FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 21st Great American Beer Festival® a huge success! Boulder, Colo. • 10.08.2002- The Association of Brewers celebrated Saturday night as “Last Call” was heard throughout the Colorado Convention Center. The announcement signaled the close of the 21st Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver, Colo. “After 21 years of giving the public the best American beer under one roof, there’s always one thing that stays the same -- the dedication and hard work from the Association of Brewers staff, volunteers, brewers, judges and industry supporters,” said Nancy Johnson, director of the Great American Beer Festival. “I feel honored to work and sip beer with people that understand how to make the American beer industry an American beer family. Cheers to everyone’s support.” The hard work paid off with an estimated 21,000 in attendance during this three-day festival, an increase over last year. [Great American Beer Festival statistics are below.] “As the founder of the Great American Beer Festival, I've been to every one of the festivals,” said Charlie Papazian, president of the Association of Brewers. “This 21st festival was unique in that it was the smoothest, best organized festival I have ever seen.” “We worked with a number of different media partners this year and really worked hard to get the word out about the festival,” comments Cindy Jones, Sales and Marketing Director for the Association of Brewers. Promotional efforts this year included television commercials on AT&T Broadband, billboards in the Denver metro area and bus sign on the 16th Street Mall Shuttle. Saturday afternoon’s Connoisseur session began with the awards ceremony for one of this country’s most prestigious beer competitions. The audience was filled with anxious brewers watching as Judge Manager Chris Swersey announced this year’s Great American Beer Festival medal winners. “Who says drinking beer for a living doesn’t pay off,” said Kevin McNerney, Brewmaster of Sweetwater Brewing Co., Atlanta, Georgia, and Small Brewing Company Brewmaster of the Year. “This has been 11 years of hard work developing our brewery. To get positive feedback for our hard work and dedication is elating.” This year’s entries came from 393 breweries with a total of 1,820 beers being judged in 58 categories. Winners can be found on the festival web site. To view a copy visit http://www.beertown.org/GABF/02winners.htm. “I feel flattered and honored,” said Kurt Widmer, Brewmaster of Widmer Brothers Brewing, Portland, Ore., and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewmaster of the Year. “And at the same time I recognize this (award) as a tribute to all people here that work hard to make great beers.” “I feel absolutely overwhelmed,” said Jason Courtney, Brewmaster of Hub City Brewing, Lubbock, Texas, and Small Brewpub Brewmaster of the Year. “I had pretty good confidence that we would win a medal but this is beyond my expectations. I can’t wait until next year.” GABF 2002 Stats: · 301 Breweries on the floor · Over 1,300 Beers on the floor · 393 Breweries participated in the competition · 1,820 beers judged in the competition · 58 Categories were judged · 91 Judges · Avg. # beers entered in each category being judged: 31 · American Style India Pale Ale Category had the highest # of entries: 94 · 172 Medals awarded · Attendance ~ 21,000 Up from 2001 · 2,439 volunteers· 24,390 volunteer hours · Small Brewing Company of the Year: Sweet Water Brewing Company-Atlanta, Georgia · Small Brewing Company Brewmaster of the Year: Kevin McNerney - Sweet Water Brewing Company-Atlanta, Georgia · Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year: Widmer Brothers Brewing - Portland, Oregon · Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewmaster of the Year: Kurt Widmer - Widmer Brothers Brewing - Portland, Oregon · Large Brewing Company of the Year: Anheuser-Busch, Inc.-St. Louis, Missouri · Large Brewing Company Brewmaster of the Year: George Reisch- Anheuser-Busch, Inc.-St. Louis, Missouri · Small Brewpub of the Year: Hub City Brewing – Lubbock, Texas · Small Brewpub Brewmaster of the Year: Jason Courtney - Hub City Brewing – Lubbock, Texas · Large Brewpub of the Year: BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery, Portland, Oregon · Large Brewpub Brewmaster of the Year: Dan Pedersen - BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery, Portland, Oregon Sponsors of the 2002 Great American Beer Festival includes: Anheuser-Busch. Inc, Westword, The Mountain 99.5 FM, Pabst Brewing Company, Colorado Lottery, AT&T Broadband, Pete’s Brewing Company, MicroStar Keg Management, L.L.C., Beer Institute, Pepsi, Vail Resorts, Boston Beer, Briess Malting Co., Great Western Malting, Yakima Chief and beertown.org. The Great American Beer Festival has been held every year since 1982 and is presented by the Association of Brewers, a not-for-profit educational and trade organization founded in 1978 that is devoted to making quality brewing and beer information available to anyone. The Association of Brewers also hosts the bi-annual World Beer Cup and is based in Boulder, Colo., U.S.A. # # # Cindy Jones Sales and Marketing Director Association of Brewers 303.447.0816 x 144 cindy(a)aob.org The Great American Beer Festival October 3-5, 2002 Colorado Convention Center Visit www.beertown.org for details!