UPDATE! Having been to the Denver Brew Fest (both summer and winter sessions) MANY times over the years; I can def say, "Woohoo! As good as it gets!" + SPACE: Mile High Station is a great venue for this Fest! It def embodies Colorado. It's a turn of the century steel and ironworks building that has been repurposed into and event space! Love the character. The only drawback here is the parking! The lot is super small. If you have a light-rail station near you I'd say take that to Mile High Stadium and walk over from there. It's not even a ten minute walk. + BREWERS: The line up is always fantastic! Obvs Colorado breweries dominate the show, but there's plenty of others in attendance too! Over the years I have even seen brewers from my hometown in Northern California in attendance. Colorado breweries often include names such as: Denver Beer Co, Stem Ciders, Crooked Stave, Grist, Wild Cider, Ratio Beerworks, Verboten, Weldworks, Strange Craft, Little Machine, Pikes Peak, Oscar Blues, and sooo many more. + FOOD TRUCKS: My personal favorite has been on-site for each Fest to date. Basic Kneads. It's pizza done awesome. Plus The Goods is usually on hand serving up some excellent smoked and grilled meats. Turkey leg anyone? + ENTERTAINMENT: There's a live band for each evening. This year featured Nevermind the 90's and Super Doppler. Usually the band is set up on a stage outside or in a tent area outside (depending on weather). They have speakers set up all around to ensure you can hear the tune regardless of where you are in the venue. + PRICE: At only $35 for general admission and $45 for VIP, I can safely say this is one of the cheapest Fests out there. But don't let the cheap cost fool you. They really deliver! A suggestion I would have for the future would be a two day pass offering. For those who want to check out both days of festivities. The proceeds from Denver Brew Fest support Swallow Hill Music. I know that I will continue to be a patron of the Denver Brew Fest in the years to come! Most def can't wait for the next Fest! Cheers! **Pro Tip: I HIGHLY recommend buying the VIP tickets. Why? 1) You get an extra hour to enjoy even more brews. 2) Less people during the VIP hour. 3) Special tappings are often offered by the brewers. Go ahead. Treat yo' self, you VIP you! read more

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Beer and more beer! Friday-Saturday. Such an appropriate event for a city fast getting the street cred for being a premier city for breweries. Here you will mingle with like minded folks who loves beer. Merchants who worked all their lives with beers and perfected such incredible varietals that finding faults in anyone of the samples offered there is difficult. My initial try was a freak of a good luck. It was a sour! That started my night in a good note. There was a "map" of the breweries that was present. I say it's enough to keep me and my friend happy and all our curiosity about a few of the breweries were met. Here you'll be able to talk to the person responsible for the creation of the brew or someone who knows the history of the brew. This two story location can host a bunch of beer loving fun people. The food was hosted in a separate space past the tented area where the live entertainment is located. I had their amazing kielbasa and I'm regretting not asking for the lady's info :( This event has a two tiered ticket pricing. One for the VIP at a discounted rate of $45 if you purchase in advance. $55 at the door the day of. The VIP lets you in an hour early from 6-7. General admission starts at 7pm and will set you back $35 advance purchase and $45 day of. Tip: CASH ONLY AT THE DOOR. Free coat check. Your tix is only good for one day. Want to show up both days? Pay twice! Looking forward to next years? Me tooooo! read more

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I've worked the Summer and Winter Brew Fest the past year so I was excited to go this summer as a beer-lover. It was a decent event but definitely not the best beer event in Denver. We went on Saturday night and got general admission tickets. There was a huge line waiting for the doors to open at 7PM and props to the staff because it moved swiftly and we were in in no time! What I liked: *Tons of local breweries, big and small *Free photobooth to remember your drunken memories! *Awesome live music *Watercoolers all over the place so you could properly hydrate *Food trucks galore! *Vendors along with the breweries *Real bathrooms at Mile High Station but also had portapotties if you were so inclined *Light rail accessible *Maps provided with brewery layouts What I didn't like: *No real rhyme or reason to the lines, it was chaos trying to walk when the line was spilling into the walkway *A lot of breweries ran out before closing at 10PM. We left around 9:15 because Denver Beer Company, Great Divide and Oskar Blues were tapped out *Different breweries on Friday and Saturday night with fewer selection on Saturday night (I blame the Sierra Nevada event on Saturday night) *Discovered only two or three new-to-me breweries at the event, I was hoping to like more *No banner or sign showing what they had on tap. This was one of the most annoying things because you would wait for 10 minutes, get up front only to discover they were showcasing beers you didn't like (I'm talking to you bitters!) It would really be beneficial to have banners or something kind of sign that you could see ahead of time So as you can see, the good definitely outweighed the bad, but it could definitely use some improvement in the future. read more

