Beers By The Bay

June 13, 2012, by Crafty Pint

Beers By The Bay

It’s hardly the weather to be thinking of spending time on Port Phillip Bay, unless of course you’re a masochist. Yet, if you’re a beer lover and can cast your mind forward to what will hopefully be a splendidly sunny mid-Spring day, you should as the steadily expanding craft beer festival calendar is set for a new addition. Beers By The Bay comes to the Mornington Peninsula on November 17, promising up to 100 local beers and ciders on tap, plus a selection of the region’s wineries, gourmet produce, live entertainment, beer education sessions and even a slice of The Footy Show.

Inspired by the success of January’s Ballarat Beer Fest, the festival organisers hope to attract up to 8,000 people to Mornington Racecourse. They’re in discussion with 20 predominantly Victorian breweries and cideries and will be offering music from Ash Grunwald and local Mornington Peninsula acts The Toot Toot Toots, Marty Nelson Williams, Ali E and Pocket Perspective on a stage MC’d by James Brayshaw. A second stage will host beer appreciation sessions, Q&As and presentations from brewers, chefs and “beer ambassadors” while there will be a dedicated kids zone too.

“The plan is to showcase the amazing craft beers we’ve got and how to enjoy it with the great food that we produce in this country,” says festival co-founder Rod Stoller. “We also want all stakeholders and attendees to have a successful and profitable event.”

Confirmed so far are:

Buckley’s Beer
Cavalier Brewing
Coldwater Creek
Grand Ridge Brewery
Good Brew Company
Hawthorn Brewing Company
Hix Beer
Kooinda Brewery
Yowie
Matilda Bay
Mildura Brewing Company
Mornington Peninsula Brewery
Prickly Moses
Red Hill Brewery
Tooborac Hotel & Brewery
True South
Cheeky Rascal

Rod and son Lachie run Logistics Events Australia, which has been involved in a number of major events, including New Year’s Eves in Melbourne and Moomba Festivals. They are currently setting up ice rinks in a number of locations around Australia, including Bondi Beach. This will be their first venture into the world of beer, for which they have secured the support of their local Shire.

“With the council being on board, they are keen to promote high quality produce,” says Lachie. “There will be a strong focus on matching beer with food. There is talk of local breweries brewing a beer for us too.”

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The festival website went live this week, although this far out much of the detail in terms of stallholders, timings and so on is yet to be confirmed. Tickets will cost $35 (entry only) while inside the grounds they will be operating a token system, with $1.50 tokens exchanged for 100ml of standard strength beer. Two tokens can be exchanged for 200ml of standard strength beer or 100ml of stronger beer or wine.

We’ll bring you the current lineup of breweries as soon as we receive it. You can stay up to date via the Beers By The Bay Facebook and Twitter accounts.

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