Great American Beer Festival tickets sold out in 67 minutes Wednesday, marking the countdown to the nation’s biggest beer bacchanal Oct. 6-9 in Denver.
The window opened at 10 a.m. Mountain time and GABF tickets evaporated even faster than a year ago. The official sell-out time: 11:07 a.m., according to the Brewers Association, the Boulder-based trade group that organizes the event.
, when the festival first expanded to its current 60,000-person size, tickets sold out .
Each year, the ticket-chugging contest sparks both euphoria and frustration, as the Ticketmaster website clogs with traffic. This year appeared to run fairly smoothly, though plenty of people reported problems accessing tickets. The event looked sold out just minutes into the sale, but more tickets came available as people let them go from their carts.
(See a timeline of the ticket madness below.)
This year marks . The event started in 1982 with just 800 people to taste 47 beers from 24 breweries.
To celebrate, festival organizers are to two people in line for each evening session. The special passes allow for the person and their group to go on a 30-minute tasting tour of the event before it opens with an all-star brewer who will pick the winner from the line.
Other new features this year include an expanded “Meet the Brewer” section and a game area with food, music and additional bathrooms.
The fastest sellout came at 20 minutes. In 2014, it took only 32 minutes.
But in 2015, organizers of additional space at the Colorado Convention Center to boost attendance to 60,000 from 49,000 the prior year.
The total number of attendees includes brewery representatives and the media. The most popular days, Friday and Saturday, sold out in 40 minutes. The tickets will go for big bucks on the secondary market but often will return to near face-value, if not less, closer to the event.
To get a sense of how the ticket sales unfolded, here’s a glimpse from Twitter:
public ticket sale is TODAY @ 10am MT
May your fingers be nimble & internet quick!— GABF (@GABF)
You have 13 min before tickets go on sale, just enough time to get hyped on this year's event:
— John Frank (@ByJohnFrank)
https://twitter.com/dozermeister/status/760868545131454464
tip: Between growing ticket availability each year and a glut of scalpers, don't sweat a 'sell-out.' Buy at retail price week of.
— Ben (@BenMcKee)
I cannot even get the Ticket Master checkout page to load and tell me that there are zero tickets available. Whats the deal!?
— Black Lives Matter (@conorgil)
All tickets are in people's carts, but they may cycle out and become available—keep trying!
— GABF (@GABF)
Friday night tix purchased! man, that was way easier than last year
— Matt Schmieding (@bubbatwomatt)
Tickets are going fast, but are not sold out! Some cycling in/out of carts. Keep trying!
— GABF (@GABF)
https://twitter.com/twicraftbeer/status/760873396359995393
Others are reporting success when simultaneously trying on mobile (while keeping the desktop search going)!
— GABF (@GABF)
https://twitter.com/JackHeyer/status/760874607528124416
Friday and Saturday tickets are officially sold out.
— GABF (@GABF)
https://twitter.com/hallycax/status/760878867938619393
https://twitter.com/Kansas_Of_NJ/status/760879273242562561
Great American Beer Festival here we come! Got our tickets! See you in October!
— Panther Island Brewing (@PantherBrewing)
All tickets are sold out. Thanks for the support and see you in October! 🍻
— GABF (@GABF)
