Running from October 25 – November 2, WA Beer Week is exactly what it purports to be: a week long celebration of the art of brewing in WA, encompassing some 61 events. We caught up with beer maestro Reece Wheadon over a sneaky pint or three.
Who are we talking to?
My names Reece, my title this year is “WA Beer Week Gentleman,” last year it was “Dude,” But in all practicality I’m the director of the week and this is my fifth attempt at a Beer Week.
Tell us about Beer Week – give us a potted history.
This is the 13th WA Beer Week, it’s one of the oldest in the country but unfortunately was also a little slow to grow, as many things in WA are. But as we’ve hit the second boom in microbreweries the week has jumped from strength to strength. I still remember the first Beer Week I ever went to, it had four events in the dead of winter and the highlight was the industry-only launch which featured a lot of free beer. Now we make sure we focus our events much more on the public.
What’s new this year?
There’s a lot new this year, more bars are jumping on board, more breweries are trying different things and everyone seems a bit happier to be a bit more risky with their event themes. This year some of the new additions are three mini festivals, an amazing sour dinner and some epic degustations.
What local producers should be seeking out?
There’s so much, everyone’s trying cool stuff right now. Eagle Bay have a Cacao Stout made with Bahen & Co. cacao husks. Bootleg just did a ridiculous collaboration with Mane Liquor called Ryezilla, it’s super hoppy and Nail have a great Red Ale out. On top of that Beersine are pumping out amazing beer cheese, hop honey, hop olive oil, fermented chilli sauce and epic small goods, all with beer.
What are the don’t miss events this year?
Ooh, you’ll get me in trouble with questions like that but I’d say huge can’t miss events would be:
A Co-Op Beer Lunch (Saturday, November 1). An amazing gastronomical experience featuring five of Perth’s best chefs paired with five top brewers to create a huge 5 course beer degustation.
Mane Liquor Beer Spectacular & Feral Fest (Saturday, October 25). and made a beer just for this unique event at Five Bar
Beer Through The Ages (Wednesday, October 29). Three teams of different brewing age groups will compete against each other at Five Bar.
Women Only Beer Judging Class (Thursday, October 30) Pink Boots are a great organisation promoting women in the beer industry ,and we’re stoked to have them running an event at Pirate Bar during Beer Week.
Plus Beer Week HQ- Bob’s Bar at Print Hall is our official headquarters and are offering great deals to people dropping in before or after other Beer Week events.
TRAVIS JOHNSON
For more info on WA Beer Week, get over to wabeerweek.com.
