Hospitality entrepreneur Dr Jerry Schwartz has announced that his GABS organisation will take over ownership of the Newcastle Beer Fest, following the event’s 10th staging at King Edward Park last weekend.
The acquisition is the first by GABS since the Schwartz Family Company took full ownership of the organisation in 2025. Dates for the 2027 Newcastle Beer Fest will be announced shortly, with Schwartz committing to a similar format to previous years.
The Newcastle Beer Fest was founded by local hospitality figures Luke Tilse (The Happy Wombat) and Taiyo Namba (Nagisa, Susuru and Apé Yakitori Bar), originally as the Boardwalk Beer Festival in the Honeysuckle precinct.
Schwartz said the event’s founders first approached him several years ago about a handover, with the timing aligning after GABS came under full Schwartz Family Company ownership.
“The team who have been operating the Newcastle Beer Fest have done a great job over the past decade representing independent brewers and also emphasising Newcastle’s contribution to the sector,” he said.
Schwartz noted the company has two hotels in Newcastle, along with the Newcastle Post Office redevelopment, and that Sydney Brewery has participated in the festival for the past four years.
He also confirmed that GABS’s Sydney and Melbourne shows remain on hold while the organisation works through a broader revitalisation, with the Newcastle acquisition forming part of that strategy alongside the existing Canberra and Hunter Valley festivals.
Separately, the Canberra Beer & Cider Festival’s 20th anniversary event has been confirmed for 20 March 2027, following the 19th staging at the Mercure Canberra in Braddon on 21 March. The event drew a capacity crowd and featured 29 brewers and distillers including BentSpoke Brewing, Balter, Capital Brewing, Philter and Cypher Brewing Co.
The 14th annual Hunter Valley Wine & Beer Festival is scheduled for 11 July at Rydges Resort Hunter Valley, with breweries encouraged to register interest early for the Canberra event.