Denver Brew Fest - Festivals Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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Recently I was invited by Carly P, to attend VIP Brewfest! Having previously worked these events with Yelp, I was kind of intrigued to go as a guest and explore! I'm always a fan of Mile High Station, as it's open, has a modern feel and can easily hold over a thousand people. We both arrived around 6:30 to get the fun started! BEER: so much to choose from! All the breweries I've had my eye on were there, along with 2 of there favorite or seasonal brews. We sampled a variety from the upstairs and bottom levels, in addition to the outside vendors. Ciders, IPA's, sour's galore! I was in beer heaven. FOOD: I was a little disappointed in the food truck selections, as there was ONE food truck (pizza, which i have a hard time consuming) and a bbq/smoke shake serving up brats, turkey legs and the like. Because turkey legs and foot long brats freak me out, I opted for a NY style slice at "Basic Kneeds", which actually hit the spot and didn't hurt my poor tummy! mmmm! ATMOSPHERE: so fun! the live bluegrass music really made for a perfect summer night! :) PRICE : I wouldn't pay to come to this event unless you're a hardcore beer enthusiast, as it's kind of pricey, and not something I'd spend that amount on! Another fun summer night in Denver! read more

I have been to a fair number of beer festivals. Full disclosure, I feel like there is really no such thing as a bad one as long as you are able to actually get your beer in a timely fashion and adequate bathroom facilities are provided. Festivals in Colorado always have a nice selection of Brewers and so it really boils down to the venue and how many people are there for me. The most recent one I went to was the Denver Summer one at Mile High Station. There was a very good selection, the line at the door moved very quickly, and it really felt like they had this dialed in. For me, what was best about this particular one was that it did not feel oversold. Compared to some other ones I have attended, even at this same venue, they did a good job of spacing out the tables so that there were fewer bottlenecks than in the past. Although I typically feel that VIP is the best way to go, it was still a solid experience at this one even if you went with general admission. Aside from the wonderful beers, they also had a nice selection of food trucks, free cheese samples with beer pairings from MouCo, and of course Yelp had a presence as represented by the effervescent Carly. read more

Denver Brew Fest - With Carly at the Yelp booth - Festivals Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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Got a ticket for Friday night from one of the deal sites, my ticket was only $17.50. We got there about 20 minutes before it started and the line moved pretty quickly. There were so many options, lines were NOT an issue. Aside from the plethora of breweries and beer types, we also had yummy cheese samples from Mouco, cookies from Quiznos, and a few food options to purchase. 3 hours may have almost been too much time, I probably had too many samples! The location was great, everything was spread out so you never felt overcrowded, and the weather was just right. The band was a fun addition, playing mostly 90s songs, and overall it was a fun event. There was something for everyone. I would've loved some more food samples to throw in my belly in between the beer tastings, but that's probably my fault for not a having a good meal before going to a 3 hour drinking event! read more

Denver Brew Fest - Some scotch infused ale that was the most popular tent...for a reason! - Festivals Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Almost any Denver citizen worth their weight in hops knows about GABF, but not as many people know about Brewfest, which is kind of a shame and kind of not a shame. The 2,000 person event features almost all local brewers (with the occasional big brand thrown in, I'm assuming to support the event monetarily) that you might not even get to try at GABF. I tried a couple of surprising new breweries including an organic brewer called Asher Brewing that had some great beer that was totally eco friendly. Overall, this is a relatively friendly event and people are jovial and happy to be tasting and supporting their local breweries. However, this place comes damn close to capacity during the event, making it a real pain to get around to all the different booths, especially as the night goes on and people become less aware of their surroundings. Not great for a gal with pretty big claustrophobia issues in crowds. I'm excited to participate in this again next year! read more

