(Courtesy Brewers Association)

The Great American Beer Festival, the nation’s premier beer festival and competition, returns to Denver this week (Oct 3-5). And as always the ACB crew will be on hand and covering the vibe 24/7 – so stay with us for the best on one of craft beer’s most important events….

The GABF Goes From Plastic To Glass (Denver, CO) – One significant change when the GABF returns to the “Mile High City” this week is its sampling glass. For years the GABF sampling ‘glass’ has been plastic. But this year it’s actually glass.

And although we much prefer the aesthetic of glass over plastic, we have to agree with Westword that the Colorado Convention Center staff is “going to need a lot of brooms and dust pans to clean up all the broken shards that could litter the floor of the massive hall.”

GABF Special Tappings And Bottle Releases (Denver, CO) – Many breweries will be showcasing ultra-special rare beers at the Great American Beer Festival this week. And to help you negotiate the largest selection of American beers in one place, we’ve included some highlights that you might want to hone in on during the three day, four session, beerganza.

Calicraft Brewing Co. – Walnut Creek, CA

Calicraft will be pouring a curated selection of fruit beers (from sours to gluten-free) during their Brewers Studio Pavilion presentation on Sat., Oct. 5, 1:00 pm.

Featured beers include:

• Barrel Aged Sour Passionfruit
• Barrel Aged Sour Blueberry
• Tiki Time – Passionfruit Orange Guava Wheat Beer
• Spritzer Pomegranate Blueberry
• Spritzer Passionfruit Orange Guava

Dry Dock Brewing – Aurora, CO

All sessions

• 2018 Bligh’s Barleywine, one case per session

Horse & Dragon Brewing Company – Fort Collins, CO

All sessions

• 7:30 pm – Barrel Aged Dragonfire Imperial Stout (aged in Bourbon & Rye barrels)
• 7:30 pm – Bourbon Barrel Aged 5 Cheers Russian Imperial Stout (aged in Breckenridge Bourbon Barrels)

Maplewood Brewery & Distillery – Chicago, IL

• , Oct. 4 – Cuppa Neo – Imperial Stout
• , Oct. 5, Afternoon Session – Cuppa Coconut – Imperial Stout
• , Oct. 5, Evening Session – Cuppa Heavy ‘Nilla – Imperial Stout

Odell Brewing Company – Fort Collins, CO

All sessions

• Good Behavior Crushable IPA –  a sneak peek before the official November release

What We’ve Been Drinking Lately (Saint Louis, MO) – It’s Oktoberfest season and we’ve been celebrating with something festive from Schlafly Beer. Authentic in its execution and evocation of heritage, Schlafly Oktoberfest is a 5.5% ABV deep amber colored Märzen Lager that was named one of USA Today’s “Oktoberfest beers to try,”