Festival of Beer » Australia

Victorian Bushfires

Festival of Beer — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:03:38 +0000

As an Australian I have watched in horror as communities in Victoria, Australia have been subjected to some of the most intense bushfires on record. As you know, the deathtoll currently stands at 181 lives lost.

Whilst this subject is unrelated to Beer Festivals it does involve communities, which is something my site is all about. I would like to share with you the following post written by Charles Coll, the owner of the RealBeer Blog
photo credit: SplaTT

As Director of Realbeer Australia and resident of the Yarra Valley since the last bushfire known as Ash Wednesday in 1983, I felt compelled to provide a vivid view of the bushfire we are experiencing at the moment. As I tap out my thoughts we have already lost the Hargreaves Hill micro brewery in Steels Creek owned and operated by Simon and Beth Walkenhorst. Simon is President of the Victorian Microbrewers Association and a tireless campaigner for tax concessions to small breweries and support from local communities. He is also a concert pianist who established his tiny brewery on the grounds of his in-laws idyllic ‘retirement farm’.

Down the road in Healesville we have two local micros also under threat. Buckley’s family Brewery and Giant Steps complex owned by the legendary brewer and winery developer Phil Sexton who operates on the main street of town. His coffee shop, pizzeria, and delicatessen entice visitors in town touring the famous for the Healsville Sanctuary, an internationally recognized open planned zoo featuring Australian creatures great and small. Sexton’s superb Sierra Nevadan styled pale ale developed at his Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle, W.A. is brewed on-site and along with award winning wines from his vineyard, Giant Steps, just outside town.

To our American readers, the Yarra Valley is eerily similar in geography to the Sonoma Valley in northern California. The area is ideal for grape growing with four distinct seasons that under usual conditions are moderate in temperature and precipitation. But we aren’t under usual conditions with a pronounced drought in the region for over an eight years and record temperatures registered over the weekend of 50+ degrees Celsius with gale force winds over 120 miles per hour.

Having experienced Ash Wednesday in 1983, the conditions on Saturday were extremely similar but more intense. Atmospheric oxygen reduction made breathing like inhaling from a furnace, and the radiant heat quickly penetrated the feet whatever footwear. Whether the cause be a casually flung cigarette butt or a deliberate torching of a paddock, the fire was man made and positioned in an ideal location, the midland plain at the base of hilly terrain. Add to this a lack of scheduled selective burn offs by local authorities due to overzealous environmentalists created a natural tinderbox for the flames. It is expected that over 1,000 homes have been destroyed with loss of life expected to reach 3000.

But this region is not the only area in Victoria to experience bushfire damage. The picture of the fire-fighter providing water to a koala was taken from the area outside the town of Mirboo North last weekend. Mirboo North is the home of Grand Ridge brewery. Thankfully the brewery wasn’t affected but they did loose their cattle farm/ranch which provided the steaks for the brewery’s restaurant. And as we speak, the Beechworth Brewery is under fire watch as the disaster continues to spread.

Those of us outside the fire wall feel helpless and wonder what we can say or do to help. I implore all beer drinkers around the world to unite and show your support by contributing to the Red Cross appeal offered through Realbeer. For Victorians, the Taphouse in St Kilda will be holding a beer tasting to offer financial assistance to Simon and all the other victims of the disaster.

Where are all the Australian Beer Festivals?

Festival of Beer — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 02:18:28 +0000

In putting this website together it became obvious that there are very few Beer Festivals taking place in Australia over the coming year. A search in our own Beer Festival Search Box reveals just 3 Beer Tasting events for 2009!

Why is this?

Australia is known for its love of beer. The national holiday, Australia Day, wouldn’t be the same without a set of bbq tongs in one hand and a cold stubbie in the other.

Want to make friends in Australia? Sit down at a bar, order a beer, and start talking to the bloke next to you. Beer is like the invisible glue that bonds most Australians together.

So, for a nation that is in love with beer why only 3 Beer Festivals?

