Well, another year of the Great American Beer Festival is in the books! Every year it just gets bigger and better. This year they made even more space in the enormous Colorado Convention Center, enough for 578 breweries pouring more than 2700 beers! Beervana! 4338 beers from 666 breweries were judged in the competition and 254 medals were awarded. Alas, no new hardware for me this year, but as we used to say in Boston around the end of baseball season, there’s always next year…

Highlights of this year’s trip included a side trip up to Ft. Collins to visit the beautiful (and delicious) Odell’s Brewing Company and the wonderful Funkwerks Brewery, who as it turns out won the Small Brewing Company of the year award. Quite a feat considering it’s only their second year in business. Other highlights include (but are not limited to) Pliny the Elder, “life size” Janga, the fantastic volunteers at our booth (every one was jealous cause we got the cutest girls!), Great Divide Brewing, hanging out with my fellow Georgia brewers yelling “BROCK!” when he’d go missing and of course meeting and talking to so many great beer fans. It never ceases to amaze me how many people I meet at the GABF who are from Atlanta, grew up here, or visit here regularly.

So my hat’s off to the Brewer’s Association for putting on another spectacular event and to all the winners of the 2012 GABF. Congrats and see you next year!