As the seasons change and the mercury slides, habits change. The food you want to eat becomes heartier, the drinks you fancy consuming becoming darker.
Chatting to brewery and venue owners around Melbourne as autumn has progressed and that's certainly been the case: red and brown ales are selling faster, fridges are starting to fill with stouts.
So what better time to announce a new festival celebrating all beers dark?
Obsidian Dark Beer Festival is the brainchild of Tom Madden, someone we've known for years as an avid beer fan who's now stepping to the other side of the bar under the Hullabaloo Events banner to inject some winter joy into his hometown of Ballarat.
The inaugural takes place at the historic Mining Exchange on June 29 across two sessions (11am to 3pm and 4pm to 8pm).
Attendees will get to choose from 28 dark beer styles from 14 independent craft breweries, as well as enjoying masterclasses and live entertainment.
Brewers include two-time Champion Australian Beer trophy winners Dollar Bill alongside Red Duck, Cubby Haus, Aunty Jacks, Good Knight, Shedshaker, Holgate, Bridge Road, Bad Shepherd, Noodledoof, Hawkers, Hepburn Springs, Valhalla and Bells Beach.
Food offerings come from Tim’s Toasties, Flying Chillies and cheese platters from Campanas Deli, while Kilderkin and Itinerant Spirits will also be on hand offering cocktails and spirits, with a range of palate-cleansing beers will be available at the Can Bar.
Early bird tickets are available for $72 + booking fee until May 24 (or until sold out). General admission tickets cost $85 + booking fee.
The festival is supported by the City of Ballarat, The Crafty Pint, Bintani, Joe White Maltings, Small Dog Design, Humanitix and Ballarat Event Hire.
BUY TICKETS HERE
BEER CLUB BONUS!
We've lined up a bunch of tickets of members of The Crafty Pint's beer club, The Crafty Cabal. There's two ways to get hold of them:
- Existing members can sign in here or via The Crafty Pint app and enter a giveaway before June 5.
- Or you can grab one of two set aside for new members by choosing the Obsidian option from the signup box when joining.
