(Denver, CO) – The biggest beer event of the year? You betcha. The 2011 Great American Beer Festival starts this Thursday night with live video (hopefully) of The Brewers Studio talks courtesy of The Brewing Network.

[Above video: 2009 GABF time lapse]

Until then, let this info whet your appetite and don’t forget to play the FBAG Brewery Pick’em game so that you can play along with the awards as they are announced on Saturday. Beer geekery at its finest, no doubt.

From September 29 – October 1, nearly 50,000 beer lovers will descend upon Denver to take part in the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), which will feature samples of 2,400 different beers from 465 U.S. breweries. This is the largest beer-related event in America (it sold out in just one week).

Celebrating 30 Years:
The Great American Beer Festival has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1982 as an offshoot of the 4th Annual National Homebrew and Microbrewery Conference. Nevertheless, if the name is any indication, its aspirations were great, and over 30 years, the event has grown from 800 attendees to 49,000, and from a 5,000 square foot festival hall to one close to 300,000 square feet.

Live Thursday Night Video (Possibly?):

Celebrating 30 Years of the GABF
Join GABF founder and Brewers Association president Charlie Papazian, as well as Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and Jim Koch of Boston Beer Company, for a look at 30 years of the GABF. They will share stories about the origins of the festival and how things have changed over the last three decades. Beers from both breweries will be served along with a special “birthday” cake.

The U.S.-Italy Craft Beer Connection
Join Lorenza Dabove, the Italian beer expert and champion of craft beer, as he teams up with American brewers Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Eric Wallace of Left Hand Brewing Co. to talk about the impact of the American craft beer scene on Italian beer culture.

GABF Competition:

In 2011, an estimated 4,000 beers will be judged by 170+ judges hailing from across the globe.

New competition categories include:

Fruit Wheat Beer – The soft sweetness of a wheat beer is taken to a new level when combined with the complex flavors of fruit, such as raspberries, blueberries and more.

Chocolate Beer – Once part of the Herb and Spice Beer category, this bold, flavorful beer is a delight for beer and chocolate lovers alike.

American-Style Brett Ale – These tart beers are increasingly found in many craft brewers’ line-ups, giving beer
enthusiasts a funky, complex beer that challenges perception of how beer can taste as the result of a wild yeast known as brettanomyces.

International-Style Pale Ale – Distinguishing themselves from American- and English-varieties, these beers have a wide range of hop characters, good balance and moderate alcohol, making them great session beers.

In 2011, the top style by number of entrants is American‐Style India Pale Ale (175 entries), and this category has been the top entered at GABF since 2001.

Much of this information is handily available on GreatAmericanBeerFestival.com as well.