More GABF:

What you’ll see at the Colorado Convention Center, pro tips and more

More than 800 breweries are planned to be pouring more than 3,500 different beers at the 36th annual festiva lth a tt akes place at the Colorado Convention Center Sept. 20-22.

• Breweries will be set up in alphabetica lor der.

• Ge tt he App. The best wa yto navigate the festival is with the free MyGABF app, which lets you plan your tour, take notes and get specific beers and styles.

• Beers are poured in 1-ounce tastes. It is highly recommended to do the taste-and-dump. Taste a splash of beer. Dump the rest and move on unless you really like the beer. This way you can sample much more beer without getting blasted.

Drink lots of water. There are water stations throughout.

• Don’t forge tto eat. There are a variety of foo da nd concession stands available throughout the hall.

• Try boozy beers at the new, 12,600-square-foot area tha tis debuting, featuring limited-edition barrel-age db eers from 17 breweries that a rep art of Jameson Irish Whiskey’s Caskmates program.

• Go to the new Collaboration Booth, where you can try beers tha th ave been created inh armony between two breweries.

• Meet and talk with a famous brewer in the Meet the Brewer Section.

Go to Paired. Perhaps the greatest ticket at GABF is one that includes Paired. For a$ 160 ticket, guests get to atten db oth GABF an dPa ired, where expertly crafted small bites are compose db y celebrated chefs from across the country and paired with exclusive craft beers.

• Try the Protect Craf tGu ilds Pavilion. About 24 beer guilds from around the country will showcase beers that aren’t available elsewhere in the hall. This is a must.

• Try beers at the Pro-Am Competition. Every year, commercial breweries team up with homebrewers to vie for top honors in this competitoin. The GABF ProAm entries are serve dd uring the Great American Beer Festival at the Pro-Am booth.

• Also ,d on’t miss the Heavy Medal section, where last year’s award-winning beers are served.