Since then, Local Taphouse founders Steve Jeffares and Guy Greenstone have become a little more ambitious. It’s been renamed GABS Beer, Cider and Food Festival, for starters, and they moved it out of their pub and into the Royal Exhibition Centre in the heart of Melbourne. Instead of 20 beers, 2017’s festival showcased more than 170 beer and ciders brewed specifically for the event. Meanwhile, there were 65 stands featuring breweries, cideries, and more and 16 food stalls selling everything from beer-washed cheese to dumplings to Brazilian street food. And of course, there was a ferris wheel, right in the middle of the whole operation. It started on a Friday afternoon and ended Sunday—five sessions, each running for five hours.

And if that wasn’t enough, when it finished in Melbourne, they packed it up and shipped it to Sydney for the following weekend. After that? They took it to Auckland, New Zealand. GBH only had the fortitude to make it through the Melbourne sessions (and a couple days of prep work before them), but we took solid notes. Below is how a big time beer festival goes down in Australia. Welcome to GABS.