‘Strongest line-up of award winners ever assembled’ to converge at the South West Craft Beer Festival

The South West Craft Beer Festival is set to descend on Yallingup this weekend with the “strongest line-up of award winners ever assembled”. The beer festival, returning for its 13th year on Saturday, aims to pair “the best waves and brews” with a surfing theme inspired by the Margaret River Pro — which is running over the same weekend. A selection of more than 150 beers will be on offer, from local breweries such as Eagle Bay Brewing Co, Bush Shack Brewery, Cowaramup Brewing Company, CBCo and new editions to the festival — Bailey Brewing Co. The owners of the Bailey Brewing Co — Geoff Bailey and his sons Steve and Dan — opened their Dunsborough branch in June last year, hoping to “bring a touch of Swan Valley to the South West”. Head brewer Damien Bussemaker said they were excited to join the festival for the first time, despite not yet producing beer out of the region. “We don’t have a brewery, we don’t produce any beverages down there, but we we are part of the community,” he said. “I’ve met most of the people from the other breweries before, but it’s going to be good to see them in their natural habitat.” An extended range of seasonal beers will be available to cater for the cooler weather, such as red ales, stouts and a steam ale, as well as the usual lagers, pale ales, IPAs, sours and hazy NEIPAs. Festival director Jason Dover said the event would feature a formidable list of award-winning South West brewers. “We wanted to take the festival in a new direction in 2025 and leading into the weekend we couldn’t be more excited for not only our new venue at Aravina Estate which is simply picturesque, but also for the incredible line-up of beer and food, which we are confident will make this our best event ever,” he said. The festival will run from 10.30am to 5.30pm at Aravina Estate with tickets still available on the South West Craft Beer Festival website.