DENVER – Durango brewers who competed at Great American Beer Festival this weekend in Denver said that while the larger size of the festival can be overwhelming, it’s a sign of craft beer’s continued explosion.
In its 34th year, GABF organizers expanded the festival to offer 90,000 additional square feet in the tasting hall, allowing 60,000 attendees to sample more than 3,500 beers from more than 750 American breweries.
In the midst of the thousands of beers sampled, two Durango breweries walked away with awards, proudly displaying medals as they were surrounded by throngs of GABF attendees.
Ska Brewing Co. won a silver in the American-Style or International-Style Pilsner category, as well as a bronze in the Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer category. Steamworks Brewing Co. won a silver in the German-Style Kölsch category.
The festival’s growth is impressive. Last year, GABF saw 49,000 festival-goers, which means another 11,000 beer fans were exposed to the latest in craft-beer craze this year. The festival offered the largest selection of American beers ever served and a record number of breweries in attendance.
Despite the jump in size, GABF still sold out in 1 hour 17 minutes during the public ticket sale this year, highlighting the demand for craft beer.
“The sheer size of GABF is what makes it the marquee event for beer lovers,” said Nancy Johnson, event director for the Brewers Association, which organizes GABF.
The craft-beer industry saw continued growth in the first half of 2015. From January through the end of June, approximately 12.2 million barrels of beer were sold by craft brewers, up from 10.6 million barrels during the first half of 2014.
As of June 30, 3,739 breweries were operating in the United States, an increase of 699 breweries over the same period from the previous year. Additionally, there were 1,755 breweries in planning.
“The continued growth of small and independent brewers illustrates that additional market opportunities and demand are prevalent, although competition in the sector is certainly growing and the need for brewers to differentiate and produce world-class high-quality beer is more important than ever,” said Bart Watson, chief economist for the Brewers Association.
Dave Thibodeau, co-owner of Ska, said the explosion in craft beer certainly keeps brewers on their toes. He acknowledged that the size of GABF can be a bit intimidating, but that it’s a sign of the industry’s stability.
“Part of what happened this year is it’s a bit of a reaction to last year. They had to make more accommodations to get more breweries in there, which is great,” said Thibodeau, who has been attending the festival for 22 years. “But certainly the number of breweries opening up is a great sign for the industry.”
Ska has been operating for 20 years – the majority of the time that craft beer has seen gains in popularity. This year Ska was a sponsor of the festival, operating a large booth in the hall, with 10 beers on tap.
Ska entered five beers into the competition, including a new creation, Ska Face, which won the bronze. Ska Face is an English barleywine that stands at an astounding 11.5 percent alcohol by volume. The limited edition came from a batch aged for three years in Peach Street Distillers bourbon barrels, a Palisade-based distillery co-owned by Thibodeau.
Steamworks also was in the main hall of the festival, enjoying its 19th-year and sharing five styles with attendees.
“For the event overall, the word is ‘bigger,’” said Kris Oyler, chief executive and co-founder of Steamworks. “It’s a very positive sign. There continues to be the movement towards craft beer and better beer. Maybe not so much the quantity of the beer, but the quality of the beer.”
Also in attendance this year from Durango was Carver Brewing Co. and Durango Brewing Co.
For those who couldn’t make it to the festival this weekend, Ska and Steamworks will be offering their award-winning beers at their respective breweries in Durango.
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
