That’s the brewer’s mantra when it comes to the Great Australian Beer Spectacular, known simply as GABS.

“I’ve had the idea of doing a marmalade pale ale for a while,” Alex Turner, the English-born production manager at Murray’s said.

“But it’s GABS – you can’t turn out with something straightforward like that.”

The idea morphed into something else entirely with input from the entire Murray’s team at Bobs Farm. Paddington Bear is a whiskey-oak aged, marmalade-spiced barley wine style beer. 

Oranges, lemons, grapefruit, cardamon and star anise we’re lovingly thrown into the vat and drawn though some big, bitter hops to enhance the citrus flavours. After the initial fermentation, Murray’s dropped out the yeast, but didn’t chill it like most modern beers.

Instead the brew was transferred to the oak barrels for secondary fermentation over six months.

And out came a delightfully aromatic, subtly spiced beer with a warm finish on the palate thanks to some generous alcohol content. Try 10 per cent.

“GABS is where all the weird and wonderful beers go,” Mr Tucker said.

“There’s a lot of hype this year about a belly button beer brewed with the yeast from the brewer’s naval… we could do that but who would really want to drink it?

“We’ve gone traditional - it’s just a big English barley wine that’s aged – the combination of flavours have balanced out beautifully.”

GABS, on this weekend in Melbourne, includes a people’s choice award. In a world of sweeter beers that replicate popular chocolate bars Mr Tucker won’t hold his breath.

“It’s purely bragging rights,” he said.

“We’re just interested in brewing beers we like to drink.”

GABS in considered one of the world’s top 10 beer festivals. More than 100 breweries will roll out their kegs at Melbourne this weekend, and in Sydney on May 27 and 28.