Ballarat Beer Festival 2015

In a handful of sleeps, the fourth annual Ballarat Beer Festival will be providing the good folk of Ballafornia, and beyond, with not only scores of purveyors of the finest golden liquid, but also an incredible music line-up, delicious food and entertainment for the whole family.

Simon Coghlan, one of the Festival founders, said “We are very proud and excited to bring you another edition of the Ballarat Beer Festival. This year we have finessed the event to include more interesting food, an amazing line up of talented bands and we believe it’s more appealing than ever before.” Lyndell Pond (one of the event’s four Festival Directors) added that the success of the event is based on “the contribution from the local community – sponsors, suppliers, volunteers, staff and of course our wonderful punters and brewers. The focal point is twofold – 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.”

The day consists of a gathering of expert brewers displaying their wares, a mouth-watering line up of gourmet food – including the return of local favourite Forge Pizzeria, education sessions run by beer experts imparting their well-honed knowledge, a Kids Zone with activities galore, plus some of Australia’s finest bands performing on the main stage. The family friendly event kicks off at 11am and concludes at 8pm. That’s nine hours of quality entertainment.

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.

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

No better way to celebrate the Australia Day long weekend, then savouring some of Australia’s finest beers and ciders.

For more information go to: www.ballaratbeerfestival.com.au, www.facebook.com/ballaratbeerfestival