The organizers of the Great American Beer Festival announced Tuesday that they will move the festival from the Colorado Convention Center to Denver’s Levitt Pavilion in 2026, meaning the two-day October event will take place outdoors.
It’s the first time that the event, in its modern form, will be under the open skies — something that is always risky in the fall in Denver. The goal is to blend GABF’s “legendary beer lineup with live music .. and a more immersive festival experience,” the organization said in a statement.
“Taking the festival outdoors lets us reimagine whatap possible, and we’re excited to bring fresh energy to the festival and provide an experience that feels uniquely Colorado,” said Ann Obenchain, vice president of marketing and communications of the Brewers Association, in the same statement.
“This isn’t just a venue change for us, itap an evolution,” she continued. “We’ve listened to our attendees and we’re creating an outdoor festival that invites people to explore, discover, and celebrate craft beer in a completely new way — one thatap all about gathering your friends, finding your spot on the lawn, and enjoying great beer and good times together.”
Both Levitt and the convention center are owned by the City of Denver, and the organizations worked together to move GABF, said Richard Scharf, president and CEO of Visit Denver, which helps manage bookings at the convention center.
“With the economy, we are seeing a lot of groups reinventing themselves. I think [the Brewers Association] was looking for something new, and they wanted to try something fresh,” he said.
Ruby Hill is more than five miles south, and a little west, of the convention center and even further from the hotels, bars and restaurants that attendees typically frequent during the weekend. It is located in a residential neighborhood. (Levitt executive director Meghan McNamara didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment for this story.)
Scharf said attendees will likely continue to base themselves downtown, just as they do for other big events that are further afield, including the National Western Stock Show and games at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
The Brewers Association said the festival will be reduced to two sessions over two days, down from four sessions over three days a few years ago. This year’s event will be Oct. 10-11 from noon to 4 p.m. (rather than Oct. 8-10, as had been previously announced). Tickets go on sale in June. Attending the festival will cost $60 this year, down from $85-$95 in 2025.
Other details provided by the Brewers Association:
- “The event will be rain or shine. We will be prepared for any weather and expect attendees to come prepared as well.”
- Paired, a food pairing event, will continue. “More details to come.”
- “We are working on event details and layout and still expect hundreds of breweries.”
The festival, often described as the largest or among the largest commercial beer fests in the world, began in Boulder in 1982 before moving to Denver two years later, first to the now-demolished Currigan Hall and later to the Colorado Convention Center. It reached its peak in the early 2010s when tickets sold out within seconds.
Attendance began to slip before the COVID-19 pandemic, however, as interest in craft beer leveled out. GABF was canceled in 2020 and 2021 before returning as a smaller event. The Brewers Association has repeatedly changed formats over the years and added other alcoholic beverages, like cider, seltzer and spirits, in an effort to stay relevant.
Levitt, at 1380 W. Florida Ave, is a nonprofit amphitheater in Ruby Hill Park. It opened in 2017 and is owned by the city of Denver. It typically presents 40-50 concerts and events between May and October each year.
This story was updated several times on Tuesday with new information.
