The summer festival season stretched into spring for the beer lovers of the Heathcote region when the Snag, Beer and Bubbles Fest returned for 2012. Taking over the Heathcote Agricultural Showgrounds on March 17, it was a day of, you’ve guessed it, snags, beer and bubbles, along with workshops, live music, the latest Bendigo Beer home brew competition and much more.
Bendigo Beer man Justin McPhail was there and sent us this missive…
What was it all about?
As the name suggests, it’s a sausage fest. Lots of hand crafted sausages, brews and bubbles. This festival is in its third iteration and continues to grow. Seven hundred people last year, 1000-plus people this year, which ensured it was busy, yet still relaxed enough that everybody enjoyed themselves. It was fantastic to see less fedoras this year [see here to make sense of that], and the lines at all the brewers' stands goes to show the craft beer revolution is well under way. Live music, plenty of space for rugs and chairs to be set up, beer masterclasses by Tim Baxter of the Dispensary Enoteca and food masterclasses by various producers all helped with the atmosphere. A great day enjoyed by all!
Which breweries were there?
Red Duck, Bridge Road, White Rabbit, Holgate & Tooborac Hotel & Brewery.
Who was there?
A good mix of 25-50 year olds, some hipsters, some trendies, some Bendigo Beer guys and no distinct groups, everybody mingled!
Highlights:
This is very much biased, but the numbers don’t lie⦠Bendigo Beer Homebrew comp. Our style of homebrew comp allows for public tasting, which attracted well over 100 people (which according to figures was 10 per cent of the crowd. Not bad eh?), all packed into our little area. Everybody jumped at the chance to be a beer judge!
Bendigo Beer spreads the craft beer love to new species
Also, the breweries selling dark, different and interesting beers to the general public. Last year, punters were surprised by Red Duck’s White Garden, this year they were asking for the Golden Dragon! Looks like the craft beer movement is spreading, ensuring people aren’t afraid to try new things.
The food was great too. Amazing quality snags by local producers were the hit of the day.
Summarise the event in three words:
Casual, energetic, dynamic.
You can find out more about the regular activities of craft beer crusaders Bendigo Beer via their website and newsletter or follow them on Twitter.
