Sydney’s biggest winter beer festival is here
We’re throwing the ultimate winter beer celebration from Thursday 23 July to Sunday 26 July.
Featuring all 15 Ale Trail breweries, this new festival showcases exclusive dark brews, surprise collabs, hot poker beers (see specific times below), entertainment and food specials. General entry is free and everyone is welcome.
Exclusive brews and beer poking
From stouts to porters, dark lagers to doppelbocks, we’re turning the Trail into a winter beer wonderland.
Plus breweries like Mixtape, Kicks, Bracket and Sauce will be diving into the German art of ‘beer poking’. This age-old tradition involves plunging a red-hot poker into dark beer, caramelising its residual sugars to create a marshmallow-style head and a truly unique beer experience.
Beer poking venues and times:
Thursday: Bracket 7:30-9:30pm
Friday: Kicks 4-6pm | Mixtape 5-7pm | Sauce 5-7pm
Saturday: Kicks 12-2pm | Mixtape 2-4pm | Sauce 2-4pm
Sunday: Bracket 12-2pm | Kicks 2-4pm | Mixtape 2-4pm | Sauce 2-4pm
Plus there’s surprise beer collabs, tap takeovers and you can even take a brewery tour to get as close to the source as possible.
Festival beer lineup
We’ve got over 40 new and classic dark beers to sample including:
Young Henrys
Cascadian Dark Ale | Japanese Black Lager | Admiral Amber Ale | Blue Label Red Ale | Aussie Brown Ale | Imperial American Brown Ale | Baltic Porter | Motorcycle Oil Hoppy Porter | Real Ale
Grifter
Night Owl Whiskey Stout (nitro) | Omen Oatmeal Stout (nitro) | Horses Head American Red Ale (nitro) | Old Panther Black Lager
Sauce
Paddy Whacked Irish Export Stout (nitro) | Holy Smoke Rauchbier (smoked beer) | Gimme S’more Choc Marshmallow Stout | Mild as Anything Dark Mild
Batch
Dr Grants Revenge American Stout | Kuro Japanese Black Lager | Elsie The Milk Stout | Elsie’s Other Udder Imperial Stout
Philter
Secret Beer on nitro | Black IPA | Old Ale
Mixtape
Dark Hearth Doppelbock (Yulli’s collab) | Black Oath of Midwinter Imperial Stout | ChaI Gruit | Old Sando Dark Ale
Kicks
Infinite Wisdom Dunkles Bock | Uncle Keith’s Oatmeal Stout
Future
Split The F Irish Stout (nitro) | Bigger Chew Imperial Pastry Stout
Bracket
Offset Czech Dark Lager | Lucky Dart Porter |Coconut FIFO Imperial Stout (Working Title collab)
Sydney Brewery Rozelle
Choc Coffee Imperial Stout (Little Marionette Coffee collab) | Speak Easy Black IPA | Smooth Talker Porter | Dark Lager
Pickled Monkey
Dark Mischief Hoppy Stout | Irish Stout (nitro) | Red Ale
Chuck & Son’s
Amber Ale | Superdelic Stout
Hawke’s
Irish Ale
Heaps Normal
Jazz Stout (last cans in Oz!) | Various guest beers
Hopsters
Various guest beers
Earth Wind and Choir, Shanty Club, line dancing and more!
Hibernation is not an option with this hot-hot festival line-up. We’ve got live music and DJs playing across the Trail, and the amazing Shanty Club will be roaming venues to sing their enchanting old-world shanties.
We’re also forming our own community choir led by musician and choirmaster of Earth Wind and Choir, Elana Stone, and Duncan Rintoul. Come celebrate the joy of singing together at Young Henrys on Sunday 4-6pm. No experienced required – just your voice and a sense of fun.
Plus there’s country line dancing classes, Christmas in July with the Adult Glee Club, firepits, food specials and more happening across the four days.
Event schedule
THURSDAY 23 JULY
- Beer poking – Bracket 7:30-9:30pm
- Roaming Shanty Club performances – Grifter 6pm, Bracket 7:15pm, Pickled Monkey 8:15pm
- Brewery tours @ Grifter (free tickets)
- Live music with Brad Christmas, Chris Carrapetta & Jack Nolan live @ Mixtape 7:30pm
- Saddle Club country line dancing @ Chuck & Son’s 6:30pm
- Asphalt Words: Poetry Night @ Hopsters 7pm
FRIDAY 24 JULY
- Beer poking – Kicks 4-6pm | Mixtape 5-7pm | Sauce 5-7pm
- Live jazz with The Meltdown + supports (ticketed) @ Heaps Normal 7pm
- A Man Called Stu dark country DJ set @ Young Henrys 6-9pm
- Dark beer tap takeover and bottle share @ Hopsters 7pm (buy tickets)
- Country duo Rolling Rivers @ Chuck & Son’s 5-8pm
SATURDAY 25 JULY
- Beer poking – Kicks 12-2pm | Mixtape 2-4pm | Sauce 2-4pm
- Roaming Shanty Club performances – Batch 3pm, Mixtape 4pm, Sauce 5pm
- Live music with TBX + Roll Full Of Pussy + DJ Kalide @ Young Henrys 6pm
- Chuck’s Birthday party with DJs @ Chuck & Son’s 6-9pm
- Bar Copo x Heaps Normal Winter Party (buy tickets) @ Heaps Normal from 3pm
SUNDAY 26 JULY
- Earth Wind & Choir 4-6pm (come and sing with us – all welcome) @ Young Henrys
- Beer poking – Bracket 12-2pm, Kicks 2-4pm, Mixtape 2-4pm, Sauce 2-4pm
- Jazz with Manfredo Lament @ Heaps Normal
- Christmas in July with Adult Glee Club @ Chuck & Son’s
- Live music with John E & Pete Marley + Nature Strip @ Hopsters 4-7pm
Stay tuned for more info about festival beers, entertainment and times coming soon.
Use our interactive map to plan your visit. See our brewery pages for venue info and trading hours.
Preorder your festival tshirt
Love our festival artwork as much as we do? You can preorder a shirt now and either pick it up during the festival or get it posted out to you.
It’s designed by illustrator Aidan Howes, who also did our awesome Hop Harvest tee recently.