I think the problem is twofold. Firstly, Australians are very parochial about their beer. If you’re a Queensander then you drink XXXX, a Victorian and you drink Victoria Bitter and so forth. Such loyalty to a brand allowed the second problem to develop; no competition. For too long the majority of the beer market in Australia has been owned by just two brewers: the Fosters Group and Lion Nathan.

When a population drinks just a handful of beers and the brewers are happy to supply just a handful of beers then it is no wonder there are very few Beer Festivals – what is there to celebrate?

It wasn’t always like this. In 1889 there were 307 breweries in Australia supporting a population of approximately 700,000. Now, that doesn’t mean there were 307 great beers to choose from. But the point is there was variety, (and there may have even been the odd Beer Festival!).

However, things are beginning to change in Australia. Walk into most bottle shops around Australia and you will find beers with names like Bare Foot Radler, Barons Original Ale and Matilda Bay Fat Yak. We haven’t come far from the heady days of 1889 but at least we are moving in the right direction!

So, this is my ‘call to arms’. For all the Australian readers of this Blog if you know of an Australian Beer Festival or Beer Tasting event that is taking place in your hometown then please add it to our Database of Beer Festivals and send out the invitations!

Let’s start to put Aussie beers on the map and who knows…

…maybe we will even have our very own ‘Great Australian Beer Festival’ in the near future!

Cheers!

photo credit: Vermin Inc

Share and Enjoy Festival of Beer!:

The Biggest and Best Beer Festivals for 2009!

Festival of Beer — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:58:38 +0000

With the Northern Hemisphere deep in winter it is time to start planning for the big Beer Festivals of 2009! Below is a list of the biggest and best Beer Tasting events that are being planned for 2009.

Not that big necessarily means best, for there are countless Beer Festivals taking place around the world every day (well, maybe not every day!). Check out our Festival Search Box at the top of this page to find Beer Festivals that are occurring near you!

This is a multi-post article on Beer Festivals that are being planned for 2009.

photo credit: josef.stuefer

North America

Mondial de la Biere is Canada’s largest Beer Festival. It takes place 3-7 June 2009 at the Windsor Station and Courtyard, 1160, De la Gauchetiere Street West, Montreal.

Toronto’s Festival of Beer is a relatively young festival but is growing in popularity. It takes place 6-9 August 2009 at Historic Fort York, 100 Garrison Road.

The Great American Beer Festival is to be held on 24-26 September 2009 in the Colorado Convention Center, Denver, CO.

The Great World Beer Festival is to be held in New York City. Date and location to be advised.

United Kingdom

The Farnham Beer Exhibition will take place 23-25 April 2009 at the Farnham Maltings.

The Great British Beer Festival takes place in Earls Court, London on 4-8 August 2009.

The Peterborough Beer Festival will take place 25-29 August 2009 at The Embankment, Bishops Road.

Germany

Arguably the best of the best is Oktoberfest! Held in Munich on 19 September to 4 October 2009. Sixteen days of pure heaven!

The Cannstatter Volksfest is a 2 week festival held in Stuttgart over the period 25 September to 11 October 2009.

The Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing is another Bavarian Beer Festival. It takes place from 7 to 17 August 2009.

photo credit: moominsean

Australia and New Zealand

The Tasmanian Beerfest is held in Hobart. The date is to be advised.

The New Zealand Beer Festival is taking place in Wellington on 28 February 2009 and Auckland on 14 March 2009.

BrewNZ takes place at the Wellington Town Hall on 28 and 29 August 2009.

photo credit: eürodäna

This is by no means a complete list but just a snap shot of some of the larger Beer Festivals that are being planned for this year. I will be posting more in-depth articles on the major (as well as some of the smaller) Beer Festivals from around the world.

Do you enjoy Beer Festivals? Do you want to keep up to date with all the Beer Festivals that are taking place near where you live? Then why not subscribe to my RSS feed as well as using the Festival Search Box?

Cheers!

Share and Enjoy Festival of Beer!: