New home for Great Australian Beer Festival

The Great Australian Beer Festival will have a new home in 2020, with
Geelong’s iconic Johnstone Park to host the event for the first time.

Now entering its eighth year in Geelong, the Great Australian Beer Festival
attracts a crowd of around 5000 for an afternoon of craft beer appreciation and
education, top local food and live music.

In 2019 the event featured 37 Australian breweries, including 12 from the
Geelong region.

The new, central location – just a short walk from Geelong station – will offer
easier access for visitors and will support CBD businesses by drawing a large
crowd into the city centre.

The event, on Saturday 18 January, will see more than 200 beers and ciders on
offer in the picturesque park, along with a range of interactive seminars and
workshops to promote understanding and appreciation of craft beer.

It will again put Geelong’s fast-growing craft beer industry on centre
stage, showcasing local brewers and promoting the region as a destination for
craft beer tourism.

Johnstone Park will also be alive with music throughout the day, featuring
national and local musicians, a piano bar and roving cabaret performers
creating a distinct festival atmosphere.

Locally owned and managed, the event aims to attract more than 50 per cent of
attendees from outside the region, making it a significant contributor to the
Geelong economy.

It promotes responsible consumption of alcohol and is renowned for its well behaved
crowd.

The City of Greater Geelong is a proud supporter of the event.

Mayor Bruce Harwood:

The Great Australian Beer Festival plays an important part in our dynamic
events calendar in that it attracts visitors who might not otherwise come to
Geelong.

Just as Toast to the Coast promotes our region’s wine, this festival builds
awareness of Geelong’s growing craft beer industry, showcasing our many high
quality local brewers.

Johnstone Park is a much-loved location in our CBD and shapes as the perfect Great
Australian Beer Festival venue, with easy access to public transport and plenty
to do nearby for those wanting to continue their celebrations afterwards.

Kieran Blood, Festival Director, Great Australian Beer Festival:

Johnstone
Park is an ideal location and we are so pleased to have this magnificent park
and cultural icon entrusted to us for our eighth annual festival. The magnificent
library and historical museum and town hall make for a great backdrop, and the
central proximity to the railway station is most convenient for our patrons.

While brewers will be
attending from around the country, a real highlight for us is creating an event
that showcases our local regional brewers to a wider audience. This is a unique
region with breweries located in urban, coastal, rural and rainforest areas and
the festival is the only event where visitors can sample all of them in the one
place.

GABF is about
exploring, enjoying and appreciating the many styles and varieties of beers and
ciders. It’s also a festival that aims to stimulate more than tastebuds and is
both engaging and interactive on multiple levels.

/Public Release. View in full here.