Oskar Blues is one of the 118 breweries that poured at the Vail Big Beers festival in January. (Photo by John Frank, Denver Post)
The celebrated Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines Festival is leaving its Vail home after 16 years, moving over the pass to Breckenridge in 2017.
Beaver Run Resorts and Conference Center will host the event Jan. 5 to 7, organizer Laura Lodge announced.
“We almost closed down the event because we were unable to continue our Vail tradition,” she said. “However, the 2016 post-event survey sent to participants and attendees provided overwhelming feedback that our folks would come to a different location and encouraged us to keep Big Beers going.”
The sale of Vail Cascade Resort and the pending remodel — which will increase rates — is what forced the festival from its home base. Organizers completed a search for a new location in March with Breckenridge rising to the top. The Beaver Run location will allow the festival to remain about the same size as recent events.
Big Beers is a favorite for Colorado and top-notch out-of-state breweries with a series of workshops that culminates in a well-curated festival that — unlike many events — draws the actual brewers. It’s a favorite for homebrewers and craft beer fans, too.
The new location stays true to another element that draws crowds: the skiing. Lodge said the access “to ski lifts outside the doors of Beaver Run was a significant contributing factor to the final decision.”
The event hosted nearly 1,700 people — a new attendance record — and 118 breweries earlier this year.
