BOULDER, CO—This Sunday, Sept. 22^nd, the Avery Brewing Company will host The Great Rumpkin Raffle benefitting the Foothills Flood Relief Fund to help those in Boulder and Broomfield Counties who suffered losses from the recent floods. Raffle tickets will be sold for $10 during the Rumpkin Release Party at the Avery Tap Room. Each ticket will include a free pint. The raffle’s Grand Prize will be an entire case of Rumpkin ($288 value) and other prizes include 6-packs of Rumpkin, two pairs of IPA Fest tickets, and some Avery gear. Raffle tickets will be on sale from 2-5:45pm. Prizes will be announced at 6pm and you must be present to win.

The beers: Anchor Steam and Porter (CA); August Schell’s Deer, Export and Ulmer Lagers (MN); Blitz-Weinhard Henry’s; Boulder Extra Pale, Porter and Stout (CO); Coors Killian’s Irish Red (CO); Falstaff Ballantine India Pale Ale and Porter (IN); F.X. Matt’s Premium and Maximus Super (NY); Fred Koch Black Horse Ale and Beer (NY); Geyer’s Frankenmuth Bavarian Light and Dark (MI); Heilman’s Special Export (WI); Huber Augsburger Light and Dark (WI); Hudepohl Christian Moerlein (OH); Latrobe Rolling Rock (PA); Leinenkugel Beer (WI); Rainier Ale (WA); River City Dark and Gold (CA); Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Stout and Porter (CA); Stevens Point Special Beer (WI); Yuengling Premium, Porter and Lord Chesterfield Ale (PA). (By the way, on this list, the word “light” in the name indicates pale beer only.)

At that time, there were 78 brewing plants owned by the 40 U.S. brewing companies. Of those, 15 were considered “small,” producing fewer than 100,000 barrels annually. Five of these outfits were what we would call “craft” or “micro,” four of which were entered into competition. That year I was able to sample all of the brews that I had not previously evaluated in my travels. My favorite was then-microbrewed Sierra Nevada Porter. The next year (’83), 24 breweries―four of them micros―were present with 44 beers and an expanded program (Saturday afternoon and evening). At that time, predictions in the brewing industry held that by 1990, only 10 actual brewing companies would remain in business.

By 1985, the fourth GABF was in its second year in Denver. Forty-seven brewers offered 86 of their best beers in the Grand Ballroom of Denver’s Regency Hotel. Attendees voted Bert Grant’s Yakima-brewed Russian Imperial Stout as the best beer. In those two days, I actually sampled all 53 (!) of the beers I had never tried, although many of my tasting notes were garbled. (Hey―I was working! OK?) I rated Sierra Nevada Big Foot Barleywine tops at that time, although the crowd voted Sam Adams Boston Lager as its favorite.