Here we go again: Good Beer Week is back! Tonight sees the festival kick off with the Opening Party at Beer DeLuxe in Fed Square in advance of the full program unfolding from tomorrow.
Here at The Crafty Pint we've got a seriously busy week lined up, one that takes in degustations, Pint of Origin tours, masterclasses, blind tastings, awards and more besides. Hopefully you've got your week planned out. If not, you can check out our themed previews for some ideas – including our final one added today, which looks at events for those who want to be able to sample lots of different beers under the one roof. Many events are already sold out or down to the last handful (see here) so good luck finding what you're after.
We've also – after a mere four years and eight months – managed to get around to creating the first ever piece of Crafty Pint merch (unless you count the Craft Beer Rising t-shirts). Just this week we took delivery of “Craft Beer Is Love” t-shirts, figuring that if there's ever a time in the year when the beer community feels the love it's Good Beer Week.
They're made with high quality 100 percent cotton, all organic ink and are limited to just 100. We've got them in men's M, L, XL and XXL and women's M, L and XL. And it's first come, first served.
We don't have a shop facility on Crafty yet – that'll come when The Crafty Cabal launches (“What's that?” you ask. All in good time, dear readers…). So if you want one, email crafty@craftypint.com, specifying the size and we'll sort it out in a suitably time-consuming manner. They're $40 a pop plus P&P and when they're gone they're gone. If you're in Melbourne for Good Beer Week we might be able to cross paths and deliver in person.
As for why? Well, apart from the fact the residents of Crafty Towers appear to be slightly unhinged hippies, we feel that it sums up what, at root, drives many of us in the beer world to do what we do and underpins why many of you feel so passionately about the beer in your hand.
Yes, breweries have to be successful businesses. Yes, just because a brewery is small and has a nice story behind it doesn't mean there's any excuse for a lack of quality. Yes, the industry is only going to get more competitive and it will become harder for many people to survive. And so on.
But, at the heart of the beer community are people who have poured their lives and life savings – often at the expense of easier, better paid careers – into something they love.
What's more, we've witnessed with no little incredulity the backlash against many elements of the contemporary beer world in recent months; some criticisms contain kernels of truth but the torrent of anti-craft articles has felt out of proportion and unjustified, especially when the scene here is so young and still finding its feet. We've also seen growing competition in areas of the industry when surely it's so small that there should be a united front to raise the profile for and standards of good beer.
So we thought we'd reclaim love for craft beer (as ridiculous as that may sound).
What's more, if anyone is still trying to define “craft beer”, which they seem to be, they could do worse than start with love; after all, if you don't love what you're doing and pour love into your beer then…
Which brings us back to Good Beer Week: the time above all others in Australia when the beer community comes together to celebrate what they love.
It's going to be huge. If you're taking part, be good, enjoy your new friends, make the most of the opportunities, and hopefully we'll see you along the way.
Cheers!
