May in Melbourne is going to look very different for beer lovers in 2024.
While this isn't the first time in recent years that Good Beer Week hasn't run (the IBA are focusing their resources elsewhere), it is the first time in a non-COVID-impacted year that the Melbourne leg of GABS isn't taking place during May.
Due to issues raised around the usage of the traditional host venue, and the huge time and cost that will be required to make it suitable for an extravaganza as GABS once again, the festival has had to move from its spiritual home at the Royal Exhibition Building.
Instead, it lands at another place synonymous with major events – and, indeed, beer as the host of the annual Australian International Beer Awards: the Melbourne Showgrounds.
Much remains the same, however, in the city where GABS began: five sessions across three days, 120 Festival Beers, plus heaps of brewers, cocktails, whisky, wine and entertainment galore.
As well as a colourful lineup of live entertainment, there will be masterclasses, a silent disco, street food, games and heaps more, including an attempt at a World Record Beer Tasting before the Sunday session in partnership with Stomping Ground.
You can check out the Festival Beers – and start planning what you want on your tasting paddles – here, and whet your appetite further by perusing the 60-plus producers who will have stands at the event here. What's more, the organisers are reminding people that it's now at a bigger venue with a bigger capacity – and there will be free trains.
GABS takes place from June 21 to 23 with tickets available for individual sessions, as well as season passes and various discounts.
And, for those still looking to treat themselves to a beer extravaganza during those traditional ten days of beer in May, The Crafty Pint's long-running Pint of Origin lives on at 21 venues, bigger and better than ever, from May 10 to 19, with the Australian International Beer Awards Trophy Presentation Night bringing the industry together on May 16.
