Brisbane, are you ready? The fifth Brewsvegas, the citywide celebration of good beer and the community that surrounds it, kicks off tonight with a (sold out, sorry!) Launch Party, heralding nine days of events – more than 70 of them at 50 venues.

There's everything from the serious to the silly, educational to entertaining, and feasts to fests – not to mention the official Brewsvegas 2018 beer. The Hoppy Potato Ale was brewed with Stone & Wood and will see thousands raised towards funding the not-for-profit festival in 2019 and for OzHarvest, the food rescue charity.

Festival co-founder Ben Nichols says: "We’re pretty stoked that our rag tag group of Brisbane bar owners has managed to get to our fifth Brewsvegas and also to see so many venues and breweries that have been part of it every one of those years. 

"A score of new breweries have opened up across Queensland over the last year, so we’re hoping to see a lot of new faces and to try a slew of new things ourselves!”

You can view the full festival program to plot your nine days of shenanigans here.

Here at The Crafty Pint, we're delighted to be involved again, with Pint of Origin returning after its debut in 2017. This time, it's taking place at eight great venues, showcasing the best of Australia as well as the US and New Zealand.

We've created a Hub page gathering together all things PoO here and you can also find all the #PoO18 related events taking place alongside the weeklong showcases in our Events Diary. 

Perhaps the most exciting addition to the Pint of Origin offering this year, however, is the epic competition set up by the festival: head to any PoO venue over the nine days, buy a tasting paddle and fill out the form you're given to go into a draw to win one of three prizes featuring:

• Return flights and accommodation for two people to Good Beer Week and GABS in Melbourne
• Two season passes for GABS Melbourne
• A guided Pint of Origin tour with The Crafty Pint crew

The more venues you visit and paddles you purchase, the more chances you have to win.

We're also co-hosting The Inaugural Brewniverse Pageant, at which one star will be named king or queen of beer in Brisbane and win a swag of goodies from Mornington Peninsula Brewery and us, while there's a bunch of goodies on offer for readers who've signed up to The Crafty Cabal, our beer lovers bonus scheme (see below for more info).

So, what are you waiting for? Tuck into the program, get amongst it and help the Brisbane beer community enjoy its best week of the year!

Crafty Cabal Goodies

We've got a few Brewsvegas specials up for grabs for Crafty Cabal members – aka readers who choose to support the site and get heaps of good stuff in return – plus the regular Brisbane offers too. Here's them all in one place (not including those on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast):

• Brunch with White Brick Brewing at Helsby's Ale House on March 17
• Free beer at the Brewsvegas Launch Party on March 9 (you need a ticket to get in)
• Pints for pots at Pint of Origin NSW – Brewhouse Brisbane
• Free Ekim After Battle at Broad's Bicep Battle at Fitz + Potts on March 16
• Bar Shout with Hop Nation at Netherworld on March 16
• Two-for-one beers at Hopfields 2018 at Bloodhound Bar
• Two-for-one schooners at The Scratch (PoO SA)
• Two-for-one schooners at Brewski (PoO USA)
• Complimentary squealer with first purchase at Green Beacon
• Two-for-one beers on first visit to The Mill (PoO NZ)
• Free pot of house beer with any meal at Saccharomyces
• Complimentary pint at Newstead Doggett St and Milton
• Free schooner with any food purchase at Aether Brewing
• Two-for-one tasting paddles at Brisbane Brewing Co
• Free pot of BBCo beer with a main meal at Brewhouse Brisbane

For more on The Crafty Cabal or to sign up, head here.