Regular readers of beer websites such as this would have noticed over the last few months that Brisbane is actually starting to register in the national beer consciousness. The state now has some excellent independent breweries and brewing companies, and a growing band of venues keen to showcase the best beer from both near and far. What has been missing, until now, was a quality event to tie it all together and create some pro-beer noise.

The team behind the Beer Lovers Guide to Australia* and the Critics Choice* books have been listening and, in the absence of anything else springing up, have decided to run their own beer festival.

Although primarily based in Brisbane, the organisers want to reach out to the entire Queensland community and hope to have events in each brewing centre, as well as at the various great beer pubs and venues in regional areas to really build on the good beer gains of the last few years.

One of the real advantages that the state has is that a beer festival can be held in July and still enjoy ‘beer drinking’ weather. The last few months of spring and early summer have seen the beer calendar jam-packed with major beer events events, with more scheduled in January. Such a crowded schedule makes it difficult for brewers to fit them all in. July gives southern brewers a bit of a clean air if they were minded to head up and show off their wares. What’s more is that in Queensland in July beer events have every chance of being held under clear blues skies and day-time temperatures of 22+ degrees. Hopefully the warm winter will encourage brewers and beer lovers from less favourable winter climes to head up to the winter sun.

We’ll keep you posted on events and schedules as they come to hand. In the meantime, block out July 16 – 21 in you diaries.

*DISCLAIMER: Both Pete and Matt have been involved in these books and so are naturally well disposed to them, but by the same token we got involved in the books because they’re great blokes supporting good beer.

Media Release

Announcing Queensland Beer Week 2012

Queensland beer lovers who have been jealously watching the growth of beer festivals in southern states will get their very own celebration of good beer in 2012, with the inaugural Queensland Beer Week.

Organised by the publishers of the Beer Lovers Guide to Australia and Critics Choice – Australia’s Best Beers, the event will seek to work with all of Queensland’s best breweries and good-beer-focused pubs, bottle shops and restaurants to coordinate a week of tastings and events designed to showcase the best of Australian beer and beer culture.

Queensland Beer Week will run from 16 – 21 July 2012 and will include events across the state, from the South-East corner right up to Cairns in the Far North.

Event c00rdinator, Mark Midro, said Queensland Beer will be a state-wide celebration of beer for its finest properties.

“Beer is rapidly changing as is our perception of it and Queensland Beer Week will seek to showcase the best that beer can be,” he said.

“Queensland Beer Week and the individual events will be a celebration of beer’s many flavours and showcase the rapidly developing beer culture, as well the breweries and venues that are helping to create and shape that modern beer culture.

“When you look at the flourishing craft beer industry Australia wide, Queensland has been a little slower to embrace the evolving beer culture, but over the last twelve months there have been big changes here.

“Queensland Beer Week will act as a focus for this developing beer scene and help to responsibly promote this growing beer appreciation movement right across the state,” Mark said.

Venues that are interested in being involved in Queensland Beer Week and hosting events such as tastings and dinners are invited to contact Mark Midro to register their interest.

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