For more than four decades, the Great American Beer Festival has been closely associated with the Colorado Convention Center: long rows of tables, fluorescent lighting, and thousands of small tasting cups moving steadily from brewer to attendee.
Since its founding in 1982 by what is now the Brewers Association, GABF has functioned as the craft beer industry’s annual gathering point. It’s where breweries debut new beers to a national audience, where medals can change a small producer’s trajectory overnight, and where drinkers can sample an unusually wide cross section of American brewing in a single weekend.
In 2026, that familiar setting will change.
For the first time in its history, the Great American Beer Festival will move outdoors. On October 10 and 11, the event will take place at Denver’s Levitt Pavilion in Ruby Hill Park rather than inside the convention center.
The decision reflects a shift not only in venue, but in how the Brewers Association is thinking about the experience of the festival itself.
“Great American Beer Festival has always reflected where American craft beer is headed,” Ann Obenchain, vice president of marketing and communications for the Brewers Association said in a statement announcing the change. “Taking the festival outdoors lets us reimagine what’s possible and we’re excited to bring fresh energy to the festival and provide an experience that feels uniquely Colorado.”
A Festival That Grew Alongside Craft Beer
When GABF began in the early 1980s, American craft beer was still a small and emerging movement. The festival was designed as a way to bring those early breweries together, evaluate their beers in competition, and introduce the public to styles and producers they were unlikely to encounter otherwise.
As the number of U.S. breweries climbed into the thousands, GABF expanded with it. The Colorado Convention Center eventually became one of the few venues capable of holding the hundreds of participating breweries and the large crowds that attended each fall. Over time, the event added educational programming and food pairings through its PAIRED event, but the core format remained largely the same: an indoor, densely packed tasting environment centered on sampling as many beers as possible.
That format worked well for years, particularly during craft beer’s period of rapid growth, when the novelty of trying dozens of breweries in one place was part of the draw.
Why the Change Now
The move to Levitt Pavilion suggests the Brewers Association is reconsidering what the festival should feel like in its fifth decade.
Located in Denver’s Ruby Hill neighborhood, Levitt Pavilion is an outdoor music venue with open green space and an amphitheater layout. The setting allows for more room to spread out and for programming that goes beyond rows of tasting tables.
“Levitt Pavilion is proud to be the new host venue for the Great American Beer Festival, and to welcome the festival’s many brewers, partners, and attendees to Ruby Hill Park this fall,” said Meghan McNamara, executive director of Levitt Pavilion Denver. “Our founding purpose is to build community through music and shared experiences, and partnering with the Brewers Association expands that vision for both our organizations.”
The new venue creates opportunities for live music, more open-air tasting areas, and a reworked version of PAIRED that can take advantage of the outdoor setting. It also aligns with broader changes in how breweries and drinkers engage with beer, with more emphasis on experiential events and social gatherings rather than rapid tasting.
“This isn’t just a venue change for us, it’s an evolution,” Obenchain said. “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 that’s all about gathering your friends, finding your spot on the lawn, and enjoying great beer and good times together.”
What Isn’t Changing
Despite the new location, the core elements of GABF will remain intact. Hundreds of breweries from across the country will still participate, and the medal competition will continue to be a central part of the event. For many breweries, a GABF medal will still carry the same weight it always has.
What will likely feel different is the pace and atmosphere. Instead of navigating convention center aisles, attendees will be moving through a park environment, with more space and a less structured layout.
After more than 40 years as a fixture of American beer culture, the move outdoors suggests the festival is adjusting to a different phase of craft beer’s life cycle. Growth in the category has slowed, consumer preferences have shifted, and breweries are experimenting with new ways to connect with drinkers outside traditional tasting formats.
Tickets for the 2026 festival will go on sale in June. For longtime attendees, the change in scenery will be noticeable. For the festival itself, it marks one of the most significant shifts since it began in 1982.
