Great American Beer Festival

Each autumn, Denver's convention centre hosts what has grown into the single largest beer festival in the United States by both breweries represented and beer poured. Founded in 1982, the Great American Beer Festival now brings together beer from hundreds of American breweries, spanning every style from classic lagers to the latest experimental sours.

The festival is also home to the GABF Awards, widely regarded as the most prestigious beer competition in the country, judged by an international panel across dozens of style categories. Winning a medal here carries real weight across the American craft beer industry.

For attendees, it's as much an education as a party — with beer schools, brewer meet-and-greets, and the chance to try beers that rarely travel far from their home state, all in one enormous hall over a single weekend.