The festival which began in 2012 has gone on to become a regular Ballarat fixture, attracting its biggest crowd of 6500 in 2013.   

Despite good weather the 2017 event attracted just 3300 people after being wedged between major events such as the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds concert and the Red Hot Summer Tour featuring John Farnham.  

Festival director Richard Dexter said he was confident the location change would give the event a new lease on life.  City Oval won’t be available for January 2018 as it will be undergoing upgrades.

“It’s got a lot of natural shade and it’s a much prettier site than City Oval, and I think people were getting a little sick of going to a festival at a footy oval,” Mr Dexter said.  

The festival will be located between Pipers by the Lake and the adventure playground, with Pipers to act as the VIP space.  

About 30 brewers will be located along the lakeside parking spaces on Wendouree Parade, 10 less than the 2017 event.  Mr Dexter hopes to attract between 4500 and 5000 people on Saturday, January 20.  Ballarat City councillors will vote on providing funding for the event on Wednesday.

While Mr Dexter applied for $25,000 council funding through the Tourism Event Grant, council officers have suggested allocating just $16,600 to the Beer Festival.  The event has always received some council funding, however council officers are recommending the $16,600 be recognised as one-off seed funding.

Mr Dexter said fencing costs alone for the new site would hit $12,000 and council assistance was crucial to the success of the event.  Council estimates put the economic benefit of the Beer Festival at $355,000, however Mr Dexter said the figure was more than $820,000.

“I understand events must become self-reliant but last year our funding from the City of Ballarat was cut in half,” Mr Dexter said.