The Annual Sausage Festival at the Builders Arms Hotel

Overview

Celebrate the humble snag at the Builders Arms Hotel, as this much-loved Fitzroy watering hole presents its annual Sausage Festival for the 12th time. Running from Thursday, June 12–Sunday, June 22, this enduring event honours sausages from around the globe, with a banger menu bursting with inventive sausage-led dishes paired with specially selected beverages.

Served every day from 12pm, the menu features six mouthwatering options that spotlight snags gathered from local butchers, including Troy Wheeler and the team at Meatsmith. For instance, the 'Nduja Parker roll with leatherwood honey glaze showcases spicy Calabrian salami in a pillowy pull-apart bun. It goes down sweet with a glass of Il Farneto 'Frisant' lambrusco rosso, hailing from Italy's Emilia-Romagna region.

The blood pudding hash brown benedict offers a crispy Spanish-style morcilla blood sausage, served with a soft-boiled egg, Béarnaise sauce and a rich, malty 4 Pines Dark Lager. There's also the smoked cheese kransky hot dog — an elevated dog featuring sauerkraut and chilli, highlighting Meatsmith's beechwood-smoked weiner. Add Eric Bordelet's Poiré Authentique pear cider for maximum bliss.

Besides the stellar snags, the Sausage Festival also has a special event that builds upon the theme. On Thursday, June 19, renowned broadcaster and food judge Cam Smith will host 'You're a Weiner' trivia from 7pm until late, where the winning team heads home with a Meatsmith-made sausage tray primed for your next barbecue feast. On top of that, the Builders Arms crew is giving away 20 festival tees to the first guests who tick off every sausage on their stamp card.

Images: Parker Blain / Isobel Williamson