Bendigo Beer is a concept that's been a success from day one. The brainchild of a couple of locals who bonded over beer at the Dispensary Enoteca and were determined to raise the profile of craft beer in the city has helped turn many bars, restaurants and pubs to better beer since its inception in 2011. It has run a number of different events, from home brew comps and dinners to Oktoberfests and, most successfully of all, Bendigo On The Hop.
In a calendar that's increasingly full of beer events – big and small – this one still managed to stand out. It's a one day festival that features a load of brewers showcasing their wares – nothing unusual there – but it does so by pairing them with venues throughout the regional city and encouraging guests to make their way between them over the course of the day. Thus, not only do brewers get to showcase their beers but a wide array of beer supporting venues get to show off what they do to new customers.
It ran for the first time in 2014, promptly sold all of its 1,850 tickets, with the only negative for Bendigo Beer being that it proved so immensely popular that some venues were overwhelmed by the lines at their bars. But, as problems go, being more popular than you'd expected is a good one to have as the organisers prepare to return on August 1.
"It blew me away," says Trev Birks, main man at the not for profit Bendigo Beer. "What I loved about it was that 99 percent of the punters were really understanding because it was our first year so even though the lines were bad they had an awesome day."
This year, steps have been taken to ameliorate such issues. They're using the 80ml samples attendees at the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular (GABS) will be familiar with so punters can receive their samples at each venue without needing to gain access to the bar – or while waiting in line at a bar – and there has been careful planning at each venue to manage crowds.
Many of the brewers from 2014 are returning, with a few newcomers added on a first come, first served basis. Tickets, which cost $50pp, get attendees access to 11 venues, 22 breweries and 44 beers. Each ticket comes with a souvenir glass, wristband and event booklet containing 22 tokens for the brews on show.
As for the concept itself, which sees attendees chose a starting venue and then make their way around the venues over the course of the day sampling at each, Trev says: "[Bendigo Beer] could have jumped in early with the festival format but we needed to sit back and see what everyone else was doing.
"We've always been passionate about being different and wanted to create a festival where the people who had supported craft beer's growth benefited.
"Geelong [with the Great Australian Beer Festival] is fantastic but it's at a racecourse and Ballarat [Beer Festival] is also great but neither have the number of venues or a craft beer scene to support them afterwards; when you leave the festival, where do you go? That gave us the idea to [engage] the large number of restaurants and pubs and bars that have brought good beer on board and say, 'Let's use them.'
"That was the ethos: to showcase Bendigo and the venues that supported us and to do something different."
Clearly, their concept struck a chord. Enough breweries were willing to gamble on the festival working to fill the venues that jumped on board and the expected audience of 500 to 600 turned into 2,000 once organisers and brewers were factored in.
The attending brewers for this year's event have yet to be announced but we do know that Coopers has joined in and will be using the festival for the launch of its 2015 Coopers Vintage Ale.
"[Coopers Area Manager] Roy Lever has been a big influence on good beer in Central Victoria," says Trev.
"We shared a bottle of Arrogant Bastard at the Dispensary and I told him what we were all about. He said it matched really well with Coopers so it was just a nice fit; he didn't need a lot of convincing."
The lineup will be known after the festival's official launch in Melbourne later in the month, but tickets are already on sale now. Trev says venues have been working with the Bendigo Blues & Roots Festival, which Bendigo Beer sponsors, to line up entertainment throughout the day, which will wrap up with an after party at Rocks on Rosalind.
He says: "I'm so proud of this festival. [Mountain Goat national sales manager] Wags told me after last year's that it was the best festival he'd been too and hearing that makes it worth the hard work.
"We really hit the nail on the head."
Bendigo on the Hop is on August 1. You can buy tickets here.
