We went, we saw, and we drank beer. Sure we brought Short’s brews to Colorado and consumed plenty throughout the week, but we couldn’t travel all the way to the grand-daddy of beer festivals, the GREAT AMERICAN BEER FESTIVAL, without sampling some other beers during the trip. Check out the list of beers below our GABF staff couldn’t leave Colorado without trying.
Joe Short
CEO/Creative Engineer
Must try brewery: Scratch Brewing
Must try beer: Chaga Old Ale
“I went to Scratch and had one of their sting brews made with mushrooms. It was a darker brown strong ale of sorts. Tasty. I dubbed these folks the ‘hobbits of brewing’. I love their approach and they’re really cool people.”
Tony Hansen
Head Brewer
Must try brewery: FATE Brewing Company
Must try beer: Veroandi
“The beer was Veroandi from FATE Brewing and it was my favorite. I tried this beer because I am a big fan of New Zealand and Australian hops, and I was curious how well FATE could balance the oak aged flavors with the hops. I was pleasantly surprised. This beer was a very smooth drinker with great flavor. Very dangerous.”
Scott Newman-Bale
Partner/President of Business Development
Must try brewery: Funky Buddha Brewery
Must try beer: 2014 Cabernet Barrel Aged Nikolai Vorlauf
“I chose Funky Buddha as they made it despite the Florida weather and are always awesome colleagues to work with.”
Tim Reicha
Festival & Events Director
Must try brewery: Dogfish Head
Must try beer: SeaQuench Ale
“I tried SeaQuench from Dogfish Head. I tried this beer because I had never had a sour beer from Dogfish and I wanted to try a beer that Sam Calgione had poured for me. Sea Quench is a session sour ale brewed with lime peel, black limes, and sea salt. It was refreshing, light and very tasty! I would definitely pick up a six pack or order a pint.”
David Truax
Festival & Events
Must try brewery: FATE Brewing Company
Must try beer: Coffee IPA
“I chose this beer because I knew they make tasty brews and their sweet wooden booth draped with fresh hops drew me in. I liked the Coffee IPA because it was a refreshing take on a coffee beer. It was lighter bodied and the hop dominance wasn’t lost amongst the java.”
Sarah Bozarth
Festivals & Events
Must try brewery: 10 Barrel Brewing Company
Must try beer: Crush Cucumber Sour
“I chose 10 Barrel Brewing Company, a brewery from Bend, Oregon which we stumbled upon during the first session on Thursday afternoon. I picked Crush Cucumber Sour, which they brand as “a crushable sour” (or rather, it picks me). I’m a big fan of anything sour, funky, earthy or green tasting, and this pucker-worthy yet refreshing beverage hit three of those points which made me stop back by their booth 4 or 5 more times during the fest and subsequently lent to the raw tongue that I left Colorado with.
This brewery has the simple and similar mentality of Short’s in that they pledge to work hard, play harder and do it with a fresh, tasty beverage in hand!”
Kendal Fifield
Festivals & Events
Must try brewery: Avery Brewing Co.
Must try beer: El Gose
“I chose this beer because it reminded me of my favorite Short’s Beer, Ocho de Mayo! It was light, refreshing, and delicious!”
Stefanie Drake
Pub Manager
Must try brewery: Drake’s Brewing Company
Must try beer: Too Many Candles
“It’s a sour blonde ale aged in Chardonnay barrels. I love dry and tart sours and I may be biased by the name of the brewery. C’mon.. that shirt is pretty sweet.”
Matt Hughes
Maintenance
Must try brewery: Upslope Brewing
Must try beer: Pumpkin Ale
“I choose the pumpkin ale because it’s that time of year where I tend to drink and eat a lot of pumpkin flavor beverages and foods. I specifically choose this one because they won a gold medal back in 2011 for best field & pumpkin beer, and I had to see if it was worthy, and it was great. I would say it came close to beating the Pumpkincrusha which I love to drink. I could really taste those spices in the pumpkin beer which makes it great.”
Mike Baltzell
Pub Brewer
Must try brewery: Rhinegeist Brewing
Must try beer: Burrito
‘”Burrito” from Rhinegeist Brewing out of Cincinnati, OH. It was a Mexican Lager that I thought I could drink all day. It may have been the power of suggestion, but I swear after trying it tasted like I just ate a burrito. It would go great with spicy food, which I happen to love.”
