It was the time of the year your most loyal brewpub patrons are out of town. That picky guy at the liquor store has vanished. And the who's who of brewers and bartenders around the state have seemingly fallen of the face of the earth. No, they were actually at the most grown-up playground you can imagine, The Great American Beer Fest in Denver, Colorado. And with my laptop by my side, and a drifting allocation of sobriety, SLUG sent me off to cover the brew mecca of Denver.