Media Release

Sydney Craft Beer Week Returns to Deliver Better Beer for the People

This October, the streets of Sydney will be flowing with Craft Beer as Sydney Craft Beer Week (SCBW) returns bigger, better and tastier for its fourth year. Over 40 of Sydney’s leading venues will host the city’s largest and most exciting celebration of Craft Beer, with more than 100 enticing events happening from October 18-26, 2014.

Sydney Craft Beer Week offers experienced Craft Beer connoisseurs, as well as newcomers to the scene, the opportunity to experience all that the Craft Beer community has to offer. Visitors and Sydneysiders alike will let their taste buds do the talking as they travel between craft breweries, pubs, restaurants, galleries and pop-up installations over the packed week-long event.

Sydney Craft Beer Week Director (and passionate craft beer consumer) Joel Connolly reflected on growth of the festival, “Though we’ve grown faster than we ever imagined, we’re proud the event still has a local and relatable feel, giving everyone attending a sense of ownership of these locally produced craft beers. In a way, there is a definite form of community spirit and kinship built and celebrated during the festival, as we give craft beer a much deserved time to shine.”

Indeed, the team behind the event are passionate because craft beer embodies the drink as it was intended: crafted with love and care, where taste, flavour and ethics come before profits. Co-Directors Joel Connolly and Mark David – as well as the brewers themselves – see beer as a beverage steeped with historical and cultural significance, so entwined in ritual and celebration around the world.

The festivities for the Sydney Craft Beer Week will kick off with a bang (or would that be a pop and a light, bubbly fizz) at a Gala Event on Friday October 17th at The Giant Dwarf Theatre. The week’s opening night Gala will get beer fans prepped for a week of tantalising experiences, with over 25 Australian and International breweries showing off their craft (pun intended), as electrifying live music keeps the party going.

The celebrations will continue throughout the week, as enthusiasts will be invited to attend numerous events – a mix of free and paid opportunities – to enjoy one-off beers, educational seminars, tap takeovers, beer high teas as well as a tantalising four course beergustation of the highest quality where each course is served with an accompanying beer (matched to the meal’s core ingredient!) at the Blackrock Brasserie Beergustation Experiment. If this doesn’t have your mouth watering, nothing will!

With the Craft (Pub) Crawl, punters are encouraged to make their way through a 7-day beer journey; a comprehensive experience enhanced by a “beer passport”. Will you be able to try all the beers before the week is over?

Carriageworks, meanwhile, will be home to a two day beer festival within a festival – Sip & Savour – on October 25th and 26th, which will bring together over 250 craft beers and ciders, alongside local gourmet foods, homebrewing, live music and a range of interactive and educational seminars at the iconic venue.

And this is but a taste of the experiences in store. Stone & Wood will bring back The Big Pig Out, featuring 4 Pigs and all 4 Stone & Wood Beers on tap. The cheekily named [It’s a complete] Sausage-fest! will see Ekim and The Welcome collaborate to present a barbie with a difference, with 5 gourmet sausages inspired by and accompanied with five of Ekim’s brilliant beers.

The Young Cavaliers Block Party will bring us arts, music, culture and beer with a little help from Cavalier, 44 Records and the Newington Hotel and events like the Feral Tap Takeover at Trinity Bar and The Ultimate Beer Experience at 4 Pines Brewpub Manly speak for themselves.

From its humble beginnings in 2011, where an estimated 100 Craft Beer lovers came together with local brewers and venues to celebrate the delicious variety of brews from around the city and the entire country, some 10,000 patrons are expected in 2014. The SCBW is now an all-out assault of the senses with over 100 events that will show why the product has gained worldwide momentum, how and where it is made and why the beer from our country is amongst the best in the world.

The Sydney Craft Beer Week is gearing up to be one of the highlights of the Sydney social calendar, so save the date and prepare yourself for an unforgettable beer-fuelled experience.

To check out the program, visit www.sydneycraftbeerweek.com
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Twitter: @SydneyCraftBeer #scbw14
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