Overview
Asking someone what they're going to do at Good Beer Week is sure to elicit one unanimous answer: drink beer, man. But there are so many ways to drink beer and enjoy it that the answer, my friends, is never simple. Certainly not when it's Good Beer Week and you can do everything from downing a pot on the Colonial Tramcar to licking liquid nitrogen beer ice cream from the schooner (if this is a thing, can someone get N2 onto this?).
So how do you go about planning for Good Beer Week? If you've picked up a copy of the program you'll notice that there is a lot happening and, as always, the more popular events have been sold out to people more organised than you. Running from May 17-25, it's a week of enjoyment and discovery of our favourite golden drink and we aren't going to let it pass by without a few ales passing through our lips. Here's our guide to the best of Good Beer Week.
Add beer to your cocktail
A good friend of mine once ordered me a beer cocktail that featured, amongst other things, the tangy taste of tabasco and Maggi beef noodle seasoning. Things have never been the same since. That's why I recommend — if you're willing to go down the road of the beer cocktail — being inaugurated by the experts. Join the guys at 1806 for a Beer Cocktail Degustation and for $50 you'll get a three-course medley of food bites, beer cocktails and a bit of insight into how they're put together.
Don't want to go the whole hog? Try one out at Lily Blacks, who will be serving special beery cocktails throughout the week of the festival — just let them know what you like and hopefully Maggi doesn't make an appearance.
Beer Cocktail Degustation, various dates during the week, 7.30pm, $50, 1806, 169 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, goodbeerweek.com.au
Head to your local
As well as a load of special events, Good Beer Week also infiltrates into a large list of pubs and bars — your local is probably one of them. The Grace Darling's Tap Takeover will see the local boutique brews on tap matched with food and live music in the band room. Beers and a band make so much sense, this night out is just a little more curated. As well as this, Little Creatures will be turning their Fitzroy dining hall into a leafy hops farm and a tonne of other venues such as Cookie, The Tramway Hotel, The Local Taphouse and Two Row are holding weeklong specials and stocking boutique brews. The Terminus Hotel in Fitzroy North is the official GBW Hub, and will host pop up events and be open late every night.
Tap Takeover, week long, 12pm-late, $10, The Grace Darling Hotel, 114 Smith Street, Collingwood, goodbeerweek.com.au
Taste all the beer
Whether you know your beer like a boss or just know that you like drinking beer (no sweat), a beer tasting is a good way to develop your taste for the stuff and work out what you like. Plus, you get to drink, like, four beers minimum. Take the chance to head into The Kelvin Club (a members only bar) for an evening to taste a selection of boutique beers with matched canapes, play billiards and maybe even get your hair cut (there's an in-house barber). The Penny Black in Brunswick is also offering a three sample tasting paddle and a 10" pizza for $10 all week.
Behind Closed Doors, Friday 23 May at 6pm, $25, The Kelvin Club, 14-30 Melbourne Place, Melbourne, goodbeerweek.com.au
Learn something
Make up for all those brain cells you're losing by learning something at Good Beer Week, too. And by something, I mean how to make beer yourself so you don't even have to leave the house to buy it. The Preston Shire Hall are holding a free workshop, teaching beer enthusiasts how to brew beer in a bag. A bag! This might not exactly set you up to start your own microbrewery, but if you can make beer in a bag, you're basically self sufficient.
Brew in a Bag Workshop, Saturday 17 May at 12pm, free but bookings essential, Preston Shire Hall, 286 Gower Street, Preston, goodbeerweek.com.au
Party with booze, tunes and burgers
After you've done the civilised stuff (learning, listening, sipping politely out of shot glasses), it's time to get a bit loose. Micro brewery Doss Blockos are celebrating their Pale Lager being on tap for the very first time at Trunk and are throwing a party: taste test their brew in 1 litre take-home bottles, devour Trunk's wagyu burger and enjoy the beer garden's live street artists and DJ's. The following week, Howler are hosting a night of Kooinda craft beer and music, with sets from Total Giovanni, Banoffee, Martin King, Speed Painters, Two Bright Lakes and Andras Fox.
Big Trunk, Sunday 18 May at 2pm, $33, Trunk, 275 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, goodbeerweek.com.au
Howler & Kooinda Brewery Presents, Sunday 25 May at 7pm, $20, Howler, 7-11 Dawson Street, Brunswick, goodbeerweek.com.au
Image credits: Jess Shaver and Moving Pixels