While Ballarat’s love affair with craft beer has been well documented in the warmer months, hundreds of enthusiasts braved the cold at the Ballarat Mining Exchange on Saturday for a taste of a darker drop.
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The Ballarat Brew Festival featured local beer merchants Red Duck, Cubby Haus and Athletic Club with support from wine, spirits and cider suppliers from across the region.
The beer extravaganza was part of the City of Ballarat’s increased Winter Festival offerings, with the similarly focused Red Series to take place in the same space next weekend.
Cubby Haus Brewing owner Malcolm Sachs said events such as the festival at the Mining Exchange played an important role in promoting the region’s brewing strength, particularly in the colder months.
“Events like this are the single most important thing we can do to get our name known by locals and tourists,” Mr Sachs said.
The festival is the third major brewing attraction so far this year, with the annual Beer Festival at City Oval taking place in January followed by the historic Beers Through the Years event, which tied tasting with education as part of Ballarat Heritage Weekend in May.
The city is home to four craft breweries in Rebellion, Cubby Haus, Athletic Club and Red Duck and will soon also boast a major commercial brewer when BROO begins construction on its new headquarters in the Ballarat West Employment Zone in early 2018.
The four craft breweries also launched their own Ballarat Beer Trail earlier this year, encouraging tourists to tour the city’s breweries in a similar fashion to the tried and tested wine cellar door experience.
Mr Sachs said the increasing volumes of boutique producers in Ballarat would ultimately have a beneficial impact on all hospitality ventures in the region.
“(If Ballarat gets) one or two more breweries we will reach a critical mass and we will start getting tour companies involved and we’ll be on their radar,” Mr Sachs said. “I’ve found cooperating as a craft brewers guild is very important to present a single message as Ballarat brewers, so for us being the smallest it’s very important to get involved.”
Saturday’s festival comes after a wave of tourists and locals alike took to the streets for the Winter Festival’s family friendly activities, with more than 16,000 trying their hand at ice skating over 16 days. More than 70,000 have also visited Sovereign Hill’s Winter Wonderlights since June 30.
The 2017 incarnation of the festival has also shone the spotlight on a host of Ballarat producers through events focusing on everything from baking to truffles.