What's new for Denver Beer Week and GABF in 2023

• The week features more than 200 beer events, many at the 160 Denver metro breweries. And GABF, starting Thursday at the Colorado Convention Center, is the crown event.

Why it matters: Beer festivals are experiencing a downturn, and GABF — at $95 a ticket — is not sold out this year.

• Still, the event will bring tens of thousands of people to downtown and put a spotlight on the state's robust brewing industry, which is built into its DNA.

What they're saying: Denver is "a world-class beer destination city that rivals any in the country, and its economic impact cannot be denied," said Dave Bergen, the co-founder of Joyride Brewing, at a beer week kickoff event Friday.

What's new: This year's GABF will look different. It's larger with new beer and entertainment pavilions covering roughly 437,500 square feet, or more than seven football fields.

• For the first time, the festival features beverages other than beer, including cider, seltzer and kombucha from 20 breweries. The nonalcoholic "oasis" and gluten-free pavilion are expanding as interest grows in healthier beverages.

• More practically, breweries are roughly organized by geographic region, rather than alphabetically like a year ago.

The intrigue: "We realize that there are changing palates and breweries are adapting in their brewhouse so we want to have that experience at the festival," said Ann Obenchain with the Brewers Association, the Boulder-based trade group that hosts the festival.

Go deeper: The best beer and breweries at GABF ... must-go GABF events around Denver