My lady and I just got done with our two day GABF and this is my thoughts on how it was, what I learned and tips for anyone who wants to go.
We got tickets for two days since I figured I'd be all beer'ed out after 5 hours or so of drinking and we could get the lay of the land for the second day.
Friday had a line a mile long but moved quickly once the doors opened. Saturday we came a little bit after the doors opened and walked right in. No need to get there early, in my opinion. While we waited, I checked out the beers that would be there.
Our plan was to hit up Utopias right off the bat (which we couldn't until 7pm) and when did try it, we found it was not worth the hype. Vokda + brown sugar.
The line for the men's room were long but quick and there were much fewer women on Friday than Saturday.
Beer was grouped in region, which is nice because you could target brews far away from home and avoid the close ones.
I was a little surprised to see some of my favorite breweries (Founders) not there and was disappointed that Surly wasn't there either. I heard it was $250 a keg to enter + shipping + who knows what. So I can't blame them, but wouldn't you enter great beer for the medals?
Saturday had tons of beer that was depleted. Friday night we studied the beer list for stuff we wanted to try and sadly, most of it was gone by Saturday. Go as soon as you can for more options.
Overall it was fun, but I couldn't believe how drunk and stupid people were. Obviously, there is beer to drink but I saw all sorts of mini-fights, angry people, vomit, etc. that I never saw at Oktoberfest in Germany.
The pro-am table was the highlight of both days. The best beer I tried was here. IPA's, Black IPA's, porters, etc. Awesome. If you go, do not miss this table.
We sampled Jamil's Heretic brews and we thought they were terrible. How disappointing. On the flip side, I did shake Charlie Papazian's hand and thank him for everything.
Pizza Port knocked our socks off. Anything they made was awesome and the medals they earned are well deserved. Maybe I should move...
Overall, go the earliest day you can, check out the pro-am, eat first, and try some amazing brews.
We got tickets for two days since I figured I'd be all beer'ed out after 5 hours or so of drinking and we could get the lay of the land for the second day.
Friday had a line a mile long but moved quickly once the doors opened. Saturday we came a little bit after the doors opened and walked right in. No need to get there early, in my opinion. While we waited, I checked out the beers that would be there.
Our plan was to hit up Utopias right off the bat (which we couldn't until 7pm) and when did try it, we found it was not worth the hype. Vokda + brown sugar.
The line for the men's room were long but quick and there were much fewer women on Friday than Saturday.
Beer was grouped in region, which is nice because you could target brews far away from home and avoid the close ones.
I was a little surprised to see some of my favorite breweries (Founders) not there and was disappointed that Surly wasn't there either. I heard it was $250 a keg to enter + shipping + who knows what. So I can't blame them, but wouldn't you enter great beer for the medals?
Saturday had tons of beer that was depleted. Friday night we studied the beer list for stuff we wanted to try and sadly, most of it was gone by Saturday. Go as soon as you can for more options.
Overall it was fun, but I couldn't believe how drunk and stupid people were. Obviously, there is beer to drink but I saw all sorts of mini-fights, angry people, vomit, etc. that I never saw at Oktoberfest in Germany.
The pro-am table was the highlight of both days. The best beer I tried was here. IPA's, Black IPA's, porters, etc. Awesome. If you go, do not miss this table.
We sampled Jamil's Heretic brews and we thought they were terrible. How disappointing. On the flip side, I did shake Charlie Papazian's hand and thank him for everything.
Pizza Port knocked our socks off. Anything they made was awesome and the medals they earned are well deserved. Maybe I should move...
Overall, go the earliest day you can, check out the pro-am, eat first, and try some amazing brews.