By STEFAN BRADLEY
BEERS brewed in Gippsland can be found all over the region and beyond, but there’s only one event that gets them all in the one spot on the same day.
The Gippsland Beer Fest was held last month at the Tinamba Hotel, and brought in locals and visitors from across the state to enjoy music, socialise, and of course, drink a nice cold regionally-brewed beer.
Drinkers could sip the same type of beer they’ve enjoyed for years, or want to try the new variants the brewers created – some with stories and artwork to enhance the experience.
The venue also hosts the long-running Tinamba Food & Wine Festival in collaboration with Wine Gippsland. Tinamba Hotel owner Simon Johnson said the two events had a different feel.
“It’s a very different crowd and the vibes are a bit different – the beer fest is a bit more upbeat. This event is obviously about celebrating breweries and cideries, and allowing them to show off their latest releases,” Mr Johnson said.
The breweries and cideries were Good Land Brewing Co (Traralgon East), Maffco Brewery and Taphouse (Maffra), Sailors Grave Brewing (Cape Conran), Bandolier Brewing (Warragul), Ocean Reach Brewing (Cowes), Burra Brewing Co (Korumburra), Five Aces Brewing Co (Neerim South), Gurneys’ Cidery (Foster and Fish Creek), and Green Gully Brewing (Cowes).
Each year the festival supports a charity, with more than $2500 raised last year for the Cancer Council.
This year was all about the Little Jem Foundation, which supports families in Gippsland who’ve suffered the sudden loss of a baby or child during pregnancy, as a newborn or as a young child.
