Good Beer Week

When I first read about Good Beer Week happening in Melbourne last week, I could not believe that it was into it’s third year. Where have I been for the other two!? An excuse to drink different beers, and visit a whole range of pubs around Melbourne city seems like a perfect week to me!

I spent a bit of time trawling over the website at the range and timetable of events across the week, here and in Regional Victoria. I managed to narrow it down to a little list of events that fit in with my week, and ensured that I did not break my personal rule about drinking on my own!

On the Monday night Carly and I met at The Gertrude Hotel to check out the Pint Of Origin beers from Tasmania. The pub was packed, inviting and warm – Carly had a Tassie cider whilst I tasted the "Willie Warmer" from Seven Sheds. A dark, Guinness-looking beer, it finished with chocolate and liquorice flavours. Yum!

This was actually a detour, because we were out in the area for the Secret Cinema at The Wilde Bar. For $35 we had a hearty dinner, a beer, and a secret "pub movie" – all set in the cosy upstairs room, which was beautifully fitted out with gorgeous old chairs. Dinner was Pot Roasted Silverside of Beef with Autumn Vegetables, with an Endeavour Amber Ale each - and the movie was the legendary The Big Lebowski! Great night!

The other Good Beer Week event I managed to get to was the Pint Of Origin from the ACT, which was hosted by The Court House, which happened to be around the corner from my housesitting gig that week. Jessie and Heath joined me to sample some of the beers on tap from both breweries featured. This pub is pretty impressive inside, and we really enjoyed the The Mother Funker Gueuze, and then the Rumpole's Pale Ale, both from Wig & Pen. Both beers had an interesting fruit finish, with pineapple being a memorable one, Canberra does indeed do beer as well as wine!

Certainly a couple of beer labels I will watch out for in the future. I love micro-brew discoveries like these, and Good Beer Week was a perfect showcase for many of them from all over Australia. I will be keen to check out more events across the week, next year!