While growth has curbed slightly in the overall beer market, craft beer has proven itself to be a mainstay in the alcoholic-beverage scene in recent years. From 2009 to 2016 alone, the number of operating U.S. breweries grew from only 1,596 breweries to almost 5,300, says a 2017 annual report released by the Brewers Association (BA). Likewise, the beer-drinking public’s palates continue to become more refined with the greater availability of craft beer at breweries and establishments across the country.
To bolster this ever-growing trend and keep beer drinkers engaged, industry groups and cities are taking the idea of showcasing craft beer to a larger scale. From coast to coast, brewers’ guilds and other organizations are putting on special multi-day themed events that place independently brewed craft beer front and center.
Great American Beer Festival Paved the Way
Among the first and most recognizable of these large-scale festivities to enter the scene was the Great American Beer Festival (GABF). Charlie Papazian, BA founder and past president, brought this three-day annual festival to the United States in 1982. Inspired by a trip to the U.K.’s Great British Beer Festival, Papazian founded the GABF out of a desire to celebrate and strengthen what, at the time, was a struggling American beer culture.