By Max Weber
Australia’s annual Good Beer Week has put an industry-wide callout for submissions for an extended festival program in 2014.
Submissions for prospective events will open on October 1st and will remain open for the month, closing on the 31st of October.
Despite being labelled the Good Beer ‘Week’, the festival has grown so large that next year's edition will in fact run for nine days, from the 17th to the 25th of May 2014.
Now into its fourth year, Good Beer Week has evolved into one of the leading beer festivals in Australia, with last year featuring 141 events across 115 venues around Melbourne and regional Victoria.Festival organisers say that next year’s edition will be about evolution rather than revolution, looking to cap events at a similar number to last year.
“We’re delighted with the success of Good Beer Week 2013, but rather than expand and oversaturate the week, we plan to run a similar number of events and make sure they are of a standard befitting the festival’s national and international reputation,” said festival director James Smith.
Any and all ideas relating to beer are being welcomed, with Smith announcing that “no idea is too outlandish,” as long as it celebrates beer’s renaissance and pushes the envelope.
Good Beer Showcase fast approaching
Those beer-lovers who can’t wait until May for their fix will also be pleased to hear that Good Beer Week will be hosting the Good Beer Showcase to coincide with the opening of 2014 submissions.
The Good Beer Showcase, on the evenings of 9th and 10th of October, will feature 25 Victorian brewers presenting their wares at Ormond Hall on St Kilda Road in Village Melbourne.
Only 400 tickets are available, costing $25 and including 20 tasting tokens. There will be additional industry and trade sessions in the afternoon.
The Good Beer Showcase tickets are on sale now, available at https://goodbeershowcase.eventbrite.com.au/
Meanwhile, submissions for the festival proper are via the goodbeerweek.com.au website, which will launch when submissions open.