You can take the Craft out of Sydney Beer Week, but you can’t take the Craft out of the beer!
There may be a change of name and a change of hands but don’t get your tinnies in a tangle cause the new minds behind Sydney Beer Week (SBW) are brewing up an amazing program to honor Sydney’s celebration of Beer. Going into its seventh year the festival sets to expend- determined to bring great beer to the people of Sydney.
Why the name change you ask and what does this mean for the craft inclusion of “ Craft Beer “in the festival? New director, Dave Phillips explains that by dropping ‘craft’ from the festival title and expanding the footprint would allow them to reach a much broader audience, its is all about making Sydney Beer Week more inclusive and reflect on the direction in which beer is heading.
“Our vision is to deliver a world class celebration of beer – for consumers, producers, venues and communities. This means continuing the great work done by the previous owners and expanding the festival to reach more of Sydney. We want to provide opportunities for the beer curious as well as those already passionate and knowledgeable across as much of Greater Sydney as we possibly can”.
To insure the SBW17 remains true to its origins the program has insured many favorites remain on the bill such as the annual opening Gala night, The Sydney Beer Awards, and of course my favorite booze infused event The Hair Of The Dog Breakfast.
This year however A Festival Hub will also be established as home base with SBW staff on hand to advise visitors on festival events, over a cold beer of course. Festival events will be arranged into five streams – Food, Education, Activities, Technology and Showcase
Liam Pereira, Sydney Beer Week General Manager, has seen a big change in Sydney’s beer community in recent years. “As the beer industry has grown and matured, and peoples’ palates have changed, the conversation is not about craft or mainstream beer – it’s more about what kind of beer people like to drink. We have seen bars across Sydney embrace all styles of beer – you can have a watermelon sour as your mate beside sips on a traditional pale lager and we think this is great.”
Sydney Beer Week has put together a strong team who with an exuberant amount of experience behind them with the aim of driving the festival to even greater heights and cementing its presence into Sydney’s calendar.
Be sure to save the date and prepare yourself for an unforgettable beer-fuelled week celebrating not only the beers and the brewers, but also those who strive to keep the Sydney beer scene rich, vibrant and ever growing.
Stay tuned to @sydneybeerweek on facebook and Instagram or www.sydneybeerweek.com.au for updates and announcements for SBW17.