A Festival of beers, icons, and innovation turns 15
Beer icons, bizarre brews, and a 30m-long bar—GABS celebrates 15 years with 120 festival beers in Brisbane this May.
What’s happening?
Australia’s most iconic beer celebration, the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular (GABS), is returning to Brisbane on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 May 2025 at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. Now in its 15th year, GABS is a festival of boundary-pushing brews, gourmet street food, live entertainment, and theme-park-style antics.
GABS brings together local and international brewers, distillers, winemakers, and chefs, offering a massive range of 120+ exclusive Festival Brews, seltzers, cocktails, spirits, and more—all made just for GABS.
The 2025 edition includes all-new masterclasses, carnival-style fun and games, a free silent disco, the Hot Potato Band live on stage, and roaming dancers, musicians, and performers. It’s all part of what Festival Director Mike Bray calls “more than a beer festival – it’s an extravaganza.”
Why it matters?
GABS began in 2011 at The Local Taphouse in Melbourne and Sydney, where 22 pioneering brewers unveiled never-before-seen beers using ingredients like chocolate, chilli, cucumber, and lemon myrtle. Since then, GABS has played a pivotal role in shaping Australia’s craft beer movement.
Now hosted in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Auckland, GABS has earned a global reputation for launching trends. Popular styles such as hazy IPAs, sours, and pastry stouts gained traction after debuting at GABS.
“GABS has driven innovation,” says Richard Watkins, head brewer and co-founder of Bentspoke Brewing. “And as a beer drinker, I just think it’s a really good night out!”
Steve Grossman, co-owner of Sierra Nevada, the world’s first billion-dollar independent brewery, adds:
“What’s unique about GABS is that 120 breweries make a special beer just for GABS. No other festival in the world is really like that.”
Local Impact
While GABS is held in Brisbane, it draws thousands of attendees from the Gold Coast, especially fans of Balter Brewing, whose Insta-famous giant beer can piñata has become a crowd favourite. Gold Coast breweries regularly showcase festival brews and creative booths. With a growing population of craft beer lovers, foodies, and festivalgoers, the Gold Coast community plays a vital role in the atmosphere and turnout at GABS Brisbane.
The event is also a major economic driver for local breweries, purchasing up to 80,000 litres of Festival Brews from 120 different breweries. Queensland’s presence continues to grow, and GABS remains a top-tier destination for both industry professionals and punters alike.
By the Numbers
🍻 Over 1,000 unique beers and ciders have been brewed specifically for GABS since its inception.
🍺 Each GABS season sees over 164,000 glasses poured, with beer flowing at 236ml per second.
🏛️ 150 Australian breweries now take part each year, alongside international brewers from Belgium and Germany.
🎟️ A limited release of 1,500 tickets at $15 was launched in celebration of the 15th anniversary, last Saturday 17 May 2025
🥂 Standard ticket price starts at $42 and includes over $250 worth of post-event vouchers, a festival tasting glass, and access to music, classes, games, and food.
Zoom In
Each year, brewers are invited to invent drinks exclusively for GABS—and nothing is off limits. Past festival beers have featured bacon, donuts, peanut brittle, grape Hubba Bubba, gin, whisky, and even smoked camel dung or beer fermented with belly button fluff.
One particularly theatrical creation involved scorching the foam of a lemon meringue pie beer with a blowtorch. Others have turned beer into ice cream or recreated entire desserts in a pint.
Festival Director Mike Bray says:
“At GABS, you can discover things that you would never have imagined. Anything’s possible with beer.”
This year’s wildest addition? A 10-metre inflatable church by Doom Juice Wine at the Sydney edition—raising expectations for future Queensland appearances.
Zoom Out
Beyond its Aussie roots, GABS has gained international acclaim. It’s been named one of the world’s best beer festivals by Beer Connoisseur (USA) and Huffington Post (Canada). The GABS Bellringer Hall of Fame includes sporting greats Mick Fanning and Shane Warne, and beer legends like Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada.
2025 sees the arrival of Delirium Brewing (Belgium) and Schlenkerla (Germany) for the first time, while Weihenstephan, the world’s oldest brewery, returns to pour again.
According to Harriet McCready, co-founder of Mountain Culture Beer:
“GABS is an awesome melting pot of awesome beer, great food, and fun people… Somehow, each year it just gets better and better.”
What to Look for Next?
This year’s crowd will be treated to:
A celebrity chef collaboration beer from Miguel Maestre
New RTD-style beverages
Creative booths, from speakeasies and video game arcades to stationary bike races and dive bars
An all-session grand singalong of Bohemian Rhapsody, accompanied by a live jazz band—what Bray calls “one of the most iconic moments” of the festival.
🎟️ TICKETS & INFO
💰 General tickets start at $42
🎁 Includes tasting glass, $250+ in post-event vouchers, free silent disco, Hot Potato Band, food, games & more
🔗 Book now: www.gabsfestival.com
