This February's Ballarat Beer Festival will be a chance to get a "loud and clear message" out to support local businesses, organiser Ric Dexter said, after two horrific years.
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The festival, returning for its 10th year, will take over Ballarat's North Gardens on February 19 for a day celebrating independent brewers from across Australia, as well as cider and wine makers.
Its sister event, Funk'N'Fest, will also return on the Sunday, with soul queen Kylie Auldist headlining a stacked bill.
READ MORE: Ballarat Beer Festival 2022 dates locked in
Speaking of lineups, Mr Dexter said the all-important list of brewers will be released this week, including some new faces, but one to look out for will be Ballarat's own Red Duck from Delacombe.
The brewery will partner up with new festival sponsor Haymes Paint, another Ballarat institution, for a special beer exclusively at the event.
The company's Matt Haymes said as a family-run independent business, they understood what drove many breweries.
"It's a great synergy, we're the last Australian-made and owned paint company, we only support local independent hardware stores, and much like independent brewers, it's not easy," he said.
"This is our way of giving back, because with hospitality and tourism, this is an important event for Ballarat.
"About 50 per cent of the people that come (to the festival) are locals, but it brings a huge amount from the rest of the state - let's get them to our town and show them a good time."
He added there are also Haymes Paint prize packs on offer for earlybird ticket buyers.
There were no hints on what the special collaboration with Red Duck will be, but Mr Haymes said guaranteed it'll be worth a try on the day.
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"We certainly trust (Red Duck) and Ric's judgement on the beer," he said with a laugh.
A home-brewer's competition will also launch soon, with the winner able to partner with Federation University's master brewers to create a batch to be poured at The Mallow Hotel.
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