gabs_official_guide_2015

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
MELBOURNE GOOD BEER
WEEK FESTIVITIES
Check out Steel ‘Adventures in Craft’ for
fun, interactive beer-centric sessions
DAN MURPHY’S MARKET PLACE
The Dan Murphy’s Market Place is where dozens
of great breweries (and cideries) showcase their
regular range. Many also host excellent events
at their stands and you can check out the full
schedule in the GABS Official Apps or on signage
around the venue.
TASTE NEW ZEALAND
This new area of the Market Place ensures you can
sample a variety of beers from the best breweries
in New Zealand.
CASK ALE BAR
A selection of leading Australian craft breweries
are putting one of their beers in a traditional
cask (as opposed to a keg) and perhaps adding
additional or different ingredients. Cask ales
result in a gentler level of carbonation, a rounder
mouthfeel and often a slightly more complex
flavour and aromatic profile.
THE LOCAL TAPHOUSE ‘CRAFT BEER
COLLEGE’ WITH PETE MITCHAM
Hosted by beer personality, Pete
Mitcham (aka Prof Pilsner), and
presented by The Local
Taphouse, the Craft Beer
College features a diverse range
of educational seminars
Pete Mitcham including the popular ‘Q & Ales’
where a panel of brewers
discuss their festival beers. Free samples are
provided! The full programme can be found on
the GABS Official Apps, around the venue and
outside the Craft Beer College. Entry is strictly
first come, first served.
LITTLE CREATURES CARNIVAL
Inspired by fellow free-thinking and creative folk,
the Little Creatures Carnival is coming to GABS.
Popping up in the Little Creatures Carnival Circle will
be mystery carnival acts perfectly matched to Little
Creatures beers.
TRIPLE M DR DAN BAR
The Triple M Dr Dan Bar will be showcasing 10
different styles of craft beer selected from The
Local Taphouse’s hugely popular annual 'beers of
the year' poll. The featured breweries include Feral
(WA), 4 Pines (NSW), Two Birds (VIC), KAIJU!
Beer (VIC), Modus Operandi (NSW), Holgate (VIC),
Stone & Wood (NSW), Little Creatures (VIC), White
Rabbit (VIC), Bridge Road (VIC) and Thirsty Crow
(NSW).
Drop by for a tasting paddle!
FUN & GAMES
There is so much more to GABS
than beer so make sure you play
some of the fun games around
the venue with your friends… or
complete strangers! This year
the block-stacking, stackcrashing
game of Giant Jenga is
Giant Jenga
back and will surely draw
crowds. Or strike out at the new twin GABS ten pin
bowling lanes. But certainly try Beer Twister, the
GABS game that ties you up in knots and get you
in a twist. Spin the spinner and make your move.
Will it be Saison, Framboise, Brown Ale or Stout?
The last person standing wins!
FB*PROPAK BREWERY EXHIBIT
For stainless steel fans, it doesn’t get much
better than this gleaming display of the finest
Italian-made brewing equipment along with
a helpful explanation of the brewing process
(Melbourne only).
KEGSTAR KEGASEUM
Table tennis is back but this year Kegstar wanted
to raise the bar. So drop by the Kegaseum for a
casual game or enter the fun Brewer vs. Beer Fan
round robin competition each session.
GABS is proudly part of Melbourne's Good
Beer Week (GBW) which celebrates its
fifth anniversary in 2015. It has grown
from an idea conceived over beers at a
Melbourne bar in February 2011 to a
festival spanning 250 events across 180
venues that attracts brewers and beer
lovers from near and far. Its aim from
day one has been to entertain, inspire
and educate people about the wonderful
world of beer and shine a spotlight on the
brewers, venues and individuals that make
the colourful contemporary beer scene so
exciting. The result has been four years of
ever bigger, more creative and more diverse
programming, always shot through with a
sense of joyous celebration and community
that spreads beyond the participating
venues in Melbourne and Victoria.
The Good Beer College at Little Creatures Dining
Hall during last year’s Good Beer Week.
Image credit Aaron Huang
As in previous years, GBW has split
its events into five ‘streams’ in 2015 to
make it easier for attendees to plan their
ideal adventure. They are Beer 101,
Beer Lover, Beer Geek, Foodie and Good
Times. Between them they offer chances
for people to enjoy and learn about beer
everywhere from Pentridge Prison to Vue de
Monde with comedy, live music, warehouse
parties and much more on the lineup too.
This year the ‘Festival Hub’ moves to
the heart of Melbourne to Beer DeLuxe
to put good beer in front of an even wider
audience. Like the conversation that
sparked GBW, the very first GABS – when
the A stood for Australian – also took place
in February 2011. It’s quite remarkable
how far both have come since.
goodbeerweek.com.au
8 THE GREAT AUSTRALASIAN BEER SPECTAPULAR 2015 gabsfestival.com.au