• When: Sept. 29 - Oct. 1, 2011
• Where: The Colorado Convention Center
• More Info: www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com

For beer aficionados, there’s no bigger event all year-round. The 30th annual edition of the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), known as the “Super Bowl” of beer, returns to Denver, Colorado this September. The granddaddy of all U.S. beer festivals offers the largest collection of U.S. beer ever assembled, all served in 1-ounce tasting portions.

The 2011 GABF is bigger than ever, covering 188,000 square feet of Downtown Denver’s Colorado Convention Center, with more than 1,900 beers from 400 U.S. breweries available for sampling. Organizers expect the festival to attract 46,000 beer lovers this year. A highlight of the festival is that many of the beers will be served by their brewers, giving attendees a chance to meet some of the U.S.’s biggest beer heroes. The festival also features the PRO-AM Competition, a contest featuring beers brewed by professional craft brewers based on award winning homebrew recipes from American Homebrewers Association (AHA) members.

Denver and the GABF are a perfect match. Not only is the Mile High City home to the world's largest single brewery (The Coors Brewery), but it also has the nation's largest brewpub (The Wynkoop Brewing Company) and the highest number of home brewers. In conjunction with GABF, VISIT DENVER is sponsoring the third annual Denver Beer Fest (Sept. 23-Oct. 1), a citywide celebrations of all things beer, featuring tastings, food/pairings, parties and much more. Go to www.DenverBeerFest.com for more info.

Throughout Colorado, there are over 80 brewpubs, 18 microbreweries, and two major breweries, burnishing the state’s reputation as the "Napa Valley" of beer. It is possible to tour Colorado, visiting the major ski resorts of Aspen, Telluride, Vail, Crested Butte and Steamboat Springs, and enjoy a new brewpub in each town. On any given day, there are over 100 beers that are made and sold only in Colorado.