This year’s Sydney Beer Week is particularly exciting. The local scene seems to be on a path of exponential growth, with multiple new breweries opening in the last year and the mainstays continually coming up with new projects. There’s plenty to check out over the nine-day festival – a beer and cheese tasting, a high tea, a music and beer festival in a car park and plenty more.
“This year, we’ve dropped ‘craft’ out of the name and opened it up. There’s debate around the definition of craft beer regarding independence but we’re an inclusionary festival,” says general manager Liam Pereira. “It’s not for us to tell people what beer is - we just want to celebrate it.”
The festival has expanded geographically too. “Before it was mostly about the Inner West and the CBD but we want to make it for everyone, everywhere. There are 135 events around the city.”
Along with local beers, there are some excellent international brews to sample. Below are three events to try them at.
This year, we’ve dropped ‘craft’ out of the name and opened it up. There’s debate around the definition of craft beer regarding independence but we’re an inclusionary festival
This microbrewery in Darlinghurst is doing an American craft beer tap takeover. On pour will be beers from Stone Brewing, Oskar Blues, Rogue and Sierra Nevada. Each brewery will bring a previously unreleased beer (in Australia), so you won’t have tried anything before. At 6pm on October 25, Steve Grossman from Sierra Nevada will be in to host a non-ticketed event. To soak up the beer there’ll be classic American dishes such as burgers and hot dogs on the menu.
Pumphouse microbrewery in Darlinghurst is doing an American craft beer tap takeover. Source: Pumphouse
Another tap takeover is happening over at The DOG in Randwick, with beers from our neighbour New Zealand. Over the week, try 16 different taps from the best in local craft beer, including Yeastie Boys, Garage Project and Deep Creek. While you’re there, try a beer from the venue’s new randall, installed by Mountain Goat. It’s a double chamber filter connected to a beer tap that infused the beer with botanicals as it’s poured. A new beer will be launched, too. A collaboration with Sydney Brewery, SheepDOG is a 5.2% XPA made with a blend of Australian and New Zealand ingredients. If you’re dining in, try the Kiwi special, a wood-fired pizza with fior di latte, confit garlic, chilli and micro-herbs.
Beers from New Zealand will feature in a tap takeover at The DOG in Randwick. Source: The DOG
No one does an ale quite like the British. Set yourself up at the bar for a night of tasting the most interesting English brews (as well as few classics) from breweries Beavertown, Moor, Brewdog, Greene King, St Peters and Samuel Smiths and more.
“This year our headline beers are from two breweries. Siren Brewing, based in Woking, about an hour west of London, won best British brewery in 2014 and were voted second best brewery in the world that year as well. The Wild Beer Co, based in Somerset in England’s south west are about foraging for ingredients and experimenting with barrel-aging beers and exploring different styles of fermentation,” says Freddy Rayfield from The Wild Rover.
There will also be homemade pies served during the nine days, made with a selection of their favourite beers.
“Last year was a roaring success and we sold out of a bunch of stuff within hours of opening the doors on the first weekend! Fingers crossed we’ve got enough beer to last the week this year…” Rayfield says.