So, it's kind of inevitable that we're going to compare the Denver Brew Fest to the Great American Beer Festival... they're both here, and they both serve beer. I found the Denver Brew Fest to have several advantages: The crowd was much less obnoxious, the price is quite a bit cheaper ($35 for general admission, $45 for VIP), the pours were more generous, and it's not quite as crowded. If you go, I would highly recommend spending the extra $10 bucks for the VIP ticket. You are allowed entrance an hour earlier (we walked right in - no line at all). It's also much easier to get around and sample the beers / talk to the vendors. As the night went on it got MUCH more crowded, of course, so that extra time in the beginning will really help you out. If you get in for the VIP hour, you can also sample some cheese. The Denver Brew Fest doesn't have the same incredible selection as GABF does, but that's to be expected as it highlights local brewers (but does included brewers from "beyond" as well). What else can you expect at Brew Fest? Music, freebies (Yelp was giving away cool fingerless gloves - thanks, Yelp!), food, and several water stations throughout. So, if GABF is out of your price range these days, or if its just sold out, don't forget to check out the Denver Brew Fest! Full disclosure: A big thanks to Yelp for the free tickets! :) read more

This was my first brewfest. Had a great time sampling beer. There seemed to be a good turn out of people. The pizza food truck was excellent! I was bummed to see the Yelp table way upstairs in a little room. I think they should have been downstairs so more people could check in. The girl working tonight was very knowledgeable and I learned a couple new things about Yelp. read more

Denver Brew Fest - Showing our Yelp support - Festivals Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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The Denver Brew Fest is such a fun event! We've been to both the Summer and Winter Brew Fest, and both are a great time. With plenty of breweries pouring samples of their craft beers you will find lots of amazing beers. They also usually have few great food trucks on-site (because one cannot live by beer alone) and they always have really great live music outside for your entertainment. So far the Summer Fest is my favorite, but only because it's great fun to be enjoying the beautiful summer nights outside in Colorado without a tent or heater required. Winter was still fun, too, but the huge bottleneck in the coat-check line can be annoying at the end of the night - plan accordingly! Summer or Winter you can pay a bit extra for a VIP ticket to get into this fest early, and it's totally worth it. With an extra hour you pack in samples of a lot of great beers before the crowds build up. It's worth the price as the inside tables can get crowded by the end of the night. read more

Denver Brew Fest - Trout Steak playing at the 2014 Winter Brew Fest - Festivals Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Fun fun fun! Not as big as selection as GABF, but hella cheaper! We didn't have tickets and they were all sold out, so waited in line in hopes we could still get in. Line was huge, but went quickly -- we got in ($35/tix). Everyone I met throughout the evening were great people. The band was awesome; Throwing down some heavy funk lines all night long. Great selections from some great breweries, and to my surprise, no beer snobs. It was kind of nice. I would've totally forgotten about this event if it wasn't for Yelp. Once again, THANK YOU YELP! read more

Denver Brew Fest - Festivals Near Me - Denver, Colorado

I have now been to two Denver Winter Brew Fests and had a fantabulous time both years!!! Both times the event was held at Mile High Station (a venue I love). They have breweries spread out inside both upstairs and downstairs and then even more in a tent out back. They always have a couple of food trucks and swag vendors too. I got a pretty sweet DWBF t-shirt hoodie this time around. Also, there is always cheese to be tasted! The breweries are both local and from afar and there is always a wide variety of beers to taste. You wanna try it, it's somewhere in the building. My once piece of advice is to go ahead and spring for the VIP. You get in an hour early which is super awesome. Once GA is let in, it gets super crowded, super fast. Think sardines! I'll be checking out the summer and fall fests this year! read more

I am pretty sure these guys do a summer and a winter brew fest... however I have only been to the winter.... and I love it! What a great way to insert something exciting into you weekend after the hype of the holidays. The boredom starts to sink in and wahlah... it is time for brew fest to lift your spirits! The thing I love about this event is there are lots of great Colorado breweries that come out. Avery, Breckenridge, Odd 13, and many more. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to taste so many different breweries and each booth had different varieties to choose from. I also like the fact that there is an outdoor area to drink more beers, listen to bands, and get some air... it gets a little stuffy. This event is WAY cheaper than great american beer fest, and there are plenty of beers to taste and it is just the right amount of time from open to close without being too long of an event... that is when the overly drunk ppl get wild. I will keep attending this event. Loved my third year in a row. :) read more

