Sydney Craft Beer Week Decoded: Boutique Beer For Beginners

For the uncultured among us, Sydney Craft Beer Week needs some decoding. For starters - it's not a festival of craft and beer. We repeat: you will not find specials on bulk googly eyes or glue guns. But you will find the most delectable drops on offer from some of Australia's finest connoisseurs of golden goodness - craft beer.

We've narrowed down recommendations for every type of guzzler from 100 events and 75 breweries on the festival menu, which kicks off between Friday 21 and Sunday 30 Oct.

The Intellectual Swiller
23 Oct, Bucket Boys Craft Beer Co

If tantalising your taste buds isn't satisfactory on its own, tickle your mind with the festival's latest brain-child Beer Through The Ages: A Beer History Experience. Take a drinkable journey through history, from the migration of beer from Mesopotamia to Egypt, Scandinavia and beyond, and test the goods from five historical brews. Smart sipping, everyone!

The Peckish Punter
24 Oct, Frankie's Pizza

Let's face it - you can never have too much beer or too much pizza. Put them together and they're a match made in carbohydrate heaven. Head over to Frankie's Pizza for a free entry event featuring cold crafts and top notch slices and burn it off to Frankie's World Famous House Band.

The Stingy Drinker
29 Oct, Flat Rock Brew Cafe

Why pay for beer? Seriously, life's greatest pleasures should be free, and sure enough, Beer Cartel is offering up over $1000 worth of craft beer to lucky winners of the ultimate golden ticket. Westvleteren 12, Founders KBS, Stone & Wood and many more have banded together to deliver the ultimate tasting experience. Plot twist: you have to enter their lottery to win a ticket!

The Beer Pioneer
All week, selected venues

For those of you who fancy yourselves adventurous drinkers, The Crafty Pint is bringing the popular Pint of Origin to Sydney Craft Beer Week for the first time ever. Six pubs across the CBD are handing over the taps to small breweries from six states. Discover your new favourite drop at an old favourite venue, week-round!!

The Hairy Hangover
29 Oct, Rocks Brewing Co

There is literally only one bad thing to say about beer, and that is your questionable wellbeing the morning after. For those fuzzy punters nursing headaches and turbulent tummies the day after the Craft Beer Awards, the Hair Of The Dog Breakfast at The Rocks will soothe the worst of hangovers with six of the best beers paired with six indulgent courses to invigorate and revive.