Perth International Beer Festival 2010 - Final Verdict

So...

The Perth International Beer Festival happened over the weekend, and I was given 4 complimentary entry tickets (I figured I may as well disclose this now rather than getting asked difficult questions later on about any potential conflicts of interest).

I arrived just before 1pm at the Supreme Court Gardens to what was a fairly quiet festival at this point. There were three rides on my left when I walked in, the standard ones you see at pretty much any private school fete (bouncy castle, the Ranger and the Wave Swinger). There were some market stalls dotted along the southern boundary (along Riverside Drive) and there were two stages - one to the right next to a bucking bull near the entry and one at the far end of the fenced off area, closest to the Convention Centre.

In terms of the beer access, there was one substantial U-shaped bar in the middle with a number of smaller marquees either side of the U-Bar. These were mostly can bars, with the exception of the FM Liquor stand which had a few kegs behind the bar there (including Doom Bar Ale, which had its Australian launch that day).

I settled in for a long day with my mates, and was being charged $8 and $9 for a 400mL plastic cup. Some of the Belgian beers were selling at $16 to $18 for the same size. They also had tasting cups which looked like being about 60mL for $1 to $3, and 200mL cups for between $4 and $5, with exception of the more exotic Belgian beers.

The U-Bar was full of taps. about 60-odd taps which was an impressive effort in itself. They were bunched in groups of 3 or 4 with the idea being that you could only order the beers that you had queued up in front of. While I understand the point of doing that, I would have created a number of smaller bars with, lets say, 10 to 12 taps to purchase from.

The range was substantial, and given that I had a very early start the following morning (a 5:45am flight to the East Coast), I didn't get to try as many beers as I would have liked.

However, the beers were always cold and I think the longest I waited to be served was 20 minutes. The entertainment was a lot better than last year with a band stage and a DJ stage. I found myself near the DJ stage enjoying the tunes being spun there and the people getting turfed off the bucking bull.

What would I improve for next year?
While the range of beers was good, I feel that the organisers could have approached the American and Canadian microbreweries. While many will say that the Americans can't do a decent beer, the microbrewing industries on the West Coast and in the North East are pumping out some fantastic drops which I believe Australians could appreciate. However, I understand that there are no distributors of those beers in Australia at this point... I wonder if there's an opening for a new business then :-)
Similarly, the bar set up could have been done better in my opinion, with a number of smaller bars/marquees with 10 - 12 taps in each.
Additionally, the cost of the beers meant for an expensive day out if you wanted to try a lot of different beers... I walked in with a couple of hundred dollars and woke up with about $30 and a mild hangover. Perhaps the ticket price could be increased and a lower beer price could result.
The bands were not that great but I wasn't really concentrating on that.
There were very few children there so I think it is inevitable that the organisers will decide that this should not be a family friendly event.

Conclusion
Given that I gave last years event an absolute pasting, the organisers have worked hard to improve it... I give this years event a 7 out of 10 - a good result but definite room for improvement.

What did you think?

Perth International Beer Festival in 2010 - Fourth and Final Update

Well, the organisers have come through and given me some free tickets. I'm going to be going on Saturday 20th February.

While typing this up, a few beers have been removed. These are:
Boags Draft
Marston's
Pedigree Ale
Smooth Ale
Satan Gold
Wells and Young's
Bombardier Premium Bitter
Crest Super Lage
Double Chocolate Stout
Kestrel Super Lager
Westmalle Dubbel

On top of that, a number of beers have been added, which are:
Chimay Bluecap
Delerium Tremens Ale
Doom Bar Ale
Grimberbergen
Haagen
Gold
Blonde
Hardy and Hansens
XX Mild Ale
John Smiths Extra Smooth
Kirin
Malheur 10
Malheur 12
Rocheforte 6
Rocheforte 8

I am disappointed that a decision has been made to reduce the number of beers available, and the introduction of Kirin seems like a non issue. I would add that James Squire has increased its range available at the Festival to its full bottled/draught range, and Gage Roads appears to have reduced their selection to Wahoo.

This will be my last update about the festival until after it.

If you want to come along, please let me know and I will hand them out to the most deserving people. I am looking for evidence of knowledge of beer, festivals and are prepared to write off much of their Saturday for the festival. You're paying for your own beers though.

If I can't get you a free one, it's up to you as to whether or not you decide to go on your own right. If you do go on the Saturday, come and see me and we'll have a chat. :)