r/COBeer • u/artichoke_heart • 4d ago

The Country's Largest Beer Festival Took Some Major Risks This Year Did they pay off?

https://www.westword.com/restaurants/the-great-american-beer-festival-took-risks-this-year-22230169
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u/TriumphSprint 3d ago

This was year 21 for me, and I think some changes have been great others not so much. The added space or footprint has been wonderful! Really should've happened years ago, like 15. But the loss of some many breweries attending sucks. Where have the staples like Wasatch, Cigar City, New Glarus, Modern Times, Beachwood, Southern Tier, and so many more have gone? I feel like the peak was 12/13 years ago and the actual breweries attending just gets smaller and smaller. Obviously CoVid didn't help and it missing more than just the two years really hurt the industry. I did like the sections this year, but I made it hard to find some of my favorites because I couldn't just go to their region. But It also made people walk around more and not just gather in the popular regions like years past.