Go for launch! That seems as good a way as any to describe the next few weeks in the world of beer as new brews emerge from tanks around the country at a rapid rate.
It starts in Melbourne tonight where Hop Nation is releasing the 2017 version of its Kalash Russian imperial stout – head to the brewery and you can try it three ways: a bourbon barrel pour, a Pinot Noir pour and the final, blended version. Not too far away, over at Jimmy’s Tap & Barrel, Stockade will have its GABS maple imperial stout on show alongside a new Hop Splice XPA.
Next we head out to Moorabbin where the 2 Brothers are lighting things up with an Uncensored Smoking Jacket while 3 Ravens is going really very juicy, with the latter hosting an advance party of Crafty Cabal members, as was the case last night in Sydney where our Cabalistas got a tour and tasting of everything that Wildflower has to offer before its grand opening on Saturday. As for Cabal events you can still get to, at the end of June we’ll be in South Australia setting sail with the good ship Pirate Life and you're welcome to get on board.
Speaking of the Pirates, they'll be in Sydney for a couple of beer dinners, the first at the Empire Hotel to repeat last year's epic feast and then north of the bridge where The Oaks awaits.
Back to the beer releases, tickets are now on sale for Stone & Wood’s charity fundraising Festival of the Stone in Byron Bay while fellow New South Welshmen at Murray’s are prepping their annual barrage of imperial stouts. Bright Brewery is making a song, dance and massive fire festival of the launch of its annual Stubborn Russian while we’re not exactly sure what they’ve got cooking at BentSpoke but it’s their third birthday so you can expect plenty of treats. Another birthday fast approaching is that of Queensland's Brouhaha Brewing who'll be celebrating by inviting you and a whole bunch of brewers along for a party and a sleepover.
Into the always busy world of tap takeovers, it'll be old favourites plus harvest beers and Brett ales at the Royal Albert Hotel when Bridge Road comes to call. The Union Hotel has a belter for fans of dark beers as they tap 40 of them over a single weekend, near neighbours at Staves channel the same sort of thinking for a Winter Solstice at the brewpub, Beer DeLuxe in Hawthorn goes channels Noah's Ark for its long weekend takeover and Stein's Taphouse pays tribute to the brewers of the Barossa by giving them all its taps to play with. Oh, and if you missed GABS, head here to see if there's a venue near you tapping festival beers.
Lastly, you can still pick up a handful of tickets for the Sydney Craft Beer and Cider Fair at top Sydney bottleshop, The Oak Barrel. The event's a very popular one with punters and is a sell out every year but we've got a couple of tickets to give away – details to come shortly...