The Denver Brew Fests are way superior to GABF, by far. How you ask? Let me count the ways: 1. Cost: Only $30 or $40 for a ticket. You can buy a ticket to both and still spend less money. 2. 2x / year. And 2 is greater than 1...duh. 3. Less People = less drunken douche bags to deal with. 4. Tent outside: some of the booths are outside in a huge tent. And tents rule. 5. Food trucks: amazing pizza and grilled meat galore, just steps away from delicious beer. 6. Awesome local live bands: Bonnie & the Beard played at one last year, and they totally rock. 7. VIP tickets: For only $10 more you can get in an hour early and power drink before the minions are allowed in. 8. Cheese tasting: try delicious cheeses that pair super well w/ the fantastic beer. 9. Pint glasses: at the most recent Winter Brew Fest, they gave VIP ticket holders an entire pint as their tasting glasses. Wow, that's a lot of ways! So why only 4 stars? Well, I've been attending these brew fests for the past 3 or 4 years, and they keep getting more and more crowded. I think they need to decrease the amount of tickets they are selling to avoid it becoming such a drunken shit show. But it's still the much better beer fest in Denver! read more

Wait, what? VIP tickets get you in AN HOUR EARLY with a relatively short line to enter. Think of BrewFest as like a miniature Great American Beer Festival. It's a lot smaller, a lot more intimate, and you also get a 3oz pour instead of a 1oz pour, which works because there are fewer booths to visit. The early bird tickets give you a chance to mingle with brewers and brewery people, talk about hops, pizza, maybe monkeys. Okay, mostly hops. Plus, the food is far superior to GABF: Local food trucks, delicious sausages, and more. Nothing to complain about. read more

I am sure glad I attended this event. It was a good time and much beer to be tasted. We got the regular passes and went in at 7pm- there was a massive line waiting outside to get in! But fear not, the line moved rather quickly. Loved this event because it brings all those local brews together under one roof and you can go around and taste whatever you'd like. Just as long as you have your little beer glass, you're good to go. There were also a few food trucks outside if you got hungry and needed some snacks, a live band playing some jams. It was a good time. My one complaint is that it was super warm because of all the people. Wish they had the air turned on? Felt pretty gross and stuffy upstairs. Otherwise, I'll look forward to Summer Brew Fest 2014. read more

There are two Yelp listings, this one and general Denver Brew Fest, so I'm posting my review in both places: I only have one beer festival to compare this to, and that was the South Denver Beer Festival, and I'm sorry to say this one was lacking in comparison. First of all, a good way to stay sober is the fact that every brewer has a line of at least 10 people. So you factor 20(ish) breweries represented, and an average of 3-10 minutes in each line and you realize that you spent almost half the event time in line. Wow! We were selective to only try breweries we'd never had before or that weren't available at any old liquor store (I'm looking at you Sierra Nevada!), and I'm glad we were because after all the time you spend standing in line compounded by the fact that a number of breweries were tapped out by 9pm on Saturday (even goes until 10pm), then that doesn't leave much beer tasting time. I was able to try to some new-to-me breweries but not a single one poured me anything that flat out wow'd me. IPAs are hot right now, so most breweries had one IPA and something else (or two-something elses), which immediately made my decision making easy as I don't like IPAs. I will say it was well organized, and I felt like they had good security. Bathrooms were never too crowded. The band was ok, and the only time I really even realized they were there was when they sang Sublime songs because lead singer sounds just like Bradley Nowell. Glad they had some food trucks there, and enjoyed Basic Knead pizza. They also had some other vendors hawking their wares including Smirk, which I bought my new favorite t-shirt from- Colorado branded with a beer glass, oh yeah! By 9pm, it was too crowded inside, most of the brewers outside were tapped, and I was kind of over it. Came home with my new favorite t-shirt by Smirk (local company, check them out: smirkwith.us), and a cool tasting glass, but unfortunately did not add anything exciting to my list of breweries to try around metro Denver. I probably will not attend this event again, unless there's a whole new slew of breweries represented (which very well could happen with the craft scene exploding like it is). read more

I have to give the Brew Fest management their now, much deserved five stars after an email train was shared with me by my brother. First, they responded to my brother's emails regarding his snowed out situation in January within hours of him sending it and were quick to offer help selling his tickets. When nothing could be done, they offered him two tickets to the Summer Fest and an opportunity to meet with the co-founders over a glass of...you guessed it, beer. Although this impressed my brother (he's 22, who doesn't love being treated like a VIP at that age?!) what impressed me the most was actually being contacted by the Winter Fest management regarding my previous Yelp review a month or so ago. Out of all the reviews I have written in the past few months that I have been a Yelper, whether good or bad, no one has contacted me personally from the organizations, so I was pleasantly surprised that the Winter Fest team emailed me. It is a very encouraging thing to know that the Winter Fest management is taking the care to read their customer's reviews, respond accordingly and better their business practices from them. When they understand the power of word of mouth advertising, they truly get the concept of this fabulous thing we love: Yelp. My hats off to them and I will be sharing a beer with them and my brother at the Summer Fest. read more

