The festival faves taking GABS by storm – here’s how you can get them at home.
What tastes like rum, raisin, guava and more, comes in eights, and is best served ice cold? The GABS Festival 8 pack, of course! That’s right folks, the best beers of GABS Craft Beer Festival 2023 have found their way out of the showground and into Dan Murphy’s stores around the country. If you’re missing out on all the action – or you’re just not ready to let GABS end – this one’s for you.
This year’s pack is a cracking compilation of cans that are pushing the envelope, making the beer experts at GABS sit up and pay attention. We’re talking experimental, weird, wacky and everything in between. Brewed specially for this year’s festival, these are the creme de la cans (cans de la creme?) of new and out-there craft beer.
There’s a Willy-Wonka-inspired sour ale to get you started, a tweaked-and-tinkered-to-perfection IPA, choc-flavoured ales and much more to try. You won’t find this epic collection anywhere else, so get your hands on the GABS Festival 8 pack while you still can.
1. Newstead Brewing Co. YO HO! Rum Porter
Some things just taste like a big warm hug. This pastry stout from Queensland’s Newstead Brewing Co. is one of those things. Laying the foundations with the warm embrace of rum and raisin, this beer segues to a decadent molasses middle and bittersweet finish. Hold on tight!
2. Bad Shepherd Brewing Co. Double Choc Rum
Sensing a bit of a theme here? Yep, rum ran the show at GABS this year and the brewers at Bad Shepherd made sure theirs was in pole position. Brewed with real hazelnuts, chocolate and Frangelico, this brown ale was then aged in rum barrels to soak up all that decadent deliciousness. Weirdly wonderful.
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3. Wayward Brewing Co. Violet Beauregard's Blueberry Marshmallow Lactose Sour Ale
If the name sounds familiar, that’s because this beer was inspired by the ultra-competitive bubble-gum-blowing character from Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A sour ale with notes of blueberry and marshmallow, this creamy brew gave festival-goers plenty to chew on. Golden ticket? We reckon.
4. Green Beacon LUSH Guava Beer
Here’s a beer that does exactly what it says on the tin – and then some. Oozing with refreshing guava flavours and propped up by its clean, spritzy mouthfeel, Green Beacon’s LUSH is about as, well, lush, as a sour ale gets. And here’s why: this cracking entry from tried-and-true festival favourites Green Beacon is actually a collab with none other than tasty vodka aficionados Cruiser. An unexpected yet delightful marriage.
5. BentSpoke Brewing Co. Keeping It Simple JAIPA
Canberra craft beer heroes BentSpoke Brewing Co. have enjoyed great success at GABS gone by with their IPAs (or JAIPA, ‘just another IPA’). This year, they took it to another level by Keeping It Simple. Honing in on the clean, only slightly hazy character that made its predecessor a star, their sophomore effort is laidback yet muscular all at the same time. Simply delicious.
6. Noodledoof Desert Lime Gimlet IPA
Can’t choose between cocktails or beer? Don’t! This zippy IPA from Victoria’s Noodledoof Brewing & Distilling Co. is the best of both worlds. Brewed with Eclipse and Spectrum hops, and infused with the first runnings of their very own Koroit Gin and native desert limes, Noodledoof has delivered a bright and beautiful Gimlet-ish IPA sure to please any craft beer (or cocktail!) lover.
7. Seeker Brewing Unicorn NEIPA
New England IPA has been safe harbour for craft beer drinkers for yonks, but this one from Seeker Brewing errs on the side of adventure. It’s got all those juicy, tropical flavours you already know and love, but the brewers have added “a sprinkle of magic” (that’s all they’d tell us!) to amp up the flavour. A unicorn in the realm of IPA.
8. Rocky Ridge Brewing Co. Frootie & The Blowfish Fruit Smoothie Sour
Western Australia’s Rocky Ridge Brewing Co. set out to create a “big dumb sour” for this year’s festival, and although we wouldn’t necessarily describe this beer as “dumb”, they’ve certainly succeeded in all things big and sour. Only want a beer with fruit? This one’s triple-fruited and absolutely buzzing with tart, citrus acidity.
