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Consistent with the format for the Tenth and Eleventh Anniversaries, the Commercial Tasting will begin a little bit later (2:30 pm) in the afternoon than we did for prior years, following the Experimental Brewing Seminar (10:00 am), and our Featured Brewmasters’ Seminars led byJohn Mallett, Production Manager for Bell’s Brewing Co. in Kalamazoo, Michigan (12:30 pm), and J. Todd Usry, Brewmaster & Director of Brewing Operations for Breckenridge Brewery, Denver, Colorado (1:30 pm). For more information regarding all Seminars, see the Seminars webpage.
During the Commercial Tasting, the 2012 Big Beers Homebrew Competition Awards Ceremony will be held at 3:00 pm, and the wildly popular CraftBeer.com Beer & Food Pairing Smackdown will begin at 3:30 pm. Julia Herz of the Brewers Association will again be moderating this interactive pairing competition between Brewmasters of the American Craft Brewing community and Importers of international beers, featuring their respective portfolios. New this year is a coupon that each attendee will receive with their admission ticket that entitles them to a $5 credit at the food station inside the Commercial Tasting event. This will encourage everyone to locate & frequent the food station, enjoy the selections created by Chef Adam Votaw and his staff at the Vail Cascade, and help all attendees be responsible with their consumption of fabulous beers throughout the afternoon.
Volunteers for the Big Beers Festival can earn complimentary or discounted admission to the Commercial Tasting (as well as a staff t-shirt!) through their time and effort. Volunteer shifts include such options as coat check, homebrew competition judging/stewarding, pouring during the tasting, assisting with the seminars, etc. One volunteer shift will reduce your Commercial Tasting ticket by 50% to $25, and two volunteer shifts earn free admission. To volunteer to assist with Big Beers Festival activities, please contact Laura Lodge.
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Home | Events & Schedule | Purchase Tickets | Brewmasters' Dinner | Tasting Event | Seminars | Commercial Brew Participation | Homebrew Competition | Press & Photos Lodging & Transportation | Winners | Sponsors | Contact  Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines Festival is organized by High Point Brewing, Gypsum, Colorado Site by Fluid Elements |
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The Educational Format of the Tasting portion of the festival is something unique dreamed up by the festival’s founder, Bill Lodge, of High Point Brewing, and has been well received by our guests. We suggest that each guest limit themselves to one sample of each beer for the first two hours of the event, as tracked by the extensive event program dedicated to educating the guest. This system encourages the guest to learn about the various breweries and beers available from around the world, and also slows consumption of the rather high octane brews available. For the record, we define 7.0% as the alcohol by volume minimum to qualify as a “big beer”. 
Aspen Brewing Co.
Bonfire Brewing Co.
Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co.
Gore Range Brewery
Tommyknocker Brewery