Last year Food & Wine said Denver’s very own Collaboration Fest was on its way to becoming “the most relevant craft beer event in the industry.” For anyone wondering, yes, that was meant as a direct challenge to Great American Beer Festival. But with the all mighty GABF being decisively “bigger and beerier” this year, it seems like for 2016 the fledgling three-year-old fest that pairs a relatively small amount of national and local breweries to create one-off “collab” beers in the name of industry camaraderie—might have a lot to live up to.

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Collaboration Fest hosted by Imbibe Events and Colorado’s Brewer’s Guild. Photos by Candace Peterson.

But much like the biblical story of David vs. Goliath, what Collaboration Fest can’t provide regarding size (approximately 120 breweries and 75 beers will be poured in comparison to the 6,738 entries at the 2015 GABF), it can make up in creativity. Taking place once again at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on March 19, Collaboration Fest will pull its punches with its stellar line-up, creative partnering (which has already garnered its own hype) and beers that you’ll likely to never be able to try again. Last year saw mouthwatering sours, a beer that smelled like weed and a collab that involved two local brewing titans (Ska and Wynkoop) with a popular Jam band (Big Real Fish). For 2016, we can only expect better things to come as some of the pairings are truly worth geeking out over—including the recently announced collaboration between Ratio Beerworks and the iconic New Belgium. So while Collaboration Fest might not be much “bigger” or “beerier,” we are just as, if not more than, excited for its return.

Tickets are officially on sale now ($50 for GA, $75 for VIP). Take a look below for the full line-up, and check back here for more on the event as it develops:

 

Participating Breweries + Collaborations 

300 Suns Brewing and Gemini Beer Co
Avery Brewing Co and Call To Arms Brewing Company
Baere Brewing Company and Mother Road Brewing Company
Baere Brewing Company, Mockery Brewing and Inland Island Brewing and Consulting
Barrels & Bottles Brewery and AC Golden Brewing Company
Beryl’s Beer Co and Goose Island Beer Co
Big Choice Brewing and Black Bottle Brewing
Blue Spruce Brewing Co and Rock Bottom, South Denver
Boulder Beer Co. and Fat Heads Brewery
Breckenridge Brewery and Star Hill Brewery
Call to Arms Brewing Company, Denizens Brewing Co and Conshohocken Brewing Co.
Cannonball Creek Brewing Company and Pizza Pizza Port Carlsbad Village
CO-Brew and Mu Brewing
Comrade Brewing Company and Fat Heads Brewery
Crazy Mountain Brewing Company and Stillwater Artisan Ales
Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project and Evil Twin Brewing
Denver Beer Co and DC Brau Brewing Company
Denver Beer Co and Spangalang Brewery
Diebolt Brewing Company and River North Brewery
Epic Brewing Company and Green Flash Brewing Co
Factotum Brewhouse and Tow Yard Brewing
FATE Brewing Company and Reuben’s Brews
Fort Collins Brewery and Renegade Brewing Company
Funkwerks and Wicked Weed Brewing
Gravity Brewing and Marshall Brewing
Great Divide Brewing Co and TRVE Brewing
Grist Brewing Company and Koala San Brew
Hall Brewing and Kokopelli Beer Company
Holidaily Brewing Company and Yak and Yeti Brewpub
Horse & Dragon Brewing Company and others
Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery and Brewery Rickoli
Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery and Uber Brew
Joyride Brewing Company and Heretic Brewing Company
Kannah Creek Brewing Company and Moab Brewery
Kannah Creek Brewing Company, Roaring Fork Beer Company and Colorado Boy Brewing
Left Hand Brewing Company and Wibby Brewing
Liquid Mechanics and Bagby Beer
Liquid Mechanics and Odd 13 Brewing
Living The Dream Brewing and Grist Brewing
Living The Dream Brewing and Rip Current Brewing
Locavore and Tommyknocker Brewery
Lone Tree Brewing Company and Chain Reaction
Lone Tree Brewing Company and Sycamore Brewing Company
Mockery Brewing and Saucony Creek
Mockery Brewing and Baere Brewing
Oskar Blues Brewery, 3 Floyds Brewing and Horse and Dragon Brewing Company
Our Mutual Friend Brewing and Cerebral Brewing
Platt Park Brewing Co., Moody Tongue and Old Redwood
Post Brewing Company and Prost Brewing Company
Prost Brewing Company and Dogfish Head Brewing
Sanitas Brewing Company and SixPoint Brewery
Sanitas Brewing Company, BRU handbuilt ales & eats and Wild Woods Brewery
Shamrock Brewing Company and Fitger’s Brewhoue
Ska Brewing Company and Devils Backbone Brewing Company
Ska Brewing Company and Epic Brewing
Station 26 Brewing Co, Cannonball Creek Brewing Company and Comrade Brewing
Steamworks Brewing Company and Dry Dock Brewing Co
Strange Craft Beer Company and Freetail Brewing Company
Telluride Brewing Company and Elevation Brewing Company
Telluride Brewing Company and NYNÄSHAMNS ÅNGBRYGGERI AB
The Bakers’ Brewery, Broken Compass, Dillon DAM Brewery, JP Vander Veen, Pug Ryan’s Brewery, Breckenridge Brewery OG and Angry James Brewing
Tomyknocker Brewery and Mallaskosken Panimo
TRVE Brewing and Prairie Artisan Ales
Twisted Pine Brewing Co and Blind Tiger Brewery
Twisted Pine Brewing Co and Pizza Port – Solana Beach
Two22 Brew and Echo Brewing Company
Wibby Brewing and Left Hand Brewing Company
Wit’s End Brewing Company and Ale-Mania
Wonderland Brewing Company and C Squared Ciders
Zwei Brewing Co and Bierstadt

[Update: NEW ADDITIONS, Nov. 25, 2015  at 11:35 a.m.]:

Ratio Beerworks and New Belgium

Little Machine and Sun King Brewing

Upslope Brewing Co. and New Belgium

300 Suns Brewing and Gemini Beer Co

Little Machine and Bull and Bush Brewery (changed from Little Machine and Joyride to Bull and Bush Brewery)