For beer lovers, Michael Ward co-founder of the Great Australian Beer Festival (GABF) has a dream job: travelling the world sampling and experiencing the best beer and beer festivals on offer.<\/p>\n
Michael said he\u2019s passionate about events and has gone far and wide to ensure one of Geelong\u2019s premier calendar events \u2013 the GABF \u2013 leads the pack when it comes to craft beer experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the seventh year running the GABF will be the only event where all regional breweries attend at the same time. We evolve every year and change brewers to ensure no one gets bored, but we always guarantee local representation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
“So much research and effort goes into ensuring we attract the very best brewers across Australia, this year we have brewers representing every state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Serving up the best live entertainment, craft beer and food at the Geelong Racecourse on February 16, Michael said when he saw fellow organiser Kieran Blood looking from someone to help with the inaugural GABF he thought \u201cripper\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginally Kieran already had someone lined up who was an electrician but they got a big contract so had to focus on that. He came across me and I thought ripper, at that stage I only really drank your stock standard beer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
“The first beer Festival was a great learning curve. I went to Sydney one weekend in the early days and in a regular pizza shop, they had around 40 different labelled beers to choose from.<\/p>\n
\u201cResearching across the world, America and New Zealand are a lot more advanced with craft beer selections – the last couple of years though Australia has really grown.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael said the GABF has a specific demographic which helps them determine what their patrons want and how to best deliver a memorable experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also do extensive surveys after and the overwhelming feedback we got was the tasting cups were too small. People had to keep getting back up, so this year we\u2019ve made them bigger to ensure people can relax and socialise on the lawn for longer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Other changes include the introduction of cans for breweries that have them, once again addressing customer\u2019s desire to be able to sit, drink and talk for longer periods.<\/p>\n
For Michael, the GABF is all about making people happy.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me the beer festival is not just about the beer, there\u2019s so much more to it than that. It\u2019s about creating a social event where people can catch up with their friends and explore new music, while experiencing beer and cider. It\u2019s good fun, I like making people happy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For more information, go to gabfgeelong.com.au.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For beer lovers, Michael Ward co-founder of the Great Australian Beer Festival (GABF) has a dream job: travelling the world sampling and experiencing the best beer and beer festivals on offer. Michael said he\u2019s passionate about events and has gone far and wide to ensure one of Geelong\u2019s premier calendar events \u2013 the GABF \u2013 […]<\/p>\n