The Ten Best Events to Drink at During Good Beer Week 2016
Ten straight days of workshops, samplings and potential liver damage.
The Ten Best Events to Drink at During Good Beer Week 2016
Ten straight days of workshops, samplings and potential liver damage.
Gird your livers, beer lovers, for Melbourne's annual celebration of all things hoppy and gold is back for 2016. The program for this year's Good Beer Week features more than 270 free and ticketed events across Melbourne and Victoria, from workshops to tastings to food and brew degustations, and even an honest to God fashion show. In fact, there's so much happening that they've tacked on three extra days, bringing the grand total to ten. Hardly a traditional week — not that we're complaining.
Running from Friday, May 13 to Sunday, May 22, the sixth annual Good Beer Week is split into various different streams. For those who like a drink with their dinner, the Foodie section features a number of enticing events, including a Vietnamese degustation at Uncle and a four-course Louisiana beer dinner at Ding Dong Lounge.
The party-packed Good Times section, meanwhile, includes the opening and closing night shindigs, both of which will be held at Beer Deluxe. Other standout events include a showcase of female brewing talent at The Fox Hotel and an afternoon of beer, Reuben sandwiches and 90s hip-hop at 5 Points Deli.
The remaining sections are divided based on your level of beer expertise. Beer 101 features various workshops and presentations, including a hands-on cider making class at Arbory and an 'Australian tour' held at Pilgrim in Fed Square, featuring six different beers from six different states. The Beer Geek and Beer Lover sections, on the other hand, are best suited to beer-swilling veterans. Learn the ins and outs of nano-brewing courtesy of the folk at Henry Street Brewhouse in Kensington, or throw yourself into the annual Pint of Origin showdown at bars and pubs all over the state.
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Beers? Check. Burgers? Check. Unlimited arcade games? That’s what we’re talking about. Forgotten Worlds in Collingwood is teaming up with five different local breweries for five late-night tap takeovers aimed at gamers and beer nerds alike. A $35 ticket gets you two free pots on arrival and access to all the vintage games your thumbs will be able to take. Will the beer improve your reaction time? No, probably not. And neither will playing one-handed while shovelling BurgerTime burgers into your gob with the other. Y’know what though? We reckon it just might be worth it.
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Enjoy the finer things in life at this sophisticated Good Beer Week event beneath the stained glass windows of Richmond’s St Stephen’s Church. Ticketholders will get the chance to sample six exclusive beers from Belgium’s Rodenbach Brewery, each of which has been carefully paired with a selection of cheeses by Yarra Valley Dairy’s head cheesemaker Jack Holman. And, just in case you had any doubts about just how fancy this thing will get, the night will also include a performance by some of the best opera singers in the country. It’s a far cry from frothies at the footy, that’s for sure.
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Shattering the silly myth that it’s only blokes who enjoy a good brew, this free afternoon at Collingwood’s Fox Hotel will celebrate female talent both on-tap and on-stage. Enjoy nine different cold ones made by some of the best lady brewers in town while dancing your arse off to the tunes of Rosie Burgess, Kerryn Fields, Emma Walls & the Urban Folk, and more. It’s just one of a number events the venue will be hosting as part of Good Beer Week, including the GBW Scavenger Hunt and the Brewer’s Brains Pub Quiz.
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The master cocktail makers at Eau de Vie are teaming up with the folks at Perth’s Feral Brewing, for a three-hour, one-night-only dinner and beer cocktail degustation. This returning event will see diners served five extravagant courses from the Eau de Vie kitchen, each of which will be paired with a different cocktail made with one of Feral’s award winning beers. At $175, tickets aren’t exactly cheap, so consider our expectations peaked.
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For one night only, Hawkers Beer in Reservoir will be transformed into a beanbag movie theatre. Patrons at the Brewery Cinema will be able to kick back and enjoy a Tarantino double feature, with Reservoir Dogs followed by Pulp Fiction. Each ticket also entitles you to a wood-fired pizza of your choosing, along with four tasty beverages to wash it down. The first film kicks off at 6pm, but the bar will be open from noon in case you want to get your drinking started early.
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For the penultimate day of the festival, Brooklyn Brewery will team up with Australia’s first communal motorbike workshop for an epic afternoon of barbecue and beer. Feast on slow-cooked meats paired with ice cold brews, before taking a tour of Kustom Kommune’s Easey Street workshop. Stick around from 3pm for the Brooklyn Block Party, a free event featuring more meat, more booze, and live music until late.
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One of the best Vietnamese joints in Melbourne is getting in on the Good Beer Week action. On the evening of Tuesday, May 17, Uncle in St Kilda will team up with Boatrocker Brewing Co. for a five-course degustation. Each dish will be accompanied by a different Boatrocker beer, including a one-off beverage created specially for the occasion. Let’s just hope the menu includes Uncle’s epic lime-cured hapuka with coconut, pomegranate and chilli.
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The worlds of boutique brewing and high-end fashion will come crashing together at this swanky event during Good Beer Week 2016. Moo Brew have teamed up with Kirrily Waldron (aka The Beer Diva) and stylist Lara Reynolds to present a fashion show featuring chic new looks inspired by the Moo Brew brand. It all goes down from 6.30pm on Wednesday, May 18 at Madame Brussels in the CBD. Tickets get you in the door, and entitle you to a gift bag packed full of goodies.
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They say you should never ask how the sausage is made, but the folks at Meatsmith and Clare Valley Brewing are doing exactly that. Over complimentary beers and canapés aplenty, Meatsmith co-owner Troy Wheeler will provide ticketholders with an in-depth ale sausage making demonstration, along with instructions on how to replicate the process at home. And you won’t leave empty-handed either — each participant will receive a sausage kit containing pork, sausage skins, butcher ties and a mincer, along with a six-pack of craft beer. Just remember, the booze is part of the recipe, so don’t go drinking it all before you get started.
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Skeletons, ray guns and creatures from beyond the stars — you’ll find them all on cans of Beavertown Beer. The UK brewery has become famous around the world for its comic-book inspired can art, some of the most unique examples of which will be on display at Dr. Morse as part of Good Beer Week 2016. Not only that, but you’ll also be able to bid on the art via @beavertown_can_art_auction on Instagram. Best of all, profits from the auction will be donated to a refugee charity to be announced. Bidding closes at 5pm on Sunday, May 22, so get in quick before the virtual hammer comes down.
