Sydney’s largest celebration of craft brewing, Sydney Craft Beer Week (SCBW), has announced its program for 2015, with some exciting new additions.
More than 130 events will be held in 70+ bars, restaurants, breweries and outdoor spaces across Sydney, 17-25 October.
“We’ve got some international guys coming out this year; we’ve got Garage Project from New Zealand, but really exciting is that Stone Brewing are coming out from the US,” said Sydney Craft Beer Week director Joel Connolly at the program launch at the Royal Albert Hotel this week.
“If you don’t know them, they are one of the godfathers of craft brewing in the United States. The US is responsible for this whole renaissance of craft beer that we are all experiencing now. So to have them coming out and serving beers is really exciting.”
SCBW is for everyone: the die-hard craft beer nerd, the weekend home-brewer, the occasional drinker, a Sydneysider looking for laughs and visitors to the city.
“One of the things that has changed over the years is that the quality of events is getting higher. Venues and brewers are doing fewer events and they are choosing to do the events they do, really well,” Connolly said.
“We have ‘Brewers’ Olympics’ this year, where you will see guys doing keg rolling and things like that and there is an axe throwing event.”
Another new addition this year is that some the beers that have been brewed specifically for the festival will be rolled out interstate to help showcase the merits of NSW beer.
“We’ve got this great thing going on this year with interstate venues. We think that beer in NSW is incredible, some of the best in Australia, so what we’ve done is partner with individual venues in every single state. What we will be doing is shipping down the best beers made specifically for the festival to those venues,” Connolly explained.
“So if you can’t get to Sydney then you can still go to somewhere in Canberra, or Darwin; South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria of course, you can go everywhere. So we are really excited about that.”
Festivities begin at the Opening Gala Night on Friday, 16 October where brewers from around Australia will showcase their best brews. Polish off a pint, grab a Grill’d burger or jiggle to grooves, with all attendees receiving a take home commemorative tasting size glass to mark the occasion.
For the first time, Batch Brewing Co will produce the Official SCBW Beer for 2015, available only in SCBW sponsored venues, with daily locations announced on social media each morning of the week.
Come along and join the pursuit of hoppyness. To check out the program, click here.
Event Details:
What: Sydney Craft Beer Week
Where: More than 70 venues across Sydney
When: 17-25 October, 2015