GABF is produced by the Brewer's Association (BA). According
to BA, the primary purpose of GABF "is to educate the consumer about
the quality and diversity in beer-styles and breweries that exist across the
United States." Impressively, more than 500 of BA's 1,400 brewery members
were in attendance this year, so thumbs up for diversity of beers! On the other
hand, with 49,000 attendees opportunities to "educate" the
consumer were limited at best.
Tickets to this year's GABF sold out in minutes. Even those
of us eligible for the BA members-only presale were in disbelief how quickly tickets
were swiped up, and I was only able to score tickets for the Friday night session...
happy hour. Most of the festival floor was shoulder-to-shoulder, and although
the organizers did an amazing job of ushering so many people through so
quickly, the crowd was just overwhelming.
For serious home brewers, intimacy and the ability to interact
with professional brewers has been one of the GABF hallmarks. Because of the
crowds, that intimacy and ability was gone this year. It's nearly impossible to have a conversation
with a brewer about aroma-hopping with Simcoe instead of Citra when there are
twenty people lined up behind you waiting for a sample of beer. Most breweries
are just rushing people through, and that's understandable.
My suggestions for improving GABF in the future are:
1. Hold more BA and AHA members-only events. BA and AHA
members are some of the biggest proponents of craft beer. We tell everybody we
know about great new beers, beer-styles, hops, and breweries. I think there
would be a positive trickle down affect from giving us a little more access
without the crowds.
2. Establish an education track in which serious home
brewers and craft beer enthusiasts can learn more about brewing, ingredients,
and the business of brewing. Sessions could be limited in size and taught by professional
brewers or other respected people in the craft beer industry. We would be
willing to pay more for such an opportunity.
The size of GABF this year is simply a reflection of
the growing popularity of craft beer, and that's good. But in terms of
educating the consumer via intimacy and direct interaction with brewers, I
think the GABF has gotten too big. Until some new ideas are implemented, like the ones I've suggested above, I'll be skipping next year's GABF and instead
going to the smaller and more intimate events and tastings that happen around town in
the weeks leading up to the festival.
