As revealed by The Courier on Monday, Quarterbar, a free two-day craft beer event based in Alfred Deakin Place, will take place across February 14 and 16.

AHA Victorian president David Canny says his organisation will support any new event coming through Ballarat, especially when it involves local business.

"We encourage any event that brings people to town," he said.

"Particularly with what's happening internationally, we need to encourage people from metropolitan Melbourne to come to Ballarat.

"This event sounds really good... it's always important that there are some local businesses that can reap the benefits from events."

The event has been organised by local sour beer brewers Fiona and Ed Nolle, who run Dollar Bill Brewing. It will also feature Ballarat brewers Red Duck Brewery and Cubby Haus Brewing, alongside a further 17 brewers from around Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Canny said the next step for Quarterbar will be working with more local businesses to help grow the event even further.

"We (the AHA) then want those businesses to coordinate with other businesses and venues in town and see how they can get involved and they can benefit.

"Planning in that area is really important so that local businesses know exactly what is going on."

Looking at the strength of home grown events, Mr Canny believes new events such as Quarterbar will be crucial to keep visitors coming to Ballarat and the surrounding region.

"These kinds of events are the future... We've got to give people a reason to come to our city."

The push for more events comes on the back of record figures across Ballarat last year, which saw the city break the million mark for overnight visitors in the 12-months to the end of September 2019.

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