OK, so it’s still six months away, but they say time flies when you’re having fun so it’ll be upon us in no time at all. Returning to Melbourne from May 12 to 19 for another massive celebration of good beer and everything that goes with it, Good Beer Week 2012 will be everything this year’s event was and more. To make sure of that, Crafty and the rest of the Good Beer Week committee have been doing loads of groundwork since the last one finished, meaning we’re now open for event submissions for next year. Given we only came up with the idea of this year’s event in February – ten weeks before it actually happened – we’re hoping this stands us in good stead.
If you’re interested in holding an event anywhere in Melbourne or Victoria during that week, head to the Good Beer Week website, where you can sign in and submit your ideas. Submissions close on December 23, after which the committee will sit down and work out the best possible program, one that we hope will benefit the entire good beer community, not just in Melbourne and Victoria, but across Australia and, if possible, further afield too.
According to committee member and Boatrocker head honcho Matt Houghton: “We’re after event ideas that are creative, fun, educational and inspirational and are opening for submissions early in order to give us all plenty of time to make this the best beer festival ever.”
Already lined up for the opening weekend is The Local Taphouse’s biggest ever SpecTAPular at the Royal Exhibition Building. The Australian International Beer Awards gala dinner takes place on May 17, while we’re also well advanced with plans for a Craft Brewers Conference (so the visiting brewers have to do a little work amid the celebrating) and some really special events.
As well as offering up more of what made 2011’s event so much fun, we’re also looking to branch out into new areas and are keen to receive submissions for events that will appeal to newcomers to quality beer. While we want to have a good time, the ultimate aim is to broaden the market for good beer and encourage more widespread appreciation and understanding of beer and the people that brew it.
If you’re a beer lover, make sure the dates are inked into the diary now. And get saving your pennies, otherwise…
“You know how you felt as a little kid and didn’t get invited to that birthday party?” says Matt.
And no one wants that to go through that again, do they?
Thanks to the People Collective for Good Beer Week’s new look and Inventive Labs for doing the clever stuff that makes the website work.
