Festival lauds country breweries

This isn’t the run-of-the-mill gathering of some country brewers.

Next month’s South West Craft Beer Festival features almost a quarter of the Western Australian Brewers Association. There are highly regarded brewing operations coming to Busselton on February 11. It just so happens these set-ups are rural-based. They could hold their own in any city brewing community.

Take Bootleg Brewery. The Wilyabrup enterprise has been around for more than 20 years, well before people called their drinks craft beer.

Its Margaret River neighbour Colonial now has a national audience with Small Ale, Pale Ale and India Pale Ale cans.

After 10 years of operation it is tough to go past Cowaramup Brewing Company's Pilsner, which features on plenty of taps – maybe not enough for owner Jeremy Good – in the big town to the north.

Eagle Bay and Cheeky Monkey have also made big leaps in terms of specialty production over the past 18 months. Their feats have been recognised nationally.

So the full SWCBF 2017 list is –

- Artisan Brewery, Denmark

- Black Brewing Co, Margaret River

- Black Kite Beverage Co, Margaret River

- Blue Mile Brewery, Busselton

- Bootleg Brewery, Margaret River

- Boston Brewing Co, Denmark

- Brewhouse, Margaret River

- Cheeky Monkey Brewery and Cidery, Margaret River

- Colonial Brewery, Margaret River

- Cowaramup Brewing Co, Cowaramup

- Eagle Bay Brewing Co, Eagle Bay

- Margaret River Ale Co, Margaret River

- The Beer Farm, Margaret River

- Three Rivers Brewery, Mandurah

And that is a quality grouping.

The festival is restricted to breweries outside of the Perth metropolitan area and in the south west arc.

There will be plenty of pressure on Denmark’s Boston Brewing, who won the best beer in show at the 2016 event with their Pale Ale.

A strong possibility exists of a strong early run on Artisan Brewing beers at the festival after head brewer ran out of drops because of popularity 12 months ago.

The SWCBF 2017 will also feature beverages from –

- 3 Oceans Wines, Margaret River (exclusive wine and champagne supplier)

- The Cidery and Blackwood Valley Brewing Co, Bridgetown

- Elephants Rock Cider, Denmark

- Custard & Co, Donnybrook

The SWCBF 2017 will again be held as a one-day event at Old Broadwater Farm on February 11 from 11am to 6pm.

Sales available via Ticketbooth.