Seven Hop-Filled Events to Head to at Melbourne's 2018 Good Beer Week

Test out your putting skills over an ice cold bev courtesy of Brunswick Brewery and Howler. The Brunswick bar is resurrecting its nighttime mini golf course, Howler Mini-Golf-O-Rama. Each of its nine holes corresponds to a classic mini golf theme (volcanoes, windmills, jungles). To use the course, all punters need to do is rock up and buy a glass of Brooklyn. And who knows, after a couple of drinks, maybe your aim will actually improve?

Craft beer meets cocktails at this very boozy evening at Dingo’s Bar in Collingwood. Presented by small-batch subscription service Club Brewing, this one-off event will showcase three specially made beer-based cocktails (they’ve teased that there might be a “beer spider”) made with Club Brewing’s limited-edition brews. Ticket-holders will get the chance to sample all three concoctions and will also get access discounted drinks for the rest of the night.

Pizza and beer are a timeless combo — one that is miles ahead of bread and butter or even salt and pepper, in our opinion. This Good Beer Week, the kind folks at Collingwood’s beloved Lazerpig pizza parlour are teaming up with Thornbury’s 3 Ravens Brewery to bring you the best-of-the-best of this winning pairing. They’ve searched the globe over and have created a craft brew that perfectly pairs with Lazerpig’s woodfired pizza. The brewery’s beer is hand-crafted and small batch, which already pairs nicely with a pizza that is made from a house-made sourdough culture, proved for 72 hours, then hand-stretched. The beer will launch on Saturday, May 12, and the unveiling will be to the tune of a guest DJ — and the pizza joint certainly gets in some good’uns. What will this beer taste like? Will it really be the ultimate pizza pairing? And who will this “very special secret” DJ be? You’ll just have to go along on the night to find out.

Byron Bay’s Stone & Wood and Three Blue Ducks are headed to Melbourne for one of Good Beer Week’s hot-ticket items on Friday, May 18. The dinner will see head brewer Caolan Vaughan team up with Three Blue Ducks chef and co-owner Darren Robertson to showcase sustainable produce in a six-course beer degustation at Vue de Monde. The two interstate heavy-hitters are combining their passions for locally sourced and produced beer and food and are bringing it to a fine-dining restaurant that is known to do the same. Guests will sit at communal tables and eat course-after-course of ethical eats — with a vegetarian option available — paired with six craft brews from Vaughan’s independently owned brewery. In between bites, you’ll have the chance to chat with the award-winning brewer and renowned chef. It’s certainly a pricey night, but one that’s no doubt well worth it.

Good Beer Week is giving Melburnians a legit excuse to head out to Geelong on a Tuesday night when two of the city’s best businesses team up. Blackman’s Brewery is turning its bar and restaurant over to The Hot Chicken Project‘s Aaron Turner, who will serve up a menu of his signature Nashville-style treats alongside the launch of a seasonal produce-inspired brew. An award-winning chef, Turner has come into the spotlight since opening nearby high-end restaurant Igni in 2016. It focuses on small growers and regional produce, with a menu that changes by the day. This ethos pairs nicely with Blackman’s brew, which uses seasonal produce to create a beer that is truly a taste of Geelong. This local-as event will give patrons a chance to meet both brewers and chefs, learn a thing or two about seasonality, and of course tuck into some fried chicken and craft beers.

This Sunday session sees Sydney’s Wayward Brewing Company bring its smash hit Sydney Beer Week event down to Two Birds Brewing‘s nest bar for the second instalment of Fempocalypse on May 13. The day brings together female brewers, musicians and artists in an arvo that celebrates the boss women of the hospitality and creative industries. For Melbourne’s Good Beer Week, expect beers from both breweries on tap, along with four live music sets (Nimbus Trio, Old Hat Jazz Quartet, The Hosies and Alison Ferrier) and two DJ sets (Whiskey Houston and Renee Delay), plus circus, dance and burlesque performances. Female-operated food stalls will sit next to artisan craft stalls by the likes of local illustrator Hannakin, shoemaker Betty Bossy Boots and graphic designer Refiloe Khobane’s African-inspired wares. Included in the $15 ticket price is a half-pint on arrival, a brewery tour voucher for two and special release brews, along with a full day of tunes.

Looking for somewhere to take the old gal on Mother’s Day, but don’t want to miss out on a second of the Good Beer Week fun? Don’t worry, the team at the Cherry Tree Hotel in Cremorne has got you all sorted out. This afternoon event is its take on a traditional jam and scone affair, only the baked treats are infused with beer (and their beer is infused with rose petals). $30 gets you a cold one plus unlimited scones and a crack at a wheel of Milawa cheese. The woman who raised you doesn’t deserve anything less.