Beer festival to roll out the barrel in Johnstone Park

THE Great Australian Beer Festival will have a new home in 2020, with Geelong’s 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 about 5,000 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 January 18 event 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.

GABF director Kieran Blood said Johnstone Park was an ideal location for the 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.”

Geelong mayor Bruce Harwood said GABF played an important part in the city’s dynamic events calendar in that it attracts visit