GABS Melbourne 2022: Your guide to the wackiest flavours at annual beer festival

More than 100 breweries will be pouring some of the most diverse beers Melbourne has seen at a much-loved festival this weekend. See what’s on offer.

Fairy floss, pizza, chicken salt and sour gummi bear-flavoured beers are among the weird and wonderful creations on offer at a popular beer festival.

The Great Australian Beer Spectapular – commonly known as GABS – is expected to draw about 17,000 people to the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton this weekend.

The festival is in its 11th year and will resemble the closest thing to a beer-filled Disneyland, with 700 taps offering beers from 117 local and interstate brewers.

Leader headed down on Thursday to sample some of the exclusive brews on offer this year, which you can view in our taste test video.

They included a stout filled with a mighty 14.5 per cent alcohol from Deeds Brewing, and a Raspberry Sherbet Fairy Floss sour beer from Clifton Hill’s Local Brewing Co.

Local Brewing’s Nick Campbell said their creation was “an ode to one of our favourite festival treats” and also had raspberry puree in it.

Nick Campbell from Local Brewing Company with a Fairy Floss Dessert Sour beer, which will be on offer at the Great Australian Beer Spectapular. Picture: David Crosling

“The beauty of GABS is being able to make wacky beers which we can bring to market for all the punters to enjoy,” he said.

Wine, gin, and whiskey will also be on offer, along with various games, a silent disco, a paint and sip studio, circus performers and roaming jazz bands.

Festival director Mike Bray said while this year’s flavours were not as extreme as a navel fluff creation from a few years back, there was something to suit everyone’s taste pallet.

“It will be Melbourne and Victoria’s biggest ever brewery tour that you can do in one day,” he said.

Brook Hornung from Moon Dog Brewery with a Canollo flavoured beer called Almighty Cannolo. Picture: David Crosling

Preston’s Moon Dog Brewery collaborated with cannoli masters Cannoleria to create a Belgian style ale brewed with Ricotta, vanilla, cinnamon and pistachio.

Moon Dog’s Brook Hornung said the festival was one of the brewery’s favourite events to showcase its different flavours.

Tickets start from $40, include a free tasting glass and are available from gabsfestival.com