For beer lovers, attending the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver deserves to be at the tippy top of your bucket list, that check-list of things to do or places to see before you die. In 2012, there were more than 450 breweries pouring nearly 2,500 different beers (from all 84 recognized categories) all under one roof. Good luck getting to try that many beers in any other single location. And Godspeed trying to try all the beers you’d like to, or even just all the IPAs on the convention floor. Can’t be done.

Of course, the other awesome aspect about going to GABF is that it’s in Colorado. The northwest corner where the Great Plains begin to level out from the Rocky Mountains is home to dozens of must-drink breweries and an overall beer culture that’s truly a mile high.

Denver

Presumably, you’re flying into Denver International, which is nowhere near downtown. So as long as you’re out there, take advantage by making your first stop Dry Dock Brewing (15120 East Hampden Ave. in Aurora). The way the crowd erupted during the award ceremony at the 2009 GABF when they earned Small Brewery of the Year honors, you’d think the brewery was larger. It’s one of Andy Sparhawk’s favorite Denver-area breweries. Sparhawk isn’t just the Brewers Association’s Craft Beer Program Coordinator, he’s also a Denver native, so we turn to his expert recommendations.

Once in town, make the “requisite” visit to Wynkoop (1634 18th St.) in Lower Downtown (“LoDo”), famed as Colorado’s first brewpub established in 1988 and perhaps even more famous for one of its founders, John Hickenlooper, who parlayed his success into becoming Denver mayor and who then sold his interest before his successful campaign for the governorship. Indulge in the local flavor with the buffalo meatloaf and wash it down with Mile Hi.P.A.

The brewpub is right by Coors Field, home of the megabrewery’s pilot Sand Lot Brewery (where some Blue Moon beers got their start) giving Colorado Rockies fans somewhere drink pretty great beers to dull the pain of these perennial cellar dwellers (and not in the good sense of a complex beer). Since there’s no chance the Rockies will be playing this deep into October, less than a mile walk is the equally compulsory-visit Great Divide (2201 Arapahoe St.). The brewery has been operating since 1994 and has developed a stellar roster of beers, most notably the members of the Yeti clan. Plunk down on a stool in the tap room and find out which Yeti Imperial Stout is your favorite: the original, Belgian-style, or the Oak-aged, not to mention variations on the oaked theme including Chocolate (my favorite given the dash of cayenne pepper) and Espresso. If you fill up on Yetis, walk ‘em off…it’s only a five minute stroll to River North Brewing (2401 Blake St #1). Sparhawk notes that they “specialize in what could be described as Belgo-nouvo.” Pop into their taproom and “try their Hypothesis, a Belgian-style Double IPA.”

Speaking of Yetis, Sparhawk shares a ridiculously cool sounding brewpub, the Yak and Yeti (7803 Ralston Rd. in Arvada) around 10 miles northwest of downtown where he lives. What began as the second location of this restaurant specializing in the cuisine of Nepal, Tibet, and India made excellent use of a pre-existing brewing system. Rarely does a brewpub offer such an exotic menu, which is also quite vegetarian- and kid-friendly. Though you’d expect to find a restaurant with Indian food to offer an India Pale Ale, the beer menu instead boasts Himalayan IPA (which won GABF gold in the Strong Pale Ale category a couple years back).

If heading there is too far, Denver Beer Co. (1695 Platte St.), which just celebrated its first anniversary, is much closer. “The past year has been whirlwind for Charlie Berger and Patrick Crawford,” says Sparhawk. “The brewery took home a bronze medal at their first GABF in the specialty beer category, Graham Cracker Porter, to hang behind the long bar in their tap room.” As locals flock to support and imbibe these newcomers, they can order food from the omnipresent food truck(s) waiting to serve customers and picnic tables to sit at, regardless of snow in the wintertime.

As a final brewery shout-out, Sparhawk points to the nanobrewery Wit’s End (2505 W. 2nd Ave, Unit 13), one of Denver’s newest yet only open during limited hours Thursdays through Sundays. Rather than deriving its name from brewing only Belgian White Ales, it’s actually the brainchild of Scott Witsoe, whom Sparhawk refers to as owner, brewer, bartender, janitor, etc. Wit brews one barrel at a time and evidently makes “a variety of fantastic beers…Grab a bar stool and chat it up with him with a Jean Claude Van Blond or Super Fl.IPA.

