Beer Fest is beginning to bubble

AMBER ale will be flowing at the North Gardens next month when the Ballarat Beer Festival returns.

Hosting and presenting 30 independent Australian craft brewers, ciders, regional wines and non-alcoholic drinks, attendees can simply relax in the beer garden on Saturday, 20 February, or get more involved in activities on offer.

Festival director Ric Dexter said there’s something for everyone; delicious drops, vibrant can-labels and artwork, serious conversations and good music.

Masterclasses planned will educate those who are beer-lovers and foodies.

“They’re about beer and food pairing, so we’ll probably do beer and charcuterie from Salt Kitchen here in Ballarat, and one of the tents will be for beer and cheese pairings,” he said.

“Contrary to popular belief, beer actually goes better with cheese than wine does, if you know how to pair them.

“There are opportunities meet brewers, and information sessions on different styles of beer, and the general fun and games of brewing for people interested in trying brewing.”

The event is family and dog friendly. There will be food trucks on site to grab a bite, and entertainment, including live music from Victorian acid-country, blues and Aus-rock performers, a petting zoo and craft activities.

“We’re finishing off the Saturday night with Thee Marshmallow Overcoat, which is Davey Lane from You Am I, Brett Wolfenden on drums, and Ashley Naylor from RocKwiz.

“They’ll be playing all the great 60s and 70s rock numbers that people love to sing and dance to, so it’s a good party band to finish off the night,” Mr Dexter said.

A champion of the brewing community, the Festival is an opportunity for him to showcase the interesting people that keep it bubbling away.

“I have a manufacturing and logistics backgrounds… but brewing one of the most collaborative industries I’ve ever worked in.

“There’s no ugly competition between brewing companies. If a brewer is in strife, they’ll jump in and help, they collaborate and make beers together, and they’re just generally a wonderful, experimental, fun-loving group of guys and girls,” Mr Dexter said.

“Beer consumption might be decreasing overall, but craft beer purchasing is increasing because of the varieties of flavour they’re producing.”

Flowing into the next day as attendees recover, Ballarat FunkNFest will present the sounds of Victoria’s leading funk, soul and R&B artists at the same location, including Butterfunked made up of former Ballarat High School pupils.

“Melbourne’s queen of soul, Kylie Auldist is headlining. A few of the local brewers will stick around,” Mr Dexter said.

“We’ve always had the infrastructure after the Festival and City of Ballarat is keen for us to expand to get more people to stay overnight, so we thought we’d put his on from 12pm to 8pm on the Sunday, and play some really cool music.”

To ensure COVID safety on the Saturday, festival-goers can book a 12pm to 4pm session, or the 5pm to 9pm block. There will also be a limited number of all-day passes accessible.

A five-course degustation dinner on the Friday beforehand at Housey Housey will match food with beer, and wine from local makers.

Visit ballaratbeerfestival.com.au.