nectar, Black Raspberry Nectar

Great Taste of the Midwest - Madison, Wisconsin
http://www.mhtg.org/
This beer festival is the way to explore the best craft beers brewed only in the Midwest. It draws beer lovers from 35 states, the Netherlands, and Germany. Entry is limited to 6,000 people and always sells out. As a result they use a lottery system to determine who can purchase beer festival tickets. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and get ready to taste premium craft beers brewed in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio.

My favorites:
New Glarus Brewing Company - Wisconsin Belgian Red, Raspberry Tart
Jacob Leinenkugal Brewing Company - Berry Weiss, Honey Weiss

Oregon Brewers Festival - Portland, Oregon
http://www.oregonbrewfest.com/
Think of Oregon and you're probably thinking about beer. Oregon is home to countless award winning craft breweries. As a result, this four-day beer festival attracts greater than 70,000 beer enthusiasts. There are 80 breweries sampling 12 different styles of beers. Unlike most beer festivals, it only allows one beer per brewery. This allows brewmasters to showcase their finest craft beer. Block off the last full weekend in July for this beer fest.

My favorite breweries:
Full Sail Brewing Company
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.
Hopworks Urban Brewery
Rogue Ales
Pike Brewing Co.

Fresh Hop Ale Festival, Yakima, Washington
http://www.freshhopalefestival.com/
Beer without hops is like salad without dressing. There's a lot of fresh hoppiness going around this beer festival. Why not? The Yakima Valley is home to 77% of the annual US hops harvest. The hops for these ales are picked and used in brewing within 24 hours of harvest. Make note of the hops variety used with each beer you taste. You may find that you have a preference of one hop variety over another. The 16 competing breweries come from the Pacific Northwest and Northern California.

My favorite breweries:
Deschutes Brewery
Rogue Ales
Full Sail Brewing Company

American Craft Beer Fest, Boston, Mass.
http://beeradvocate.com/acbf/
This is the largest craft beer festival on the East Coast. It's held annually at the Seaport World Trade Center over a two-day period. More than 75 craft brewers serve in excess of 300 craft beers from the New England area and from around the USA. Grab your tasting cup and enjoy those 2 oz. servings.

My favorites:
Shipyard Brewing Co. - Pumpkinhead Ale, Sea Dog Blueberry Ale
Brewery Ommegang - Three Philosophers, Ommegang Witte
Uinta Brewing Co. - Anniversary Barley Wine

Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival - Anchorage, AK
http://www.auroraproductions.net/beer-barley.html
The largest state in the union should be home to a great beer festival. In the dead of winter, this beer festival attracts over 50 regional and international brewers to bring over 200 beers and barleywines. But then, what else are you going to do when suffering from Cabin Fever. Two days of sampling barleywines will take the edge off that. If you've never gotten to taste good barleywines, now's a great chance to taste regional brews. Don't skip the Belgian breweries booths.

My favorites:
Any Belgian brewery pouring beer
Elysian Brewing Co. - The Great Pumpkin Ale
Lagunitas Brewing Co. - Old GnarlyWine
Lindemans Farm Brewery - Lindeman's Framboise, Cuvee Rene Gueze
Pike Brewing Co. - Old Bawdy 2007 Barley Wine
Alaskan Brewing Co. - Alaskan Barley Wine

World Beer Festival - Raleigh/Durham, NC
http://www.allaboutbeer.com/wbf/home.html
The South has discovered craft beer in a major league way. For almost fourteen years now, breweries from the US and the world have converged upon Durham, NC. The festival is now spreading its wings to Raleigh, Richmond, and Columbia, SC. During your festival session you can taste over 300 beers from over 150 breweries. Unfortunately the festival only lasts one day. If you are a local, sample the beers that are not available regionally.

My favorites:
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.
Rogue Ales - XS: Imperial Stout, Shakespeare Stout, Hazelnut Brown Nectar, Mom Hefeweizen
Tommyknocker Brewery - Butt Head Bock
Any Belgian brewery pouring beer

http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com
http://www.mhtg.org/
http://www.oregonbrewfest.com/
http://www.freshhopalefestival.com/
http://www.auroraproductions.net/beer-barley.html
http://www.allaboutbeer.com/wbf/home.html
http://beeradvocate.com/acbf/
http://www.beerfestivals.org/