High Country Hops 2019

Overview

Bridge Road Brewers likes to celebrate the Victorian hop harvest in a big way — that is, with an annual beer festival that gives punters the rare chance to taste true freshly hopped brews. High Country Hops will return to the Beechworth brewery for its fifth year over the weekend of March 30 and 31, bringing together booze, food and live tunes for two days straight.

The brewery's car park will host seven other brewers from the region, including Black Dog Brewery, Blizzard Brewing Co., Bright Brewery, King River Brewing, Mitta Mitta Brewing Co., Rutherglen Brewery and Sweetwater Brewing Co. This year, there will also be two special guests in tow, namely barrel aged wild brews from Sydney's Wildflower and popular hoppy bombs from Melbourne's Hop Nation.

Beechworth's wine region will be represented by eight different vineyards, too. And there'll be malt whisky from Corowa Distilling Co. and gin from Reed & Co. Distillery, which will bring back its Bridge Road collab — a hopped gin using juniper, galaxy hops, dessert lime and mountain pepper.

Apart from booze, there's also an all-day music festival going down. Live bands and DJs will amp up the party atmosphere, ranging from New Orleans-style jazz and folky big bands to sea shanties and bluegrass. For nibbles, there's a taco truck, barbecue joint, authentic Thai classics, Vietnamese street food and even beer-flavoured ice cream to choose from.

If you're looking for a place to crash, the festival is also offering glamping this year, which will be set up just down the road in Beechworth's historic downtown and replicates the '1850s gold rush tent villages'.

Entry to the festival is free, but you can buy a $25 tasting pass which will give you a 100ml taster from all ten breweries and a complimentary beer glass.