On September 29, the 30th annual Great American Beer Festival will kick off in Denver, CO. Around 49,000 attendees are expected (it sold out in a week) and 465 breweries will be on hand to pour more than 2,400 beers. If you haven’t been, the festival is a must at some point in your life for anyone who calls themselves a beer drinker. There are two parts to the festival: the country’s most-respected private judging and awards recognition for beer, and then the festival for the public.

Of the 465 breweries on hand, 28 of them will be representing Washington. As a preview for those going and as a guide to who might be up for awards this year, I’ll be posting as much GABF beer info as I can get from WA breweries before the event.

Paradise Creek Brewery
For the competition and for pouring:
Hector’s Revenge Barrel-Aged Barley Wine
Over the Hop IPA
Hoe’s Daddy Dunkel
Pullman Water American Lager
Hopocalypse Cascadian IPA.

Three Skulls Ales
For pouring and competition:
Three Skulls Bacon
Three Skulls Blackbeard Dark Lager
Pro-Am Beer: Mike Ritzer’s Grunge Effect, North German Altbier