The 42nd Great American Beer Festival opened Saturday at Levitt Pavilion in Denver's Ruby Hill Park, the first time the event has been held outdoors, and Saturday sold out, The Denver Gazette and CBS Colorado reported. Weekend passes sold out as well, CBS Colorado reported.

Thousands of people, 200 breweries and about 1,500 beers filled the venue, the Gazette reported. Bart Watson leads the Brewers Association, which runs the festival. He tied the smaller venue to the state of the industry. "One of the reasons we resized (to a different venue) … was to recognize where the festival and the industry are today," he told The Denver Gazette.

Watson said the craft beer business is "challenging" and "competitive." "Demand has hit a little bit of a wall, and supply was continuing to grow," he said. Rising costs add to the strain. For some brewers, tariffs on items like aluminum cans make it worse. US craft beer volume fell 4% in 2025 and kept falling at a similar rate in the first half of 2026, according to a Brewers Association report cited by the Gazette. The number of craft breweries fell 1.8% in the year to June.

Still, Watson said about 45% of breweries grew last year. "It's not universal that it's doom and gloom everywhere," he said.

The festival left the Colorado Convention Center, its home for about two decades, for this year's event, a move organizers had announced earlier. "It's time we changed, too," Watson told CBS Colorado. Jennifer Glanville Love of Samuel Adams, who has attended 23 of the festivals, said, "The craft drinker has evolved and changed."

Other changes this year include pours of up to four ounces and a brewery worker at every booth, the Gazette reported. Several non-alcoholic beers were on hand, since more drinkers now want low- or no-alcohol options. Tim Myers, owner of Denver's Strange Craft Beer Company, said young people are also choosing THC and CBD products over beer. The festival runs through Sunday.

What we know: The first outdoor festival opened Oct. 10 with about 200 breweries, Saturday sold out, and organizers say the resized event reflects a shrinking craft beer market.
What we don't: How many people attended, whether Sunday also sold out, and who will win this year's medals.