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Brant and Eric at GABF

The Great American Beer Fest was an incredible experience. If you weren’t able to attend, just imagine one room filled with 2,052 different beers from 432 breweries waiting for you and the other 46,000 beer lovers to sample them. If that doesn’t make your head spin, you’ve probably already had a few.

As you might expect when 46,000 beer fans gather in one place,  there were many, many parties going on besides the GABF event itself. Some were impromptu gatherings at Denver’s plethora of fine drinking holes and some were official parties thrown by breweries and pubs, like Flying Dog’s FBAG event which was streamed live right here on BeerUtopia.com.

There were also several beer pairing dinners that were open to the public. We were fortunate to attend a dinner given by Draft magazine at Braun’s Bar and Grill in downtown Denver which paired Flying Dog brews with an incredible 5 course meal. You can see the menu and pairings at draftmag.com. Chef Scott Latham not only created a delicious meal that used and complimented Flying Dog beer, he went above and beyond by accommodating some dietary requirements at the last minute and did so with a smile and true professionalism. It was truly a great evening.

We would also like to congratualate the winners of the GABF competition. Over 2,900 beers were entered by breweries all over the country and a total of 222 medals were awarded, including a gold and silver for our friends at Flying Dog. You can see the complete list of winners at the GABF site.

We need a couple of days to recouperate then we’ll have lots of videos from this incredible weekend to share with you. In the meantime, check out our Flickr stream from the FBAG party.

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Wanna party like a Utopian? If you’re going to be in Denver this Friday (Oct. 10) for the Great American Beer Fest, come hang with us at the Flying Dog Brewery Warehouse (map below) from 4pm to 6pm. Even if you aren’t going to be in Denver, you can still party with us virtually. We will be streaming the entire event live, including a live chat.

The party is called FBAG (Flying Dog, Brats and Gonzo) and will be the first opportunity for beer connoisseurs to sample some of Flying Dog’s latest releases including “Dog Schwarz,” a Smoked Double Lager. Flying Dog’s highly anticipated, new Canis Major Mixed 8-Pack of seven ounce bottles will also be unveiled. The event is 4pm-6pm Mountain Time (6pm-8pm Eastern), open to the public and admission is FREE.

Besides the BU crew, you’ll have a chance to meet the cast of characters from Flying Dog, including but not limited to:

• Jim Caruso, CEO
• Matt Brophy, VP of Brewing Operations
• Josh Mishell, Creative Manager and “Visual Viceroy” (he designs the great Flying Dog labels)
• Neal Stewart, Prime Minister of Marketing
• Chris Rippe, Baron von Marketing (you seen him in the FD videos)

Here’s the beer menu:

• Dog Schwarz – Flying Dog’s newest addition to their Wild Dog Series.  It’s a Smoked Double Lager and will be available in limited supply.
• Kerberos Tripel – Newest member of Flying Dog’s Canis Major Series
• Double Dog Double Pale Ale
• Gonzo Imperial Porter
• Whiskey Barrel-Aged Gonzo Imperial Porter
• New Canis Major Mixed Packs – 4-pack of 12oz bottles (one of each style) and and 8-pack of 7oz bottles (two of each bottle)

If you’re stuck in some part of the world besides Denver, which sucks for you, grab your favorite Flying Dog brew, fire up the ol’ puter and come to BeerUtopia.com. You’ll be able to see the party and chat with Brant, Eric, and the rest of the Beer Utopia crew while you enjoy some exceptional beer. It’s almost as good as being there, right? Okay, maybe not but it’s the best we can do until Scotty gets the transporter back online. (He’s working as fast as he can, Cap’n!).

Here’s the map with FBAG party location (blue) and the GABF loaction (red):

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With the mother of all beer fests, the Great American Beer Festival, quickly approaching, it seems to appropriate to call your attention to 7 tips from Charlie Papazian for surviving and enjoying beer fests. Papazian is the author of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing and founder of the Great American Beer Festival, the American Homebrewers Association, and the Association of Brewers.

Here is an abbreviated version of his tips:

1. Know your limits.  Know how much alcohol you are consuming.
2. Moderate your intake of beer with food and water.
3. Sample the beer in small servings or share larger portion with friends.
4. Talk about the beer.
5. Dance and play.
6. Dump the beer.  Life is too short to spend your time drinking beer you don’t like.
7. Be responsible and above all don’t drink and then drive.

I would add one more to the list: Find out ahead of time what breweries will be there and visit the ones you’re most excited about first. Even at small festivals it’s not possible to sample everything and the vendors often run out of beer near the end of the day. Decide which ones you don’t want to miss and visit them first so you don’t miss out because of time, availability, or inebriation.

Beer Utopia will be at the GABF and we’re hosting a party with Flying Dog on Friday. We hope to see you there!

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