We get a lot of media releases here at Brews News, most of them are more crammed with adjectives and superlatives than there are tears in an episode of Masterchef. Still, this one caught our attention and so while we would normally strip ‘ultimate’ out of any headline, we left it in this one to make sure it caught your attention too.

Let’s see. Spending a day in limited company with some craft brewing rockstars for a masterclass on many elements of beer, brewing and food. If ‘ultimate’ is a bit of stretch, it’s much easier to write – than “absolutely amazing, once in a lifetime beer experience”.

I understand that tickets are very limited and running out…

Media Release

THE ULTIMATE BEER EXPERIENCE

An extraordinary beer festival requires extraordinary events. And if one event fits that bill above all others, it is the Good Beer Week Masterclass of Champions. This day long event brings together two brewing champions from the US and Norway for a true once in a lifetime experience that sees the Yarra Valley’s Hargreaves Hill brewery turned into a fine dining restaurant for the day as it hosts a unique brew day, masterclass and degustation, the likes of which has never been seen in Australia before.

Kjetil Jikiun

Nøgne Ø and Moylan’s are the most recent winners of the Champion Brewery trophy at the Australian International Beer Awards. Both are coming to Australia for the first time for Good Beer Week and have agreed to collaborate on a new beer while hosting an intimate masterclass. They will then join guests for a feast created by chefs from some of Melbourne’s top restaurants as the brewery is turned into a themed restaurant for the day by “dining chameleons” The 36 Collective.

Nøgne Ø founder and head brewer Kjetil Jikiun has taken part in a number of brewing collaborations before; for Brendan Moylan and Moylan’s head brewer Denise Jones it will be the first in their 17 year history.

“As soon as we knew the past two champions from the Beer Awards were coming to Melbourne, we were determined to create something truly special,” says Good Beer Week co-founder James Smith.

“By combining a brew day, masterclass and one-off pop-up dining experience in the Yarra Valley, we’ve done just that and are certain that the guests will enjoy an experience they’ll never forget. That Moylan’s has agreed to brew its first collaboration beer for the event is a huge honour for the festival.

“I worked with The 36 Collective on a brewery floor dinner at Mountain Goat with Mikkeller during Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. They sent guests away in raptures at the quality of the food, the unique presentation and the themed ‘service theatre’ that saw all the waiting staff in matching uniforms taking orders from a heavily bearded man chewing on a cigar and using a megaphone! They’ve designed a new menu and theme for this event – there’s been talk of an Uncle Vlad from New York – with a team drawn from the Stokehouse and Auction Rooms, so we’re all really excited to see what they come up with.”

For Kjetil, the visit is a chance to “learn more about the craft beer culture in Australia” and “see things from new perspectives.”

“I am sure that this one will be just as fun and rewarding as all other collaborative brews I have done,” he says. “Guests can benefit from seeing the different approaches Moylan’s and Nøgne Ø have to the same challenge. I think we are quite dissimilar. It is important though that we dare to be honest and accept that it is OK to disagree and at the same time respect each other.”

Denise says: “Brendan and I are gearing up for a great week in Melbourne. We were very honoured and flattered to be among the top beers selected in the past two AIBA awards competitions and we felt compelled to join the Aussie brewing community for this year’s festivities. We’ve yet to collaborate officially with any other brewery and this opportunity will be our first.

“We are looking forward to using Australian grown barleys and hops to help us identify the wonderful differences in raw materials cultivated in other parts of the world. Our hope is to come up with a beer that has authenticity and charm rather than a brew that identifies as one from the individual breweries themselves.”

The beer they brew will be released later in the year, with distributors Phoenix and Northdown donating all profits to charity.

The Masterclass of Champions is on May 15 at Hargreaves Hill’s brewery.

Tickets cost $250pp, which includes transport to and from the event (pick up at Fed Square), masterclass, degustation with each course matched to beers from Nøgne Ø, Moylan’s and hosts Hargreaves Hilland a champagne bottle of the beer delivered to each guest.