This is so much better than the Great American Beer Festival. It happens twice every year, and buying tickets for both is still cheaper than the GABF. It's held at the Mile High Station, which is one of my favorite venues in the city. It's not as crowded as it's cousin, boasts excellent beers to sample, and I love that they have live music. There are always a few new little discoveries as well as the usual favorite microbrews, and not just local breweries. (In fact, I discovered a great one from New York.) They have some good food which perfectly compliment the beverages, too. We have gone for the last three years and it's a blast. I always look forward to this event, you really can't go wrong here. read more

This was a blast! We went to the Summer Brew Fest last night and loved every minute of it! We had some friends in from out of town, and we had been thinking about going to the Sierra Nevada one, but ended up settling on this one instead. While the Sierra Nevada sponsored one is much bigger and has more breweries, the Summer Brew Fest delivered plenty: ample breweries, short waits, food trucks, and cool live music! Hosted at the Mile High Station, they drew what I believe was the perfect-sized crowd - lively, but not packed. We'll certainly be back for the Winter Fest and others down the road! read more

Denver Winter Brew Fest at first was surprisingly and overwhelmingly crowded. We showed up just a few minutes before 7:00pm, the time the doors opened. I was not expecting the line that I did. It wrapped all the way through the parking lot, under the interstate and basically back around to the entrance. With all these people in line and from my understanding of the space, I was afraid it was going to be too crowded. After 30/35 minutes after the doors opened, we made our way inside. It was crowded, but not as overwhelmed as I thought I would be. On to the beers... it was great! They had so many different breweries there and so many different drinks to try. I wish I was able to talk to the people or even read about their brews some more but it was great to taste. If anything it will drive me to check out their tasting rooms, well at least the ones located in Colorado. Overall - Definitely will go back, may seriously consider buying a VIP ticket next time to avoid the long lines and crowds. read more

I recently moved to Denver, but as a beer enthusiast, I made sure to get my husband and I tickets for the Summer Brew Fest before we even moved. We have been to several amazing festivals put on by the Michigan Brewers Guild, so unfortunately for Denver we were doing some direct comparisons. There were a lot of breweries I was not familiar with, as well as some big names like Great Divide and Upslope. The breweries only had a couple beers (usually 2, up to 4) on tap, and almost all beers were normal production (i.e. no special brews for the festival). This worked for me being new to the area, because I have not tried very much Colorado beer, but I'm not sure there would be a lot of value in repeat beer fests, as I would expect the breweries to bring the same beer as this time. I did love having the food trucks outside, considering the event was during prime dinner time. The beer tents outside had pretty long lines, usually at least a 5 minute wait (enough time to drink your last sample!). Inside the lines physically could not be as long because it was packed wall-to-wall with people. There was also a constant traffic jam to go in or out. Personally, Mile High Station did not work for me as a venue. I think that the Denver Brew Fest has some great things going on (unlimited samples, souvenir glass, price, food trucks) but I don't think I would recommend the event as it currently is. It would be great to see it in venue that flowed better and to have more special beers from the breweries. Otherwise, I think I'd rather spend that my ticket money at any of Denver's fine multitaps. read more

Summer 2012 Brew Fest This was my first go around with the Denver Beer Fest and let me say I'm a fan. You pay $30-$40 for three to four hours of unlimited drinking ... and you get to keep the glass. This is unless you're one of the unlucky ones that drops the glass. The usual CO breweries are there and few big names too. Let's see if I can remember who I saw and tasted. Denver Beer Company, Copper Kettle, Upslope, New Castle, Left Hand, Breckenridge, Mike's Hard Lemonade, River North, Loan Tree, Great Divide, Fort Collins, Ska and Wit's End. I know there were more but I only have one liver and 3 hours. There is always next time! If you're into craft beer this is a good way to try new breweries without venturing to the actual brewery. Oh yeah this happens twice a year so you have two chances to check it out. It does get crowded so spending the extra $10 is well worth it to get in an hour early to avoid the GA rush. All in all it's a good time and worth checking out. read more

Always love the Denver Brewfests, Winter & Summer! I've been to many, and have always come away with several new favorite beverages. I like chit-chatting with the beer folk, so long as they don't have a line waiting! I would very much recommend spending the extra $10 for the VIP hour. An entire hour with no lines is definitely worth every penny, hands down. Can't wait to go for Winter in January! I would also recommend bringing a fancy string necklace full of pretzels. Great way to cleanse your palette between samples! read more

