Great Australian Beer Festival celebrates its 10th Anniversary as a 2-day feast of the senses this January
Ah, beer. It was once considered quite the commoner’s drink. While posh peeps would drink champagne, and the middlebrow cheap wine, pub punters would enjoy a humble pint or middie of lager. These days, though, beer is enjoying a more elevated reputation. Even the run-of-the-mill brews that were available back in the day- before beer became an artisan phenomenon – are now delivering the same recipe at a heftier price tag as beer becomes big business and more ’boutique’ in reputation.
Business is so booming that beer has its own festivals all around the country, and one of these – the Great Australian Beer Festival – is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
GABF Geelong is on this January with exciting additions and a focus on its grass roots. Key highlights include a new culinary stage celebrating local ingredients, along with food-and-beer matching suggestions, live streaming of the Australian Open from the AO Beer Garden, plus a bunch of family-friendly entertainment, roaming artists and more.
It’ll be an immersive ‘Taste of the Region’ style festival that celebrates and connects our regions’ best in food/drink, arts and entertainment, while also showcasing a colossal line-up of world-class breweries, cideries, distilleries, vineyards and local gourmet street food.
A live music stage, sponsored by Gage Roads, will play host to some iconic and emerging live acts including Jolyon Petch, Telenova and Ash Grunwald, and there’s a newly added live comedy stage if laughs to go with your laughter is what you want.
Live cooking demonstrations at the Culinary Stage will showcase local ingredients, adding a paddock-to-plate air to the proceedings, and there’ll be plenty of cocktail mixing, brewer forums, free tastings and more.
The Great Australian Beer Festival is expected to bring over 8000 people from all over Victoria and interstate into the Greater Geelong region.
If you love your beer and happen to be in Victoria over January 20-21, 2023, pop this event into the diary. The rest of you heathens can go on guzzling your champagne and wine but it just won’t be the same crafty affair without a decent brew or two.
Antonino Tati
Great Australian Beer Festival is on from Friday 20 January 4pm-10m to Saturday 21st January 12pm – 7pm at Johnstone Park, Geelong CBD. Tickets are available here.
CREAM MAGAZINE 
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