By Clyde Mooney
Brewers, connoisseurs and everyday drinkers will congregate in Newcastle for the first annual Craft Beer Week, November 21-27.
In a week-long festival the history, art and taste of craft beer will be celebrated through a series of appreciation events.
The program will feature beer-themed master-classes, degustation dinners, tastings and talks involving some of Australia's best known head brewers.
The official Craft Beer Week degustation dinner will take place on November 24 at The Albion.
On November 26 celebrity chef and host of Mercurio's Menu, Paul Mercurio, will co-host a session at The Albion with Holgate Woodend Brewhouse, incorporating dishes from his new cookbook, Cooking with Beer.
Other highlights will include The Art of Brewing workshop on November 23 at The Delany Hotel, hosted by Coopers Brewery and providing tips on beer brewing at home, and a women's-only beer appreciation event on November 21 run by 'The Beer Diva', Kirrily Waldron, at Bar Petite.
The week's events are a mixture of free-to-attend and ticketed affairs, ranging from $25 to $99 per person.
Events will be spread across popular Newcastle haunts, including The Albion Hotel, The Prince of Wales Hotel, The Junction Hotel, Dockyard, Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club, Silo Restaurant and Lounge, Warners at the Bay, Clarendon Hotel, Burwood Inn, Bar Petite and The Delany Hotel.