SEPTEMBER 2011
LIQUID GOLD RETURNS TO BALLARAT
Whether you’re a beer connoisseur or an inquisitive drinker, whether you like wheat beer, or homebrew, or pale ale, Ballarat has the event of the summer for you.
On Saturday January 21, Ballarat’s City Oval will be transformed into a celebration of great beer, good food and summer entertainment for the first ever Ballarat Beer Festival.
The Ballarat Beer Festival will combine Australia’s best boutique brews with fine food and quality entertainment to create an atmosphere that can be enjoyed by beer experts, summer festival lovers and families alike.
Home brewing television comedians Charlie Pickering (The 7PM Project and Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation) and Danny McGinlay have been appointed event MC’s, and will talk about their McGickering’s Brewing Industries, “the world’s leading comedic home brewing enterprise”.
Beer Diva Kirrily Waldhorn will drop by, to educate us on matching beer and food.
At the heart of the festival are Ballarat locals passionate about promoting the city and its brewing heritage. Directors of Beer, hoteliers Simon Coghlan and Tim Kearney, run Ballarat’s Golden City and Western Hotels.
The boys have joined forces with Entertainment and Marketing Director Lyndell Pond and Event Director Kate Burrows to create a top-notch festival that will showcase beers from local, regional and metropolitan breweries.
Simon’s great-great-grandfather founded the Ballarat Brewing Company, so he has strong ties to both the brewing industry and the region.
“Beer and Ballarat are two things I am very passionate about,” he says.
“Australia has some great boutique beers that deserve to be celebrated. Ballarat’s ties to the industry make it the perfect place to put on a festival to do that.”
Visitors will be able to taste-test new beers, learn more about the beer making process, visit catering stalls that sell food to match and even sample a few local wines.
Tickets for the Ballarat Beer Festival are on sale now through Ticketek. Tickets prices start at $35. Gates open at 11am. Keep up to date with the festival’s latest announcements at www.ballaratbeerfestival.com.au, on twitter at @vicbeerfest or by calling (03) 5331 6211.