
Last Drinks for Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival at the Showground, the 2025 edition will be the last as you know it.
An appeal to you to join us in June.
A statement from Beer & BBQ Festival founders Gareth Lewis and Aaron Sandow.
In 2015 three mates thought it a good idea to put together and launch the Beer & BBQ Festival, to support the then burgeoning brewing industry, many of whom were, and still are, our close friends. We wanted to throw a party that brought together our three fields of interest; beer, food and music, in a way that had not been done in a festival format in Australia. It seemed to work, and by 2019 we had supported hundreds of breweries to showcase their brands to tens of thousands of new punters.
By the end of 2024 we had welcomed about 150,000 punters through the gates and supported about 400 breweries and small businesses in the process.
Whilst the festival never really made us much money, we loved it, it is an extension of our own personalities and we love putting great beers into people’s hands whilst listening to great bands. The festival was always much more than the sum of its parts (although there were so many parts, with thousands of people contributing to the festival each year). It was never about the money, but we always wanted the exhibitors to make the most of the opportunity.
Covid was a thing, and it hasn’t defined this festival, but it did force us to move from our spiritual home in the Brick Dairy Pavillion, to more event-friendly spaces at the Showground. Whilst we have always been nostalgic for the Brick Dairy, annoying stuff like fire safety capacities meant we couldn’t go back.
Since the enforced Covid break, the festival landscape has been a roller coaster. The initial sugar-hit of demand in 2022 gave everyone a false sense of security, and since then times have been tough, very tough. Festivals all over Australia have collapsed, brewers who have been with us from the start have fallen into administration, many have never recovered, and our hospitality friends are being put through the ringer weekly. Since this year’s festival has been on sale, two more breweries that have been Beer & BBQ Festival regulars have been placed into administration.
All of this unrest since the beginning of 2023 has been matched with significant consumer downturn. We know festival tickets are a luxury, and we know that it has never been harder for people to manage their budgets and justify spending on luxuries. We get it, we experience the same decisions in our own personal lives.
The cost of putting on a festival of this scale has increased between 30% and 40% since 2022, and for this reason we can not see a way forward for it in the current landscape, in its current format. From the cost of artists to the venue, cleaners (yes, over $80 per hour for an event cleaner on a Sunday is a thing nowadays), toilets and to the ever-increasing excise on beer leading to higher prices at the tap for punters, there are hundreds of cumulative reasons that have contributed to where we are today. Our punters are loyal and bloody amazing, but we can’t continue to pass the costs on to you, you can’t afford them, and we can’t afford to absorb them.
In 2024 we abandon charging site fees at the festival for all independent brewers, recognising the huge challenges those businesses face. That measure directly put over $60,000 back into the independent beer industry pockets, but it ultimately came out of ours. Beer & BBQ Festival is able to keep entry prices modest as the festival retains a portion of gross turnover at all outlets within the festival. We have maintained an internal commitment for that portion charged to brewers to be less than the other major beer festivals in Australia, it is why we attract the best brewers from all over the country, and we are proud of that.
Governments of all tiers have recognised, but are still challenged by, systemic issues the festival and brewing industries face.
We want to thank the South Australian Government, particularly the Music Development Office, who have supported the festival for the past few years. It’s with the MDO’s support we are proud to have delivered programs such as the ‘Untapped’ regional battle of the bands competition in over a dozen regional areas and established the Limestone Coast Beer & BBQ Festival in Mount Gambier.
The state government is very supportive of the events industry. It’s true that there are more major publicly funded events than ever before in SA and it’s hard for independent festival brands to compete on a level playing field with them, but we hope to continue to work with Government for years to come to produce events that add value to the state culturally and economically.
So, we have come to the realisation that our 10th birthday edition of Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival will indeed be the last of its kind, definitely the last of its scale.
The festival is looking down the barrel of a significant financial loss that, when combined with previous year’s losses, means that it just isn’t sustainable.
So we need you! We need you to come and support the festival, support the brewers, catch a band in the Atrium, one last time with us. We want to see as many faces as possible, faces that we haven’t seen in years and potentially faces that we’ve never seen, and of course faces we see year-in, year-out. If you’ve never been to a Beer & BBQ Festival, this is your last chance for the full-tilt experience of one of Australia’s most loved and unique festivals.
Tell your mates, bring your mum, invite your co-worker. Come one, come all. We want to put on the biggest and best party of the past decade, and we want all of our brewers to walk away with great memories and a couple of bucks in their pockets.
This isn’t a marketing stunt, and we are sure we will be back to present some version of the festival, somewhere, sometime in the future. But this is not a John Farnham tour, it will be The Last Time . . . as you know it.
