The Great American Beer Festival confirmed its 2026 competition will award medals at Denver’s Levitt Pavilion on October 10 and 11, with judging running October 5 to 8. It’s the country’s biggest beer competition, covering more than 100 styles. A good reminder to look at what’s already won over judges and drinkers alike in our best IPAs and best stouts guides.
The Great American Beer Festival, run by the Brewers Association, has been the industry’s flagship competition since 1982, and it now covers well over 100 distinct beer style categories, from classic American lagers to the newest hazy IPA and pastry stout subcategories the Association keeps adding as styles evolve. It draws entries from breweries across the entire country, making its medals a genuine mark of national recognition rather than a regional accolade.
Judging happens well before the public festival itself; this year’s blind judging runs October 5 to 8, ahead of the awards and the actual festival dates of October 10 and 11 at Denver’s Levitt Pavilion. Beers are judged blind, in flights grouped by style, by panels of certified beer judges and industry professionals, with gold, silver and bronze medals awarded per category rather than an overall single winner.
The move to Levitt Pavilion marks a venue change from GABF’s traditional home at the Colorado Convention Center, reflecting the festival’s ongoing effort to find a space that can accommodate both the competition and the public tasting sessions that make up the actual festival weekend, where attendees can sample from hundreds of participating breweries across the country.
Whether or not you’re heading to Denver, GABF results are a genuinely useful signal for what’s worth trying: medal winners get real credibility within the industry, unlike some online “best of” lists driven mostly by marketing. Our own best IPAs and best stouts guides both include past medal-caliber beers worth seeking out even if you can’t make it to the festival itself.
Ticket packages for the public tasting sessions typically go on sale months in advance and have sold out early in past years given the size of the event, so anyone planning to attend in person should expect to book well ahead of the October dates rather than waiting until closer to the festival.
GABF’s growth over more than four decades mirrors the growth of American craft beer itself, expanding from a niche regional gathering in the early 1980s to the country’s largest and most competitive beer festival and competition today.
GABF’s competition results also feed directly into how many breweries market themselves for the following year, with a gold, silver or bronze medal commonly appearing on can labels, tap handles and marketing materials as a durable credibility signal long after the actual festival weekend has passed.
GABF’s continued growth as an event also reflects the broader professionalization of craft beer judging over the decades, with formal certification programs like the Cicerone and BJCP judge credentials now standard among the panels who evaluate entries, a level of rigor the festival’s earliest years didn’t have.
GABF’s rotating city presence (it has stayed anchored to Denver for decades, unlike some other national competitions that move between cities) has also helped Denver itself build a reputation as an unofficial capital of American craft beer, with a dense local brewery scene that benefits from the extra tourism and attention the festival brings every October.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is GABF?
The Great American Beer Festival, the Brewers Association’s flagship national beer competition and public tasting festival, running annually since 1982 and covering well over 100 distinct beer style categories.
How are GABF medals actually judged?
Entries are judged blind, in flights grouped by style, by panels of certified judges and industry professionals, with gold, silver and bronze medals awarded separately within each style category rather than one overall best-beer winner.
Can the general public attend GABF?
Yes, the public festival dates (October 10-11 this year) are ticketed tasting sessions open to attendees, separate from the earlier private judging period where the medals are actually decided.
How many breweries typically enter GABF?
GABF regularly draws thousands of beers from hundreds of breweries across the country each year, making it one of the largest beer competitions in the world by entry volume.
Where was GABF held before moving to Levitt Pavilion?
GABF’s traditional home has been the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver, where the festival was held for many years before this year’s venue change.
What happens to the beers that don’t win a GABF medal?
The vast majority of entries don’t medal in any given category, since medals are limited to gold, silver and bronze per style regardless of how many strong entries are submitted; a non-medal result doesn’t necessarily reflect poor quality.
Does GABF judge homebrewers as well as professional breweries?
No, GABF is strictly a professional brewery competition; homebrewers have their own separate national competition circuit, most notably the National Homebrew Competition run by the American Homebrewers Association.
Source: Great American Beer Festival →
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