What To Do If You Are Not At GABF, or #NoGABFforMe

If you are anything like me, and you are *not* in Denver right now kicking off the Great American Beer Festival, you are probably alternating between various states of mind:

• Deep, seething envy, reading the posts from your so-called friends about what a great time they are having, scanning the #GABF tweets about bottle-shares and special tasting parties, and drooling over pictures posted of hard-to-find and specially brewed beers. You find yourself muttering “Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal…”
• Denial. Ignoring all of the previously mentioned things and trying to entertain yourself with mindless pastimes like the MLB playoffs, vice-presidential debates, and reading the 1000 page doping report on Lance Armstrong.
• Sour grapes. You didn’t want to go anyway. Too many people. It’s just a drunk fest. It’s really not that great.

Probably you have felt one of those things in the past 24 hours, and it is only going to get worse. So here are some things you can do to celebrate American craft beer in your own way.

1. Visit a local brewery. According to the Brewers Association, the majority of Americans live within 10 miles of a brewery, and most of them have tasting rooms and oftentimes tours as well. So go visit them! While some of their staff is likely to be at the Festival, they gotta keep brewing beer, right?!  Get to know the regulars, taste the local beers, and support a local business!
2. Attend a local beer event. They are happening all the time, so find one and go! Locally here in Tampa Bay, you have a few options: Brews By the Bay at the Florida Aquarium, and Tampa Oktoberfest. Both still have tickets available and should be a great time.
3. Learn to homebrew. What better way to spend a weekend than learning to make you own beer?! Its fun, a great social activity, and you get beer! So find your local homebrew shop and pay them a visit.
4. Finally, join the rest of us Lost Souls for a virtual Twitter Toast at 8:00pm EST on Friday night. The Hashtag is – you guessed it – #NoGABFforMe. Let us know what you are drinking, and who you are cursing at for being at GABF without you.

Cheers!

~ by Sean Nordquist on October 11, 2012.