Haus, as much as you enjoy the GABF, you need to enjoy it from the inside rather than the outside. I'm telling ya.

Check out the American Homebrewer's Association (Association of Brewers) BJCP. That's the Beer Judge Certification Program. I'm sure the info is on their web page.

They'll probably have some BJCP classes associated with the Beer Festival, and they're all around the country year-round sponsored by local homebrew clubs. The "classes" are fun - they charge a small fee, but there's beer tasting involved.

Once you become a Certified Judge, then you can work the Beer Festival Competition next year and the years after. They always need judges, and you start at a minor level and work your way up with experience.

Thing is, that gets you in the Festival as a participant - no charge. Even better, when the Festival is over the remains of those 2100 beers, the brewers, and the judges have a barbecue/campout with all the beers on tap for free, all night long. If you think you're having fun now, imagine sitting by a campfire drinking those beers with the brewers who make 'em.

That's why I still carry my A.H.A. Lifetime Member card and my Certified Beer Judge card. I can crash those parties - and you oughta get rigged up so you can too.