GABS Sydney

Sat 30 May 12:00pm

GABS Sydney

After drawing ever bigger crowds and ever more brewers to Melbourne over the past few Good Beer Week's, the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular (GABS) is heading to Sydney.

The weekend after its three day party at the Royal Exhibition Building comes to a close in May, the containers pouring up to 120 new festival beers will land at Sydney's Australian Technology Park in Eveleigh.

This year's GABS will see more than 300 beers from 150 Australian and international breweries showcased, with co-founder Steve Jeffares saying there's no limit to what breweries can create.

“Breweries can submit any beer they like as long as they've never brewed it before. Some choose to brew in a traditional style, perhaps with a twist, while others use exotic ingredients and brewing processes to come up with something very creative," he says.

“This year we have one-off beers being made including oysters, orange peel, coriander seeds, finger limes, peaches, cherries, truffles, chocolate, biscuits, split peas, pineapple, coconut, vodka and a beer which will taste like banoffee pie."

Steve says one of the biggest changes this year will be placing a greater emphasis on food.

“We have partnered with some terrific local Sydney restaurants including Three Blue Ducks, Cornersmith, Veggie Patch, Mary's and LP Meats. There will be a demonstration kitchen and we will be making beer pairing suggestions for all the dishes and our brand new app will really enhance the beer and food experience."

There will be two sessions in Sydney on May 30 with heaps of extras on top of the beer and food, from seminars to roving entertainment, games and more.

4 Pines brewer Leigh Smith says GABS is a great way to give the industry a chance to really push the boundaries and get creative.

“Providing beer lovers with lots of choice keeps brewers on their toes," he says. "As consumers get better educated, the quality of beer can only go up because if you drop the ball your sales will suffer and there will be no place for you in a quality driven market. It makes me as a brewer want to lead the market and raise the bar on a daily basis, but also as a consumer it means lots of great beer to choose from, which is only a good thing.

“Specific events allow the industry to take a risk in an understanding environment. Trying something that has not been done before might not work first time but it might lead to something awesome in the future."

You can grabs tickets for both GABS festivals via their website here. Tickets for this year's Good Beer Week in Melbourne are also on sale now.

Similar events

Bittersweet and Wild with La Sirène
Wed 20 Mar 6:15pm

Wild Ale, Wine & Cheese Masterclass with La Sirène
Thu 21 Mar 6:15pm

Drag Bingo at Burnley Brewing
Thu 21 Mar 6:30pm