Erika BoldenDENVER — Walk around the floor of the 33rd annual Great American Beer Festival and every L.A. County resident is bleary-eyed but blissful. The fest, which hosts just under 50,000 beer enthusiasts and over 700 breweries, was moved up by a week this year, landing it immediately after L.A. Beer Week.
Stakes are high for the GABF competition this year, especially for defending champions Beachwood BBQ and Brewing who won five medals in 2013 in addition to the title Mid-Size Brewpub of the Year, and two medals in 2012. Kinetic Brewing scored two medals in 2013. Now former Kinetic head brewer Alexandra Nowell has moved on to Brewmaster at Three Weavers Brewing Co.
Running from Oct. 2-4, the gathering of industry members and brewery fans at the Colorado Convention Center will have access to the largest collection of American brewers in the world. More breweries than ever are pouring at the festival this year, a grand total of 3,500 beers — up 14% from 2013. More beers were entered for judging, made possible by limiting the number of entries a brewery can submit for competition to five. This maximum is meant to diversify the winners and increase participation for the 90 style categories of beer. In June, 2014 the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade group that organizes GABF, announced that the number of breweries operating in the U.S. had surpassed 3,000, with 1,929 breweries in the planning stages.
Check out the nine breweries from L.A. now in Denver are escaping the heat. The winners will be announced Saturday, Oct. 4.
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Three Weavers and El Segundo at GABF 2014; Credit: Erika Bolden
Making the return trip to represent L.A. County with the following beers are (in alphabetical order):
Beachwood BBQ and Brewing (Long Beach)
– Foam Top
– Amalgamator
– Kilgore Stout
– Udder Love
– Mocha Machine
El Segundo Brewing Co. (El Segundo)
– Blue House Citra Pale
– Sleek Zeke
– Schot in Het Donker
– Station No. 1
– Blue House IPA
Golden Road Brewing (Los Angeles)
– Wolf Among Weeds
– Get Up Offa That Brown
– Point the Way IPA
– 329 Lager
– Berliner Weisse
Golden Road at GABF 2014; Credit: Erika Bolden
Kinetic Brewing Co. (Lancaster)
– Potential Blonde
– Ignition
– Afterburner
– Torque
– Rusted Gear
The LAB Brewing Co. (Agoura Hills)
– After Midnight Moo
– Take Her Home Tripel
Ladyface Ale Companie (Agoura Hills)
– Guillotine
– Derailleur
– Blue-Belly Barleywine
– Ingenuity Series, Stack VI
– Hop Project
Smog City at GABF 2014; Credit: Erika Bolden
Smog City Brewing Co. (Torrance)
– Little Bo Pils
– Chip Shot Coffee Porter
– Sabre-Toothed Squirrel
– Coffee Porter
– Goldie
Proudly pouring for the first time are:
Alosta Brewing Co. (Covina)
– Sally
– Alosta ESB
– Spadra IPA
– Mrs. Adams Oatmeal Stout
– Saison Bleu
King Harbor Brewing Co. (Redondo Beach)
– California Saison
– The Quest – Mosaic
– The Quest – El Dorado
– Storm’s a Brewin’
– The Swirly
Three Weavers Brewing Co. (Inglewood)
– Stateside
– Deep Roots
– Expatriate IPA
– Traveler Kolsch
– Midnight Flight
L.A. County breweries who entered beer for judging but were not present on the floor this year: Brewery at Abigaile, Highland Park Brewery, Los Angeles Ale Works, MacLeod Ale Brewing Co., Monkish Brewing Co., Ohana Brewing Co., Strand Brewing Co., Timeless Pints Brewing Co. and Wolf Creek Brewing Co.
Beachwood BBQ & Brewing at GABF 2014; Credit: Erika Bolden
Three Weavers Booth GABF 2014; Credit: Erika Bolden
Erika Bolden writes at Erikabolden.com and @Erikabolden. Want more Squid Ink? Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.
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