Of course, if walking across town (or hopping on the free shuttle that zips back and forth down the 16^th Street Pedestrian Mall) is too much, drink your way across Colorado and beyond at the legendary Falling Rock Tap House (1919 Blake St.) with its 75-plus taps. Pop over after the evening sessions of the fest but either leave on the early side to make sure you get in, or enjoy standing in line with all your favorite brewmasters since the Falling Rock rightly doesn’t play favorites by letting anybody skip.

Of course, more isn’t necessarily more. Equally important is, how good are the new digs on the block? Be it by striking out into a whole new territory like Austin or seeping over into a nearby locale as is the case for me with Hood River, OR, boomtowns are experiencing liquid-gold rushes.

Austin, Texas

For various reasons, the Lone Star State hosts precious few brewing companies per capita, perennially finding itself in the bottom 10 in the union. But there is a bright, solitary star on the Texas beer map. Austin, famous for its Longhorns and its bats (there are more than 1.5 million in the largest urban colony in the country), now supports about 20 brewing concerns. Note that they all make the distinction between production facilities and brewpubs; the former can’t sell on-site directly to the consumer and the latter can’t sell for off-premise but don’t necessarily have a restaurant attached or any food available. Weird, right? Well, that’s why they say Keep Austin Weird. Here’s a look at the places keeping Austin beer’ed. Plan your trip in the summer (yes, it’ll be hot) during an only-in-Austin celebration called Bats & Beers.

Our guide through Austin’ is Christopher Orf, one of a few locals who aspire to establish a brewery. Orf Brewing hopes to host the first Orftoberfest in 2013. He’s at least as equally passionate about the local music scene, with Austin deserving its reputation as the Live Music Capital, and suggests streaming local stations KUT 90.5 and KOOP 91.7 as you plot your trip and once you arrive. As brew guide, he begins with the ones he calls the “old guard,” but of course that only dates back to 1997 with Live Oak Brewing, purveyor of “great, traditional Bavarian-style beers,” thus earning frequent “Best Of” honors. Orf is a huge fan of its hefeweizen and Pils and notes that even it has something new going on: the development of a larger facility on the Colorado River.

Brewpub-wise, visit the The Draught House Pub & Brewery (4112 Medical Parkway) to experience “the best beer bar, by many accounts” with great atmosphere inside and out (in the beer garden). It’s not to be confused with The Alamo Drafthouse (many locations), which does serve a house amber made by local Independence Brewing, but presents signature events like Heckle Vision, where audience members “text-heck” and their gibes appear on screen during cult movies.

If you’d like to class things up a bit, hit North By Northwest (10010 Capital of Texas Highway N.). The name isn’t a reaction to the famous SXSW Music Festival that Austin hosts, but owner Davis Tucker’s homage to the brewing culture of the Pacific Northwest that happens to be located in Northwest Austin. Orf confirms that “their beers are quite good, and tend to pair well with their food.” Try the tri-tip pizza washed down with Py Jingo Pale Ale.

Seeing as the new brewers have yet to develop a reputation beyond Austin city limits, one of the “established but still youthful” breweries is the area-code-identified (512) Brewing (407 Radam Lane, Building F-200). Incorporating local terroir, the Wit differs from a traditional Belgian Witbier by replacing orange peel with zest from locally grown grapefruits. “It has the stamp of approval from the late Pierre Celis,” mentions Orf, referring to the person single-handedly responsible for reintroducing this classic style. Celis became an Austin transplant, and his daughter recently announced plans to bring the Celis Brewing Co. back to Austin! As for (512), “Their Pecan Porter is delicious,” made with real Texas pecans.

Additional events in August, September, and sometimes October include the 42nd Annual Germania Society of Cincinnati Oktoberfest, which Nascimento says features “one of the better beer selections in the area”; the 34th Annual Mainstrasse  Village Oktoberfest; and several church- and community-based ones such as Annunciation-Clifton Oktoberfest and St. Jude Oktoberfest. While not technically an Oktoberfest, this year marks the 42nd annual Sauerkraut Festival in Waynesville, 40 miles from Cincinnati, where the vendors don’t stop at German staples—you can try sauerkraut pizza and sauerkraut fudge.