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Yes, we know you will be at the Great American Beer Fest to sample brews, but there are plenty of other things. Here, a taste to prove that GABF is more than ABV:
Wahl Mobile Barbershop: If your beard’s feeling a little unkempt, stop by the Wahl Mobile Barbershop for a free trim. No, this won’t be like that time you got a little too drunk and woke up with a monkey tail beard; Wahl’s stylists are professionals. Bonus: You can enter their Man of Denver competition, which carries a $500 prize and entrance into Wahl’s Man of the Year competition. For every trim, Wahl will donate $1 to ZERO, a nonprofit fighting prostate cancer.
Music: Jams are a key component to any festival, and GABF has plenty for music lovers. There’s the Silent Disco at the festival itself—who doesn’t love watching their drunk friends dance to music only they can hear?—and a Michael Jackson tribute. Our pick, though, takes place at Sculpture Park in downtown Denver at the Fuh-CAN Beer and Guitars music festival hosted by Oskar Blues and headlined by the White Buffalo. Proceeds from the two-day, 18-act festival will go to Oskar Blues’ CAN’d Aid Foundation and Love, Hope, Strength to help with flood relief and the fight against cancer, respectively.
Steinber Run: If you need to burn off all those liquid carbs you’ve been consuming, head to the Convention Center a little early on Friday morning for the Steinber Run, hosted by Anderson Valley Brewing. The five-mile jaunt is public, free, and not intense, so don’t worry if you’re not quite feeling up for a personal best. If you’d prefer more alcohol with your exercise, Avery‘s Barrel-Aged Bike Ride, also Friday morning, might be more your speed. The five-stop pub crawl on bikes includes 50 ounces of beer and a hand of poker.
There’s An App For That: To keep track of all the breweries, beers, and events, download the GABF’s official app for either iPhone or Android. The intuitive app includes a full list of events and lets users keep track of all the beer—ones they’ve tried, ones they want, what’s won awards, and where everything is. Users can also rate beers, take tours tailored by style, and save tasting notes for reminders of what they loved best from the fest. Next to a designated driver or cab fare, it might be the most essential add-on to your GABF weekend.
—Image courtesy of Wahl