Calling all Good Beer People!

Registrations for the festival described as “the best beer week in the world” opened today (October 1, 2014). The organisers of Good Beer Week are inviting anyone wishing to run an event at next year’s festival, which runs from May 16 to 24 across Melbourne and Victoria, to jump online and submit their ideas.

They have until October 31 to complete their registrations and, more importantly, to dazzle the organising committee with their brilliance and ingenuity. As in previous years, Good Beer Week is looking for the best, most creative, innovative, eye-catching and entertaining beer events ever seen.

The 2015 festival will be the fifth time Good Beer Week has run after launching in May 2011. Since then it has risen to become one of the key events on the global craft beer calendar, attracting brewers and beer lovers from all over Australia as well as visitors from five continents. In 2014, the program featured more than 200 hugely diverse events at 160 venues and won praise from some of the best loved breweries in the world.

After growing by more than 400 percent since the first festival in May 2011, the intention is to cap the program at a similar size to 2014.

Festival director James Smith says: “In the four months since the last Good Beer Week came to a close, we’ve been working hard at making the ‘best beer week’ better still and have some hugely exciting plans for 2015.

“As in previous years, we can’t wait to see what fantastic ideas the beer world comes up with over the coming weeks. We also intend to give all submissions the closest scrutiny yet as we fully expect to receive a record number of submissions but would like to keep the festival at a similar size to 2014.

“So if you’re planning to be a part of the 2015 program, make sure your ideas are so ingenius and incredible that we simply have to include them!”

HOW IT WORKS

As in 2013 and 2014, the festival program is split into five streams to ensure it offers broad appeal and to help attendees find their perfect event. These streams are Beer 101, Beer Lover, Beer Geek, Foodie and Good Times. Full explanations of each of these are available in the Event Guidelines and within the registration process.

The organisers are also keen to have a good spread across all streams, a healthy proportion of free-to-enter events as well as those that showcase good beer at new venues or in unique or unusual places.

Anyone wishing to register an event can do so via the festival website here.

Applicants will be notified by the end of November as to whether they have made it onto the program for 2015. The program will be unveiled on March 13 to coincide with a two-day Gala Showcase at an exciting new venue.

Good Beer Week runs from May 16 to 24 across Melbourne and Victoria. And, after two successful years at The Terminus, in Fitzroy North, the Festival Hub is moving into the City of Melbourne to Beer DeLuxe in Federation Square.

For more information, head to the Good Beer Week website.