Held in September 2015, this year's Great American Beer Festival hosted more than 60,000 attendees, plus 750 breweries presenting 3,500 beers. It's the centerpiece of Denver's beer year.
The festival hosts one of the most prestigious beer competitions in the world. Thirty-six Colorado beers won medals at this year's competition, including 15 from the Denver area.
Home-made pretzel necklaces are a festival tradition. Ron Billinger of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, shows off his bandolier-style pretzel necklace. Billinger says the bandolier is easy to assemble and the pretzel rods are easy to deploy.
Joel Williams
Snack accessories —
Scott Beam and Chad Edwards, both from Denver, adorned themselves in what many call the most important of all beer festival accessories. Beam and Edwards' necklaces included various types of string cheese, though they reported that the cheese got a bit soft and melty before the festival began.
Joel Williams
The secret —
The necklaces are one way attendees are able to make it through the festival, which offers unlimited beer samples. The pretzels are chomped as needed to mitigate the effects of yet another line with yet another delicious pour.
Joel Williams
Merry mashup —
Colorado's Dad & Dudes Breweria drew long lines this year with its Cannabis Beer, an Imperial IPA brewed with cannabidiol oil, a non-psychoactive hemp extract.
Joel Williams
PJs and beer —
With their wacky onesies, these attendees from Connecticut managed to stand out from the crowd.
Joel Williams
So much beer, so little stomach room —
Launched in 1982, the festival has steadily grown in popularity.