Registrations are NOW OPEN for anyone wishing to hold an event on our forthcoming national day in celebration of Australian craft beer. On February 22, 2014, The Crafty Pint is inviting brewers, venues, beer lovers and their yet-to-be-converted mates to come together to raise a glass or three in honour of the revolution sweeping the land. Craft Beer Rising is all about “Celebrating local beer from local brewers at the best local venues” – and making as much noise about the industry we love along the way.
We’re making it as easy as possible to get involved. All we suggest for brewers is to be open (if they can) and on hand to share a drink with visitors and for venues to go all-Aussie on tap (if they have taps) for the day. Or for brewers that don’t have a venue to hook up with their nearest or favourite craft beer venues, pop some beers on tap and prop up the bar to share beers and stories with drinkers.
That said, even at this early stage we’re already aware of some awesome hyperlocal tap takeovers, plans for a Craft Beer Riding cycling event and a special all-Australian ingredients collaboration brew, so there should be plenty to look forward to.
If you’re a brewer or venue owner and want to find out more – or are ready to register your involvement on the day – simply head here and follow the simple step-by-step instructions. If you’ve got a listing on The Crafty Pint, check your inbox too as we’ve sent you an exclusive discount code.
As for drinkers, we decided to draw up a Craft Beer Rising Manifesto for the day too:
1. Head to your nearest brewery and share a beer with the brewer.
2. Go to your nearest participating venue pouring all Aussie beer for the day and join in the fun.
3. Take a trip down Memory Lane with the first Australian craft beer you ever enjoyed.
4. Gift a bottle or glass of your favourite Aussie craft beer to a mate who claims they don’t like beer.
5. If all your local venues sell crap beer, gift the landlord a bottle of your favourite Aussie craft beer and suggest they get with the program.
If you can do the above with a mate (or loads of mates) who are yet to be converted all the better – let’s spread the love!
As for The Crafty Pint, we’ll be basing ourselves at the Grain Store in Newcastle. They pour nothing but independent, Australian craft beer on their 20 taps all year round so it seemed the only choice. We’ll be hosting a Pint of Origin Blind Tasting double-header in the afternoon then celebrating with some great Aussie beers and brewers into the evening.
Grain Store owner Corey Crooks says: “Craft Beer Rising reinforces what we do every day of the year, which is to support what’s happening in our own backyard because we want to see it grow.
“The biggest thing for me is to get behind these guys who have mortgaged their houses to buy stainless steel and give us great beer. In the eight months since we opened, we’ve poured 400 Australian beers in an array of styles and we couldn’t have done that even three years ago. Across Australia, the benchmark for quality and consistency has been well and truly raised.”
Events will start appearing on the site soon – keep an eye on The Crafty Pint’s Facebook and Twitter for updates. We’ll be sending posters out to participants later this month too.
In the meantime, you can help by spreading the word both to mates and your local breweries and venues – it could be a great way for a venue dipping its toes into craft beer to see just how smart a move it is to make the switch to the good stuff. And the more people we can get on board, the more noise we can make and the more we can boost, strengthen and consolidate our awesome homegrown industry.
Cheers!
Thanks to the Grain Store, HPA, Bintani and Good Beer Week for their support.
