The excitement about Good Beer Week 2015 continues to build as the highly anticipated date of 16 May slowly rolls towards us. Yesterday we gave you our picks of the ticketed events on the program that are still available and today in Part 2 of our Good Beer Week 2015 preview, The City Lane’s “Chief Beer Guy” Jeff discusses the highlights of Good Beer Week 2015’s free events.
Pint of Origin: New Zealand
102 different beers. 9 days. Need we say more? Probably not, but we think it is safe to say that Alex Summers has put together probably the most impressive tap takeover ever in the Melbourne craft beer scene. Extending to 17 taps, the Alehouse Project will be showcasing the very best that our friends from across the Tasman have to offer with a different brewer featured on every day of Good Beer Week.
Things kick off with Panhead Custom Ales and Liberty Brewing at the opening party and finish with Renaissance showcasing on the final Sunday. With the huge variety of brewers and styles that will be on offer you could easily spend the entire week ensconced in the bar, and daily food specials mean that you won’t run out of different ways to line the stomach. The ones you really don’t want to miss here are the 17 tap takeovers by Garage Project (Wednesday 20 May) and Yeastie Boys and Tuatara (closing party – Saturday 23 May).
Pint of Origin; New Zealand
When: Daily
Where: The Alehouse Project, 98-100 Lygon Street Brunswick East
The Danish Invasion – Norse Ale Gods
With breweries like Evil Twin, Mikkeller and To Øl, some of the most interesting, delicious and intense beers in Europe (and the world for that matter) hail from Denmark. During Good Beer Week the Park Hotel in Werribee, another of our favourite craft beer spots and the premier craft beer venue in the West, will be rotating 30 different Danish beers through their taps and will also be running a degustation dinner hosted by head brewer Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø (book directly through the venue for that one).
Even if you don’t live out on the “west side” we recommend you make at least one trip out there as the beers are guaranteed to be absolutely epic – if you do be sure to also try the mac and cheese burger, it is a carb hit like no other.
The Danish Invasion – Norse Ale Gods
When: Daily
Where: The Park Hotel, 12 Watton Street Werribee
The Bacchus Flavour Train
The Queensland craft beer scene isn’t overly prolific, but what it lacks in quantity of microbrews produced, it makes up for in quality and of the breweries hailing from the north-east of our country Bacchus Brewing are one of the very best. They are not afraid to look to flavours such as bacon and maple or rocky road when brewing up new creations, resulting in a line of beers that are both tasty and differentiated from the pack.
This year Bacchus take over the taps at the very hip Deja Vu Bar in Melbourne’s CBD, a venue which has previously hosted Pint of Origin: Queensland and will offer specially made food for the event.
The Bacchus Flavour Train
When: Saturday 16 and Tuesday 18 to Saturday 23 May 2015
Where: Deja Vu Bar, 525 Lt Lonsdale Street Melbourne
Moon Dog vs Lazerpig
Moon Dog are probably the most innovative and experimental microbreweries in the country, having produced concoctions such as the Bad Boy Bubbly, the Peverse Sexual Amalgam, and the infamous Jumping the Shark (which results in nights that may or may not literally jump the shark).
Lazerpig offer a similarly creatively named array of pizzas ranging from the “Broc Steady” to the “Prawn Fraser” and during Good Beer Week you can enjoy a pot of Moon Dog beer and a pizza of your choice for $20. Definitely worth a look in while in transit between tap takeovers.
Moon Dog vs Lazerpig
When: Daily
Where: Lazerpig, 525 Lt Lonsdale Street Melbourne
Brooklyn Party
Brooklyn Brewery are one of the most well known American craft breweries and their beers are easily recognisable from a distance from their iconic base ball-esque logo. Once again they will be taking over the beer garden and back bar taps at one of our old favourites, the Great Northern Hotel, on Good Beer Friday and showcasing their latest seasonal releases as well as some old classics.
The GNH head chef will be firing up the barbie to complete what has become one of the great traditions of Good Beer Week and is always a fun night and worth checking out. The venue is also once again hosting Pint of Origin: USA which is always a great event where you can sample some of the very best beers from the other side of the Pacific.
Brooklyn Party
When: Friday 22 May 2015, 6:00pm
Where: Great Northern Hotel, 644 Rathdowne Street Carlton North