No hangover for Good Beer Week
The Sip Editor Ross Lewis casts his mind back to what was a Good Beer Week in Melbourne.
There shouldn’t be any liver pains. No-one should have complaints about sore heads. And tummies must not rumble.
At The Sip it is paramount to promote the responsible consumption of alcohol. After all, enjoying beer is all about the taste not the quantity.
Yet, for nine days every year the rules are bent like a well-used elbow in the front bar. The world’s brewing focus turns to Melbourne for Good Beer Week, the Australian International Beer Awards and the Great Australasian Beer Spectapular.
There was enough beer to fill, well, gosh … a lot of Olympic size swimming pools. And rafts of punters enjoyed the swim through some of the best dark, light, bright, pale, sour, hoppy and amber nectar available.
It would be impossible to experience the 250 events on offer. And only the truly committed would have downed the 116 beers on offer over the three days of GABS.
Fortunately, The Sip took a big notebook to Melbourne so the highlights could be recorded before memory fade set in.
And here are the top five points of interest from beer’s own festive season.
There is a growing trend of more I than A at the Australian International Beer Awards. But that isn’t a bad thing. The keenness of overseas brewers (the internationals) to participate in the medal races can only be a boost to the local market. However, it was still weird to see Saigon Beer’s 333 Premium Export from Vietnam win the trophy for Best Australian Style Lager. The Kiwis are also making some noise. Well done to Mountain Goat for the Champion Beer success with their Barrel Breed Barley Wine.
This festival cannot be replicated elsehwere in Australia. Fortunately, Melbourne has the small bar culture to complement the bigger venues in staging key events. And the city’s beer industry has embraced the concept. The difficulty for GABS if it wants to take its show on the road is to find somewhere with the facilities, ambience, proximity to city and privacy that can match the Royal Exhibition Building. At least there is still some room at the grand old girl to allow for GABS’ expansion.
It’s not all about the beer. No that isn’t blasphemy. Beer is no longer a single entity. It is one-half of the package with a brew’s ability to be paired with food an important element. And Melbourne bars and restaurants, as well as Good Beer Week promoters, have increasingly provided direction for drinkers in terms of what is best to complement their drink. The rapid sell-out of Mega Dega III, featuring quality brews and dinner, highlights the bond. The Sip thoroughly enjoyed the Quiet Deeds-Chin Chin session on the Wednesday. Two minds working as one.
Belgium and France provided considerable inspiration to the brewers at GABS. 4 Hearts’ Wabbit Saison, Yenda’s Belgian Dubbel, Beaverton’s Abrigot Jammed (Belgian Specialty Ale), Birra Del Borgo’s Mood Indigo (Biere de Garde), Bridge Roads’ Creek (Lambic), Holgate’s Red Riding Wood (Saison) and Little Creatures Saison Susan highlighted the trend.
While the palette gets sated the mind is also stimulated by Good Beer Week. Everyone’s there to taste the brews but the drinking community has become more discernible and has a thirst for knowledge about what their consuming. So while a sip is important so is the lesson. And that is where the brewers and owners come in. Support from home and abroad makes the festival. The industry also learns about itself from the AIBA and the Craft Brewers Conference. It proves good beer is still about people.
