Bridge Road Brewers has announced that the inaugural High Country Hops Festival will hit Beechworth on 28 March. The festival is a celebration of Victoria’s High Country Brewers and the 2015 hop harvest.
A completely new event for the region, the festival will bring together likeminded craft brewers and growers of hops, including the four brewers of the High Country Brewery Trail; Black Dog Brewery, Bridge Road Brewers, Bright Brewery and Sweetwater Brewing Company.
The festival will be held outdoors directly behind the Bridge Road brewery and next to the new warehouse and bottling facility. It will feature local food producers, musicians, performers, children’s activities and even archery for you to try your hand at.
James Davidson from Bright Brewery is looking forward to the festival showcasing the locally grown hops from Rostrevor used by the region’s breweries.
“The characterful hops of the Ovens Valley provide a truly local flavour and authenticity to our Bright Brewery beers, and this festival will be a showcase of how each of the region’s breweries uses the local hops to create a unique and diverse range of modern beers,” Davidson said.
Hop Products Australia (HPA) is supporting the festival and will open the doors to its Rostrevor Hop Garden and processing facility for an official tour. Rostrevor Hop Garden has a huge history in the Ovens Valley, and has been an integral part of the region’s productivity since the late 1890s.
Owen Johnson of HPA says, “This is a great opportunity to celebrate the hop harvest, visit the farm and get a feel for the link between paddock and pint”.
For those wishing to travel to the festival from Melbourne, High Country Brewers has partnered with the Gertrude Hotel which will be running a weekend tour to the region to coincide with the event.
To find out more, click here.
Written by Caitlin Burns