Upcoming fests

There are a number of different types of beer festivals coming up in the next few months, single brewery anniversary parties like Avery Brewing in Boulder (Aug 7th) or Stone Brewing (Sept 10) in Escondido. Slightly larger festivals like Made in the Shade in Flagstaff (August 13th). And, then there are the large festivals like Oktoberfest in Munich (Sept 17-Oct 3) that attracts millions of people from around the world but that only feature one style of beer, and finally there is the largest festival in North America, the Great American Beer Festival (Sept 29-Oct 1) in Denver.

You would have to be hard core to attend them all but if you are a beer lover you should try to attend at least one of them. I feel that at least once in every beer lovers life they should attend Oktoberfest in Munich. Given that the dollar isn't that favorable right now and if you haven't already been planning on going for awhile then maybe you should try and attend one of the other ones this year. After all, it is a great way to escape the heat. This year Papago will be going and serving our beer at Made in the Shade, the Stone Anniversary party and the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

At Made in the Shade I am guessing at the numbers but they'll probably be 15 to 20 breweries and about 80 beers to choose from. The advantage is that it is local, the disadvantage is that it can be crowded as the number of participating breweries has dropped off over the years but Flagstaff itself in August is a great escape. At Stone, they will have about 25 breweries and 75 or so beers, mostly from California but also from Colorado and even one from Mexico, yes, Tijuana Brewing Company will be there. This year they will have 2 separate sessions to break up the crowd. But the big one, and another one that every die hard beer person should go to at least once in their life is The Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

The Great American Beer Festival is the brewing industry's top public tasting and competition in the U.S. Beer aficionados from all over converge on Denver for the opportunity to sample more than 1,500 different beers from over 300 breweries. The fest has 3 public sessions and one 'connoisseur' session. One thing that makes the GABF unique is that it is a blend of every spectrum of American Brewing, from little ol places like Papago to the huge megabrewing empire known as Anheuser Busch that spill more beer in an hour than we make all year.

The public sessions at the GABF can be quite crowded, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, Thursday is the best public session to attend. The 'connoisseur' session Saturday afternoon is probably worth the extra money. It is at this session that they announce the medal winners where such well respected local beer judges such as Jim Roper and Melissa Phillips of Four Peaks have worked behind the scenes judging 100's of beers trying to determine which are the top beers in each category. Almost every beer that wins a medal sells out early Saturday night.

One of the best parts about being in Denver during the GABF is the opportunity to attend some of the many beer-related events that take place daily and nightly. A growing tradition at the annual gathering of America's beer industry in the Mile High City is the Real Beer Page "Stogies & Stout" smoker and tasting. Admission is free to breweries and their guests (so if you go look for Johnny, Leah or myself). Also, a frequent stop after the festival each night for those who didn't get enough at the fest is Denver's version of Papago, Falling Rock Tap House which has a great selection of draft beers and even though they don't have the quantity that Papago has, their bottled selection is also superb.
If you go to any of these fests and want to hook up with us or need help with hotel reservations let me know. We could also use some volunteer pourers for Stone's Anniversary party and for Made in the Shade (e-mail info@papagobrewing.com to volunteer). Tickets and further information on the fests can be obtained at:
www.azbeer.com www.averybrewing.com www.stonebrew.com and www.gabf.org The cheapest airfare we found to Denver is www.ata.com

Prost, Ron