The 2004 Great American Beer Festival took place last week, from September 30 through October 2. One of these days, I just have to go to this. This year, they had a record-breaking 28,000 attendees.

The three-day event brought a record number of beer connoisseurs from around the world to Denver, Colo. (a city dubbed "the Napa Valley of beer" by many of the world’s beer experts) to sample 1,454 different American beers. The roster of beers was the biggest collection of American beers ever presented in one location.

The cool thing about the GABF is that it’s also a massive beer competition. This year there were 398 breweries with 2,016 beer being judged. Damn. Be sure to check out the 2004 winners list, and try some of those beers.