The Brewers Association’s Great American Beer Festival kicks off for its 41st edition tonight in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center. For the first time, fest goers will be able to sample cider and hard seltzer along with a dizzying array of craft beer from brewers across the country.

Here is a smattering of facts about this year’s fest …

State with the most breweries representing: (unsurprisingly) Colorado, with beer from 91 breweries poured, followed by California (67), Texas (22), Oregon (19) and Washington (14).

India Pale Ale’s chokehold on craft continues, with 358 variations of the style being poured, excluding 52 fresh hop and imperial IPAs.

We counted 244 selections in the session ales and lagers category, most of which are in the 4.5% to 5.5% ABV range. 

People who attend the country’s largest beer festival looking for something other than beer can choose from 37 ciders and 12 hard seltzers.

Five cideries will be pouring at GABF: 2 Towns Ciderhouse, Incline Cider, Seattle Cider, Schilling Cider and Stem Ciders. 

Non-alcoholic offerings for designated drivers and fest goers who recognize they can’t drink like they’re in their twenties anymore include 35 non-alc and alcohol-free beers, eight hop waters, three ciders and two NA cocktails. 

Four members of the National Black Brewers Association will be pouring at the festival in a designated taproom area, including Crowns & Hops, Harlem Brewing Company, Montclair Brewery, and Rhythm Brewing, as well as Black is Beautiful Vol. 2 hazy IPAs from Weathered Souls and Dogfish Head.

In a GABF first, an International Pavilion will offer imported beers from Belgium, Germany and Iceland, courtesy of Elite Brands of Colorado.

As of Wednesday, only the BA’s members session on Saturday afternoon has sold out.

Brewbound Insiders can go deeper into the numbers here.

Brewbound’s Brew Talk meetup in Denver takes place live TODAY from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. MT. 

Brew Talks will feature two conversations focused on draft beer, one national and one regional. 

Speakers include:

• Dogfish Head co-founder Sam Calagione
• Buffalo Wild Wings director of beverage strategy & innovation Jason Murphy
• Tamarron Consulting co-founder and president Lori Scheiffler;
• Ska Brewing president and co-founder David Thibodeau;
• Holidaily Brewing founder Karen Hertz;
• And Elite Brands of Colorado account manager Katie Nierling.

If you’re in Denver, it’s last call for tickets. 

If you’re not in Denver, watch the free live stream.

Revolution Brewing is getting into the non-alcoholic (NA) beverage game.

The Chicago-based craft brewery has launched Super-Zero sparkling hop water, its first NA offering.

The zero proof hop water is available in 12 oz. can 6-packs at retailers now – in time for “Sober October” – as well as direct-to-consumer through Revolution’s website. The new offering’s tagline “Save the Day,” reflecting “its goal of catering to a variety of alcohol-free occasions,” according to a press release. 

Revolution CMO Doug Veliky said in the release: “We’ve been looking deeply at potential offerings for new customers as the craft beer segment matures and drinking occasions change. Not everyone drinks, and even the biggest Revolution fans are presented with situations where they are passing on the opportunity to consume alcohol for one reason or another.”

Insiders can read more, including the latest scan data for the NA segment, and a refresher on what other Top 50 craft breweries have upped their NA involvement recently.

Alamo Beer Company has acquired VIVA Beer, a fellow San Antonio, Texas-based craft brewery.

The two companies announced the deal – characterized as a merger – on social media Wednesday, writing: “This exciting merger will bring together the best of both worlds, creating a powerful synergy that will strengthen their shared commitment to crafting exceptional, approachable beer for the San Antonio community and beyond.”

The two companies already had a working relationship, with VIVA contract producing its beers at Alamo since 2022.

VIVA co-owner Michael Johnson said in the announcement: "[Alamo’s founder] Eugene has been a mentor of ours since we started. With the help of the Alamo team, we know we can continue to grow the brand throughout San Antonio and beyond."

Leaders from Brooklyn Brewery and Hoplark share the why behind their recent partnership. Hoplark founder Dean Eberhardt, CEO Betsy Frost and Brooklyn Brewery CEO Eric Ottaway also share their perspectives on the trajectory of NA beverages. 

Brooklyn’s investment was part of a Series A funding round, which the company led. Frost told Brewbound that Hoplark closed on the first portion of the round for $5.9 million, but the full round is $9.5 million. Hoplark has currently closed on $7.1 million, which she said the difference of is still processing.

Plus, Jess returns after three months! Zoe and Justin bring Jess up-to-speed during a game of Another Round or Tabbing Out, covering some of the big news of the last quarter, including Tilray’s big craft deal, Jim Koch’s shade for hard tea competitors, Sapporo’s decision to close Anchor and more.

Listen here and on all popular podcast platforms.

Dollar sales growth continued for spirit-based ready-to-drink canned cocktails (RTDs) in the two-week period ending September 9, according to an analysis of NIQ data by Goldman Sachs.

RTD dollar sales increased +40.3% year-over-year (YoY) in the two-week period, versus +40.7% for the four-weeks and +43.3% for the 12-weeks.

• High Noon experienced robust sales growth, up +44.1% for two-weeks, with its share expanding with volumes up +34.6% and pricing up +7%.
• Cutwater dollar sales were up +32% in the two weeks, with share holding steady and volume up +26.5% and pricing up +4.4%.
• Jack Daniel’s RTD dollar sales were up +197.4% for two weeks, albeit off a low base, with volumes reporting +193.6% and pricing up +1.3%. Share expanded but slipped a bit sequentially.
• Dogfish Head canned cocktail dollar sales sharply accelerated, up +24.2% for the two weeks, versus +7.1% in the four-weeks and +15.3% in the 12-week period.
• Fresca Mixed Cocktails continued to gain momentum following its launch in late 2022 with dollar share continuing to build to and all commodity volume in the mid-20s (compared to High Noon at around +80%.)

BevNET spirits editor Ferron Salniker has more, including results for wine-based RTDs, flavored malt beverages and hard seltzer.

If you were in Denver the Wednesday before the Great American Beer Festival, it was eerily quiet. Granted, the festivities were still a day away, so maybe it was just the calm before the storm. Past years though, you KNEW it was GABF week. 

Nevertheless, at least one craft brewer is making a bid to get noticed. This Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing ad adorned a building just a couple blocks away from the Colorado Convention Center.

Of course, this ad was catty-corner to a Bud Light ad, but still. At least craft’s OG is making a bid for drinkers.