In Kiama, there’s a beer battle brewing.
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For the next month, the region’s brewers are going head-to-head to discover who makes the best beer.
The Battle of the Beers is all part of Craft Beer Month at the Sebel Harbourside Kiama.
The breweries duking it out are Illawarra Brewing and Five Barrel from Wollongong, HopDog from Nowra, Southern Highlands Brewing in Moss Vale, Eden Brewery in Mittagong and Cupitt’s Brewery at Milton.
Executive chef and beverage manager Dan James said each week two breweries will go head-to-head.
READ MORE: Look out for a local beer
Drinkers get to sample two beers from each brewer and then cast a vote for their favourite over the bar.
Next week, HopDog will square up against Five Barrel, with Eden and Cupitt’s doing battle in week three.
The final week will see the two most popular brewers face off for the title.
Mr James said it was part of a new approach for the bar at the Sebel, where beers from the region will be showcased.
“They will be permanently available and the taps will rotate,” Mr James said.
“It’s about building the relationships with these brewers. Now we’ve got that relationship we will have a tap on from each of them and we can rotate them with seasonals or something new, along with more regular beers that people can comfortably sit there and have a session with.”
It’s a move that will likely make the Sebel bar the only place on the South Coast where people will be able to try beers from all the region’s breweries in the one place.
Mr James said the local focus on the beer taps gives drinkers the chance to make a connection with the brews made nearby, rather than the product of mainstream breweries that are available everywhere.
“There’s no story behind the beer, no personality behind the beer,” Mr James said of those mainstream brews.
“Being behind the bar serving the beer it’s hard to talk about them – ‘oh, this is Toohey’s New from ...’ but I can say this is from HopDog and it was brewed by Tim down in Nowra using Christmas pudding.”
The increasing interest in craft beer was part of a worldwide movement.
“It’s big overseas at the moment,” he said.
“It’s massive in America and the UK, and it’s growing here as well. There more and more small breweries and nano-breweries around the place and the awareness is there.
“It’s just about educating people. They’ve come in for an Old and you just say ‘have a taste of this Five Barrel milk stout’.”
Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
