Ahead of the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, we asked beer writers from across the country to offer lists of can’t-miss breweries in each region showcased at the festival — and add a few wild cards they want to check out. This is our second of eight previews.

Jeremy Meyer is a former journalist (in recovery) and co-founder of the Denver Post’s First Drafts beer blog – though he wanted to name it “The Great Regurgitator.” When not trying to pass off his homebrew to some resistant friend, he is in search of the Holy Grail of IPAs.

Here are Meyer’s GABF 2016 picks for the mountain region:

WeldWerks Brewing Co., Greeley, Booth Z10: Nestled into a community known more for meat-packing and a certain bovinical stench, WeldWerks has become the “it” brewery of Colorado in 2016 — its first full year of operation. In March, USA Today named it the best new brewery in the country. In May, it won a World Beer Cup bronze for its Puesta De Sol Vienna style lager. And beer geeks salivate for WeldWerk’s New England-style IPA, Juicy Bits, as well as any of the brewery’s bottle releases. Neil Fisher, co-owner, says several new fermenters are being added that will increase the brewery’s production by more than 300 percent from when it opened. Can I get a hallelujah? At GABF, seek out the two taproom-only imperial stouts – the 10.4 percent ABV Coffee Maple Achromatic, and the 13.5 percent barrel-aged Mexican Achroatic. And, of course, the Bits. Always the Bits…

4Noses Brewing, Broomfield, Booth F6: In 2014, 4Noses opened in a strip mall next to a bunch of dog-centered businesses (including a dog swimming pool) and has quickly earned due respect with its attention to detail and quality ingredients. Sure, you may get goosed by a furry snout while at the bar, but who cares? You’ll be focused on the beer in your hand – be it a cocoa coffee porter, a hop bomb or a fruit-packed raspberry blonde sweetened with 70 pounds of fresh berries. Don’t even get me started about the Russian Imperial Stout. In my opinion, the brewery slammed a home run this year with its ‘Bout Damn Time IPA, which entered the ever-growing IPA fray and immediately became one of the state’s best.

Odd13 Brewing, Lafayette, Booth Y25: What’s not to love about this brewery? Cans with comic book themes, IPAs that intrigue the palate, unusual sours and even a pink-colored beer made with dragonfruit that is coming out just in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Odd13 has killed it this year. A new production facility that opened last year quickly maxed out its space. Now, owner Ryan Scott is moving into even more space and adding more fermenters. Odd13, like its superheroes, may some day rule the world. And that, Earthlings, will be a good thing. At GABF, seek out its two fantastic IPAs — Codename: Superfan and nOOb. And also Duraznodor, a Berliner Weiss with peach and apricot and Curandero, a barrel-aged dark sour with tamarind.

Strange Craft Beer Co., Denver, Booth X-11: Incredibly, the six-year-old Strange Brewing has become one of the grand daddies of Denver breweries. It also may be one of the more chummy, collaborating with several breweries around the state and country. One of my all-time favorites is a blend of Strange’s sweet Cherry Kriek and Epic’s boozy Big Bad Baptist stout – a perfect combination. The brewery — located in an industrial section near whatever they now call the Broncos’ stadium — keeps plenty of styles on tap. A favorite is the finely tuned grapefruit IPA that will be available at GABF. Also, try the Nebulous Pale made with a Patagonian base malt and Australian Galaxy hops as well as a Maibock Spring Lager collaboration with Bierstadt Lagerhaus. Related Articles GABF 2016: Top beer picks for the New England region from Joshua Bernstein

Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales, Denver Booth V-26: It would be difficult to create a list of Colorado breweries and not include Black Project. The inventive brewery recently dropped its other moniker, Former Future Brewing — and many of Former Future’s finely crafted beers, including its salted porter that may go down as the best porter in Denver. But, alas, all is not lost. Black Project is on an incredible mission, to make complex beers using spontaneously fermented yeast from microbes found everywhere. A bartender recently told me they transferred microbes from plants they collected on a recent hike. How cool is that? The beers come alive in “coolships” on the brewery’s South Broadway roof. It is almost too unbelievable to fathom. But owners James and Sarah Howat are doing just that, and their beers cannot be missed.

Other breweries (from other regions) I’m excited to try:

Reuben’s Brews: I have always wanted to try Reuben’s Brews, the byproduct of a homebrewer who kept winning competitions. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the brewery now is taking home hardware in national and international competitions. Be sure to check out its imperial rye IPA.

Yachats Brewing: Yachats is another one of those great stories. A brewery in a tiny seaside town on Oregon’s coast hired away superstar brewer Charlie Van Meter from the esteemed Logsdon Farmhouse Ales and began producing some of the finest brews in Oregon — which is saying a lot.

Scratch Brewing: Scratch arguably has the most unusual beers at GABF. The Ava, Ill., brewery specializes in beers made from homegrown and “foraged” ingredients, such as dandelions, mushrooms, nettles and hickory.