Today is the last day of judging and I look forward to taking in and enjoying the outdoor beauty of Colorado. We judge in the salt mines…er…lower level conference rooms of the Marriott here in downtown Denver. There are no windows, it’s a little cold and there is not much to distract as you sip and judge as many as 40, 50 or 60 beers in a day. Its work really, really! I know, how hard can it be, well there are 3 or more judges that all need to reach consensus on these beers. Which beers go forward or which ones should be awarded medals and there can be some charged discussions on how the guidelines can be interpreted. Its easy if you have a flawed beer to remove it from the pool but this is the GABF! It gets difficult when there are a number of really quality beers that fit the category style guidelines well and there needs be a pairing down. That is the work part.
Anyhow, it’s the last day, I plan on getting a rental car today and getting out of Denver to see the sights. Our work as judges will be done and tomorrow the medals will be awarded. Wish us luck.
More to come, Cheers, Bill