We're walking GABF. Come say hi.
We went to the Great American Beer Festival last year and had a blast. This year we’re going back the same way: walking around, drinking what’s pouring, and saying hi to people who actually make beer.
*Last year at GABF: RoadBeer sweatshirt, Julius hat, and a Grryp handle on a braided lanyard. It’s also a pretzel holder. Festival logistics.*
GABF 2026 is Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11, outdoors for the first time at Levitt Pavilion in Denver’s Ruby Hill (1380 W Florida Ave). Sessions run 12:00–4:00 p.m. both days. If you only knew GABF as the convention-center maze, this year opens up — more sky, more room to roam, same job: taste a lot of American craft beer and bump into the people behind it.
We’re not running a booth. We’re not booking demos. You’ll probably spot us in a pour line — and you’ll know it’s us because one of us will be wearing that Grryp tap handle around our neck again. Custom print. Secret pretzel holder. If that doesn’t start a conversation, nothing will.
Last year we loved meeting everyone — brewers, operators, the folks who care enough about a handle that it has to look right on the rail. Shop floor meets brewery floor for a weekend, and we’d rather be neighbors than a booth with a pitch.
One of our favorite finds last year was the Melvin / Roadhouse guerrilla pour — kegs in BRUTE cans, PVC rail, and our tap handles on the line. That’s the kind of floor energy we’re coming back for.
*Melvin / Roadhouse / Prairie Malt guerrilla pour — BRUTE cans, PVC taps, Grryp handles on the rail.*
Find Grryp customers on the RoadBeer GABF board
We’re tagging shop customers pouring at GABF 2026 on the RoadBeer interactive map — so you can see who’s on tap and where we’re hoping to say hi.
Open the RoadBeer GABF 2026 board →
Grryp badges live on the board right now (not a full post-show roundup — more names after we walk the halls):
- Karl Strauss Brewing Company
- Pure Madness Brewery Group (Melvin / Roadhouse family)
- Half Batch Brewing
- The Lost Abbey
- Best Day Brewing
- Tragmar Ale Works
- Destihl Brewery
- Trap Door Brewing
- Narragansett Beer
If you’re pouring and we miss you on the floor, ping us — we’ll still fold you into the post-show roundup.
Between hellos we’ll chase good pours like everyone else. A few stops that stuck with us last year, and that we’re happy to hunt again if the lines aren’t absurd:
*Sean Lawson (Lawson’s Finest Liquids) — yellow wall, sponsor badge, good chat.*
*Toppling Goliath — T-Rex on duty, steins ready.*
*Dogfish Head Randall — hops on the table, machine doing its thing.*
*The Russian River line — worth it if you’ve got the patience.*
Hoppy’s also been staring at the 2026 map (211 pouring breweries at Levitt). Personal walkaround adds if we’re near them: FiftyFifty, WeldWerks, Kane, Cerebral, plus Colorado neighbors like Cohesion and Haykin Family Cider. Not a ranked list. Just “if we’re close, we’re stopping.”
While we’re there we’ll keep a loose count of how many Grryp customers we run into at the show. After the weekend we’re planning shoutouts for the ones we catch up with — names and notes once we’re home and the list is tidy. We’re already spotting familiar shops on the pour list; the full shoutout roundup lands after we get back. If we miss you on the floor, that’s on us; ping us and we’ll still fold you in.
Small ask for this year: if you’re there and you spot the pretzel handle, say hi. Tell us what you’re brewing or pouring. Tell us the logo that has to live on a handle without looking glued on. We’ll tell you what we’ve been printing. Then we’ll get out of your way so you can get back to the beer.
See you under the Colorado sky — Oct 10–11, Levitt Pavilion, Denver.
— Grryp
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