In the meantime, support your independent festivals, your local pub and at the bottle shop choose something made by someone you know. It really does make a difference.
See you in June for a beer!
Cheers,
Gareth and Aaron
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRYWe would like to acknowledge that the land on which Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival is held is the traditional land of the Kaurna people and that we respect their spiritual relationship with their Country. We also acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide region and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to the living Kaurna people today. We respect the Elders of the Kaurna people, past, present and emerging.
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SAFE, INCLUSIVE & ACCESSIBLE SPACEAll Beer & BBQ Festival events are strictly 'Wanker-free'. If you see a friend acting like a wanker, pull them up. If you feel you are acting like a wanker, pull your head in. And if you need you can always let one of the BBF team or security know if you've witnessed some wankerism. Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival is an accessible venue presented almost exclusively on flat hard stand ground. Companion card holders are welcome to bring a companion with any full paying adult ticket holder.
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CAN I USE CASH?No. Beer & BBQ Festival has been a cashless event since 2015. This is to ensure speed of service, increased security and ease of transactions at the many Bars, Food Outlets and Vendor Stalls. Most importantly, there will be no need to wait in lines, counting out coins to buy a beer, as your friends get thirsty for your round! It’s super simple to use – just like using PayWave at the pub – make sure you bring your credit card, bank card or (charged up) phone with PayWave capabilities to the festival and have money in your bank! Then let the exhibitor know what you would like to purchase, they will ring up the transaction on their device. Then tap your card against the Square device at each stall and bingo, the transaction is complete, start enjoying your beers!
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WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THE DIFFERENT SESSIONS?ABBF is now essentially 5 festivals in one weekend. Each of the 5 sessions are different and one may appeal more than others to your tastes. There are heaps of ticket types, from the Whole Hog Season Pass (which gets you ultimate access, in and out of the festival all weekend) to individual session tickets and many combinations in between. Whole Hog tickets are limited and always first to sell out. If you want the full Beer & BBQ Fest experience, grab yours early. All sessions aside from the Sunday Roast (Sunday day time) are strictly 18+.
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HOW MUCH DO THINGS COST?The approximate price guide at ABBF is: 120ml sample of beer or cider: from $2.50 Full 425ml beer or cider: from $8 (depending on the ABV%) Food: $15.00 – $40.00
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IS THERE ANYTHING TO DRINK OTHER THAN BEER?Bloody oath there is! Cider, seltzer, wine, gin, rum, cocktails and more. Plus a variety of non-alcoholic options. Check out the brewery lineup page when that drops in April.
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CAN I BRING A WATER BOTTLE WITH ME?Yes, in fact it’s encouraged. If it has water in it then it needs to be factory sealed but we encourage any and all to bring an empty bottle and use one of our free water refill stations. ABBF is 100% single use plastic bottle free.
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HOW'S THE WEATHER?ABBF is held in the vast indoor, covered and some outdoor spaces at the Adelaide Showground. It’s June though and it get’s cold, sometimes even wet, so dress weather appropriately as the show goes on rain, hail or shine!
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WHAT IS THE EVENT CAPACITY?Like all licensed venues, we can only fit a certain number of people at any one time. To ensure you do not miss out we recommend to pre-purchase tickets for each session. When the session is sold out it is sold out! If there are tickets left for any given session they will be available on the door, but this is not guaranteed.
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CAN I BRING MY BABY?Nope you can’t bring the little piglets to any ABBF session other than the Sunday Roast session. During the Sunday Roast session, any ticket holding adult can bring one two legged or four legged underage guest with them at no cost. You do not have to buy tickets for those under 18 years old.
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I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT MY TICKET, WHO CAN I CONTACT?If you have a ticketing query your best point of contact is your place of purchase, for BBF our ticketing partner is Moshtix so best to contact them through your Moshtix account.
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ARE PASS-OUTS AVAILABLEIf you are an individual session ticket holder then there are no pass-outs available. However if you hold a Whole Hog Season Pass then you can come and go from ABBF as many times as you please.
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VOLUNTEERING AT BEER & BBQ FESTIVALABBF runs a volunteer programme for all sessions where you can lend your services to one session and receive a ticket to another session. Volunteer positions cover many areas of the event from wristbanding at entry, to assisting with health directions and even pouring beers. You will get to meet great crew and be a part of the BBF family! Please register your interest in volunteering by emailing hello@beerbbqfest.com.au
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PROHIBITED ITEMSA full list of prohibited items will be published prior to ABBF. But it’s generally common sense folks!
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I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION?You can reach out to Kevin anytime at hello@beerbbqfest.com.au Note we do get a lot of queries so may not be able to get back to you immediately.