2024 GABF judging sessions will take place over 3 to 4 day blocks of time called “Phases”:
| PHASE I | September 25 – 28, Louisville, CO |
| PHASE II | October 7 – 10 Denver, CO (Colorado Convention Center) |
| Great American Beer Festival® | October 10 – 12, Denver, CO (Colorado Convention Center) |
| GABF Awards Ceremony | October 12 |
All judging sessions and lunch will be held at the Brewers Association warehouse at 587 S Taylor Ave, Louisville, CO.
Hotel & Travel
The closest hotel for judges is the Courtyard Marriott Louisville (from which a daily shuttle is provided to/from judging). Discounted Hotel Reservation Link Here
Shuttle Times:
Morning: 7:30am first shuttle will load up and drop off then will loop 3 times (ride is roughly 10 minutes and – we have roughly 60 people in waves)
Afternoon: 3:30 to 5:30 pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday (4pm – 6pm FRIDAY due to Afternoon social)
Courtyard Marriott Louisville
948 West Dillon Road
Louisville, CO 80027
Ph: +(303) 604-0007
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Most Phase I judges will arrive on this day
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Daily theme: Tropical madness – Hawaiian shirts, etc. welcome
| 8:00 am – 8:30 am | Judge Check In – 587 S Taylor Ave, Louisville, CO: Judges receive their judge packets & daily judging schedule |
| 8:30 am | Judges gather at assigned judging tables – brief 15-30 minute on-site judge orientation |
| 8:45 am – 12:00 pm | Judging Session 1 |
| 11:30 – 1:00 pm | Judge and Competition Staff Lunch |
| 1:00 pm – 4:45 pm | Judging Session 2 |
| 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm | Judge Evening Happy Hour @ Cohesion Brewing 3851 Steele St Unit 1388, Denver, CO 80205 A couple of beers and food provided *Bus transportation provided from Hotel – Bus leaves hotel 5:30pm. Last bus leaves Cohesion to return to hotel at 8:00pm |
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Daily theme: Tie Die Thursday – for a colorful group
| 8:15 am – 8:30 am | Judge Check In – 587 S Taylor Ave, Louisville, CO. Judges arrive with their judge packets and pick up their daily judging schedule |
| 8:30 am | Judges gather at assigned judging tables |
| 8:45 am – 12:00 pm | Judging Session 3 |
| 11:30 – 1:00 pm | Judge and Competition Staff Lunch |
| 1:00 pm – 4:45 pm | Judging Session 4 |
| Thursday Night | Dinner on your own; (Suppliers or brewers, interested in hosting a judge event? Let us know!) |
Friday, September 27, 2024
Daily theme: Team Gear – wear your snazzy new GABF Judge shirt for a Team Photo on Friday Morning!
| 8:15 am – 8:30 am | Judge Check In – 587 S Taylor Ave, Louisville, CO. Judges arrive with their judge packets and pick up their daily judging schedule |
| 8:15 AM | Phase I Judges & Competition Team PHOTO! |
| 8:45 am – 12:00 pm | Judging Session 5 |
| 11:30 – 1:00 pm | Judge and Competition Staff Lunch |
| 1:00 pm – 4:45 pm | Judging Session 6 |
| 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm | Competition Social @ Taylor Warehouse (Theme for event TBD – announced prior to judging) |
Saturday, September 28, 2024
Daily theme: Throw it back – old-school/vintage getups, historical GABF, WBC or general Beer garb welcome
| 8:15 am – 8:30 am | Judge Check In – 587 S Taylor Ave, Louisville, CO. Judges arrive with their judge packets and pick up their daily judging schedule |
| 8:45 am – 12:00 pm | Judging Session 7 |
| 11:30 – 1:00 pm | Judge and Competition Staff Lunch |
| 1:00 pm – 4:45 pm | Judging Session 8 |
| Saturday evening | Dinner on your own; many Phase I judges depart |
All judging sessions, breakfast, lunch and Judge Orientation will be held at the Colorado Convention Center.
To make hotel reservations at, you may visit the event Hotel & Travel page here
Sunday, October 6, 2024
Many overseas judges will arrive on this day
Monday, October 7, 2024
All remaining Phase II judges will arrive on this day
| 3:30 pm – 4:59 p.m. | Judge Check In – Colorado Convention Center: Judges will receive judge badge, judge gift, and judge packet |
| 4:59 pm – 6:00 pm | Judge Orientation – Colorado Convention Center: Welcome, brief tour of Judge packet, what to expect for the week |
| 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm | Judge Reception – Bierstadt Lagerhaus 2875 Blake St, Denver, CO 80205 |
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
| 7:00 am – 8:15 am | Judge Breakfast – Colorado Convention Center (Cafe above Four Seasons Ballroom) |
| 8:30 am | Judges gather in judging rooms after picking up daily judging schedule at judge concierge desk – Colorado Convention Center Four Seasons Ballroom |
| 8:45 am – 12:00 pm | Judging Session 9 |
| 11:30 pm – 1:00 pm | Judge and Competition Staff Lunch – Colorado Convention Center |
| 1:00 pm – 4:45 pm | Judging Session 10 |
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
| 7:00 am – 8:15 am | Colorado Convention Center (Cafe above Four Seasons Ballroom) |
| 8:30 am | Judges gather in judging rooms after picking up daily judging schedule at judge concierge desk – Colorado Convention Center Four Seasons Ballroom |
| 8:45 am – 12:00 pm | Judging Session 11 |
| 11:30 am – 1:00 pm | Judge and Competition Staff Lunch – Colorado Convention Center |
| 1:00 pm – 4:45 pm | Judging Session 12 |
| 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm | GABF Brewers Gathering – Bellco Lobby |
Thursday, October 10, 2024
| 7:00 am – 8:15 am | Judge Breakfast at Colorado Convention Center (Cafe above Four Seasons Ballroom) |
| 8:30 am | Judges gather in judging rooms after picking up daily judging schedule at judge concierge desk – Colorado Convention Center Four Seasons Ballroom |
| 8:45 am – 12:00 pm | Judging Session 13 |
| 11:30 am – 1:00 pm | Judge and Competition Staff Lunch – Colorado Convention Center |
| 1:00 pm – 4:45 pm | Judging Session 14 |
| 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm | Great American Beer Festival – Session 1 |
2024 Great American Beer Festival® will be held at the Colorado Convention Center (“CCC”), 700 14th St. Denver, CO 80202.
| Thursday, October 10 | 5:30 pm – 9:30pm: GABF Thursday Evening Session |
| Friday, October 11 | 5:30 pm – 9:30pm: GABF Friday Evening Session |
| Saturday, October 12 | 10:00 am – Awards Ceremony |
| Saturday, October 12 | 12:00 pm – 4:30pm: GABF Members-Only Session |
Locations and times are subject to change – this page is a work in progress.