My wife dragged me there and I ended up really enjoying it. Great beer selection. Nice people. We got there at about 6:50 (doors opened at 7). It only took about 15 minutes to get the whole line in. Will defintiely put this on the schedule twice a year! read more

I am glad that I got the VIP ticket so I was able to try the beers before it got jammed pack. The venue was a little small for all the tickets that they sold. Real difficult to get around and we ended up leaving an hour and a half early. I that being said there was some great breweries and I enjoyed most if the beers they had. Bands were so-so and they did not have the glasses that were promised, just got an email saying we can go pick them up. They could of planned this event better read more

One of the longest running not to be misssed beer festivals in Denver. It typically sells out so be sure to get your tickets early. This year the Winter Brew Fest will be held two nights which means shorter lines and more beer! Really the price for two nights is very affordable as well as VIP which gets you in an hour early to avoid lines and try the most sought after beers of the night. With the addition of at least 10 new breweries in the past 18 months this is a great way to check them all out. read more

In comparing this event to the GABF or even the EPIC beer fest it has to get 3 stars. The Volunteers don't see to really know what is going on. The beer vendors were good and all but they need more options in my opinion. We got the regular tickets and I am glad we didn't get the VIP because I was having a hard time even justifying the cost of the regular ones by the night's end. It was good because we came with about 6 others but overall, this was just average. read more

Without a doubt the worst brew festival I've ever attended. The LivingSocial deal was confusing to a number of us who discussed it in line while waiting to enter the Ogden Theater. VIP passes were $55, but the deal gave us a discount, but instead of giving us a discount off the VIP price, we ended up with GA tickets. Not a big deal. We enter to a dark, hot, extremely noisy room filled with massive crowds of people smashed together in semi-lines heading toward brewery tables, some of which were not labeled. The breweries we wanted to be there didn't show up, many of the ones that did didn't bring the beers they advertised on the handout we were given at the door, so we often waited 15 minutes in line only to discover the brewery didn't have a beer we wanted to even try (there were a lot of wheat beers). There were not only no special brews made for the event, most brought a dismal variety and amount of beer. It worked out to their favor, however, since the pours were so small (I calculated some breweries gave us less than an ounce per pour, and over the course of the event--try as we might to get more beer--we calculated each of us could only achieve less than 30 ounces, or ~ 3 beers). It was impossible to actually speak with the reps about anything, but five times over the course of the event we tried. The first rep told us "I don't know anything about beer, I just try to sell the stuff." The second one shrugged when we asked about which hops were used. The third, fourth and fifth "reps" told us they didn't work for the brewery, they were just standing in to pour beer. The information-less beer pourers, the crowds, the dismal pours (one rep wouldn't actually give my friend a second pour of a red ale because recognized her as having had a pour earlier and they only brought 4 cans of the beer to the fest!!!), the dearth of unique beers, the noise, the missing breweries, the missing beers, the confusion about how to reach the beers, the mismarked and poorly marked tables and the LivingSocial confusion all culminated together into one super turd of an event. So let down was I that I went home and promptly cancelled my LivingSocial membership. From now on I'll visit the breweries one at a time. read more

Happened to catch the Winter one while visiting Denver and we had such a blast! Very cool to talk to all the people there. The music was fun (Violent Femmes cover band) and the food trucks were a perfect touch. We had the VIP tickets but I'm not sure it's necessarily that much better. You definitely get your money's worth regardless. I'm sure the Summer event is just as fun with all the lighter beer selections. Hope to attend again! read more

I was a little disappointed in the winter brew fest. I went on Saturday night, and some of the breweries that were supposed to be there didn't even show up. Additionally many of the breweries were running out of beer an hour into the festival. They also started shutting down a half hour early. I was also disappointed many breweries just had their traditional beers there instead of something new. The venue is a little tight for all the people trying to get around. The price was right, but all in all, this was not my favorite brew fest. read more

I give this event 5 stars! I have been to the Winter and Summer Brew Fests for years and intend to go to many more! The thing I like most is that this is a benefit for Swallow Hill. A local non profit that provides school outreach programs, music education and community events. A $30 ticket goes toward education and I get generous pours from tons of craft brewers - many from Colorado! It is a more intimate environment than the GABF, but I like that! I can actually talk to the brewers and vendors without waiting in huge lines. And they always have great music! Go figure! I couldn't ask for more! My friends and I look forward to it every year! read more