What's new at the 2024 Great American Beer Festival in Denver

The Great American Beer Festival is being reinvented for 2024.

Why it matters: The annual event — now in its 42nd year — is one of the largest celebrations of beer in the nation, drawing hundreds of brewers and beer fans to Denver each fall.

State of play: This year's GABF is more about the experience than the beer.

• Rather than organizing breweries by region or alphabet, the festival is staged with five themed areas that emphasize activities other than drinking, such as a stein-hoisting competition, costume contests and other games.
• The event also will debut canned cocktails and hard teas in addition to the return of ciders and hard seltzers.

What they're saying: "Beer is still the star of the show, but we also know for our younger customers and younger attendees they are interested in an overall experience," says Ann Obenchain at the Brewers Association, the Boulder-based trade group that hosts the festival.

The big picture: GABF's evolution began post-pandemic and reflects the new world order: the traditional beer festival is dead and beer sales are down .

• "We've seen many festivals shutter and as we tell our breweries as a trade association, you have to keep reinventing yourself to be relevant," Obenchain tells us.

The intrigue: The most notable change is a shrinking of the event. Instead of four sessions Thursday through Saturday, the festival will host three.

• The elimination of the Saturday night session came in response to attendee complaints about empty kegs and brewers who felt the party became too sloshy.
• The members-only session popular among homebrewers and industry pros on Saturday afternoon is now open to the general public.

Yes, but: Organizers are expecting 40,000 attendees at the Convention Center, the same total since 2022 when the festival downsized .

What's next: Tickets go on sale to the general public Wednesday. The opening session Oct. 10 is $85 and the following Friday and Saturday sessions are $95.