The countdown is on! It’s under two weeks until the Ballarat Beer Festival! Ballarat’s soil is famous for being rich in gold and for the past four years since it’s inception the Ballarat Beer Festival has bought liquid gold to the township – in the form of craft and boutique beers. On Saturday 24th January Victoria’s original boutique beer Festival, will yet again celebrate all things beer, bands, education, food trucks and great entertainment, bound to suit all comers to the picturesque Ballarat City Oval.

Lyndell Pond (one of the event’s four Festival Directors) explains the philosophy behind the event “What makes the event so successful is the contribution from the local community – sponsors, suppliers, volunteers, staff and of course our wonderful punters and brewers. The focal point is two fold – providing great entertainment in the form of music, a games garden and the kids zones to sit side by side the exciting world of craft beer.”

Plato was right when he stated ‘He was a wise man who invented beer’ and in what is an Australian first, fifteen craft beer makers hailing from Victoria & NSW who are all taking part in the festival congregated in mid December at Cavalier Brewing and pitched in to create a new brew in front of onlookers.

The beer, to be unveiled in the Brewers Big Backyard, was named Mötley Brëw from a competition run and won via social media, and was made from the brewers all supplying their own ingredients. These included Cavalier Brewing , Killer Sprocker, Young Henrys, Wayward Brewing, Riverside Brewing Company, Kaiju Beer, Brew Cult, 3 Ravens, Mountain Goat, Exit Brewing, Prickly Moses, 7 Cent, Two Birds, Wolf of the Willows and Kettle Green.

With old favourites like the Kids Zone plus the newly added Brewers Backyard (including an onsite barber, dunking machine, life sized roaming Polaroid frame, giant sized games – Pick Up Sticks, Connect Four, Dominoes and Jenja, pop corn machine with free pop corn), the Cider Orchard (including a cool DJ Van), the Games Garden (including bocce, croquet, 80s computer games such as Donkey Kong) and Food Truck Lane, the Ballarat Beer Festival has something for everyone. Out of towners are encouraged to lock in accommodation quickly as the town will be inundated with tourists on event weekend. V/Line trains frequently run between Melbourne (Southern Cross Station) and Ballarat, and is a very comfortable one hour ride.

Also for punter’s convenience, a free Ballarat Beer Festival express service shuttle bus will be running between Ballarat Station and Ballarat City Oval. For those looking for a unique experience, Vintage Rail Travel is operating an exclusive private chartered heritage Diesel Passenger Train, to transport festival goers from Melbourne’s Southern Cross station at 9.15am More details and bookings link at ballaratbeerfestival.com.au.

The impressive music line-up will include the following top Australian acts Ash Grunwald, Way Of The Eagle (Jan Skubiszewski’s creative collaboration featuring Dan Sultan and The Cat Empire’s Harry James Angus); The Delta Riggs, Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk; Buddha In A Chocolate Box, Timberwolf and the Festival’s Homebrew band competition winner and Ballarat local Demi Louise.

With thousands expected to descend upon Ballarat township on Saturday 24th January, music lovers and beer enthusiasts are encouraged to book tickets early via Ticketek outlets or online atticketek.com.au, 132 849, or Ballarat Nextra Newsagency in Bridge Mall.

Ballarat Beer Festival

Saturday 24th January

Ballarat City Oval
Cnr Pleasant & Mair Sts

11am – 8pm

Craft Beer, Education Sessions, Gourmet Food, Live Bands, Kids Zone, & More Fun

Adults : $45 Entry
Junior (13 – 17) : $20
Children 12 & Under : Free
Family & Group Ticket Packages Available

For more information go to :

www.ballaratbeerfestival.com.au

www.facebook.com/ballaratbeerfestival

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