You can be fairly sure that a rather comfortably warm Melbourne Spring afternoon had something to do with the size of the surging throng that descended upon The Atrium at Federation Square on Wednesday last week but it can’t be the only reason.
For some six years now the biannual event has grown steadily from humble beginnings where a small and curious flock moved cautiously among the samples of a dozen or so unfamiliar breweries, the numbers boosted by a short influx of ‘suits’ at knock-off time. Word has obviously spread in tune with the growth in craft beer volume and today it is very much a case of pre-purchasing tickets and getting in early as the space fills faster than a TAB on Cup Day.
The crowd is not all that has grown. The brewers themselves have developed their public personas and are increasingly more comfortable talking tech with the nerds and taste with the rest and the attendees are becoming more aware of styles and brewing techniques as well as becoming more familiar with the brands and the brewers behind them.
Perhaps the most noticeable difference in the crowd, aside from its size is the gender mix. It’s fair to say that in 2005 most of the few women present were there at the invitation of their menfolk with the standard offer of “I’ll drive us in and you can drive us home”. Today much of the in-depth discussions between punter and brewer is driven by the girls looking for colour and flavour and taste and information about everything from Kellerbiers to Chocolate Stouts.
As well as growing in stature, each Microbrewery Showcase appears to have grown in size from the previous. The list of exhibitors has expanded to fill the available stands to the point where some outfits are missing out on a gig and the queues of eager drinkers are snaking further down Flinders Street than at any time before. Capacity is often reached and, at more than one time on each night last week, entry was restricted to a nightclub-style ‘one in – one out’ policy.
Augmenting the liquid offerings is an increasing number of para-beer exhibitors including The Local Taphouse (featuring some sneaky Moondog surprise Growler beer), beer books from The Beer Lovers Guide to Australia and Paul Mercurio and caps, maps and apps from Aus Brewery Tours, Micro Beer Club, Beer Buddy and Beer Boys. Fortunately there is still plenty of floorspace for the brewers themselves.
But here’s the dilemma; every year the organisers and the brewers and the beer sellers and the supporters have been working hard to increase the popularity of the Microbrewery Showcase and build the numbers to the point where it now looks fit to burst at the seams. When is ‘big’ too big? Has the Showcase outgrown its training wheels and does it need to move on to thrive? Federation Square and the people directly responsible for the Showcase have learned much and improved their game at every outing and deserve to now reap the rewards, rather than be penalised.
Maybe extending the opening times (not a favourite option for the brewers) will see the crowding reduced – but maybe people will simply stay longer. They could extend into a night session or even a third day (see previous comment relating to the brewers already overcrowded schedule) but then you run the risk of diluting the vibe. A cap on ticket sales would assist the organisers but at the risk of creating an elitist clique atmosphere. Spreading the showcase from the confines of The Atrium to The Edge or further still onto banks of the river would allow more room to move but would spread the brewers over a series of spaces rather than the community-marketspace feel they now occupy. You can’t help but think that none of the above will really make a great difference and that it is better to have a few periods of heavy traffic and shoulder-to-shoulder drinking than to have nothing like this at all.
Perhaps as seasoned patrons we all need to bring our patience as well as our passion and accept that queuing and crowding are part of the price to be paid for such a worthwhile fixture on the calendar. Well, that and pre-purchasing tickets and getting there early and not standing in the walkways and remembering to share the brewers with the newbies.
Then we can all enjoy these events in a great space and for a long time.
All of the options that seem to be able to make the biggest difference are the ones that the brewers would not be fond of.
Extend the times, add a extra day, hell even run it ever 4 months instead of every 6.
True the brewers might not be happy about it but in reality it is a huge advertisement for them and if they want to keep moving their brewery forward they need people to know about them.
The people will come clearly, let the brewers make the choice if it is worth it to them if it helps to facilitate the larger crowds.
I’m not a brewer so can’t say whether, with all of the other festivals and events that they’re presence is increasingly demanded at, I could commit to more frequent showcases…but I guess there is no requirement that all brewers be at every one.
Fed Square do seem to have been very supportive of craft beer and the showcase has been a major factor in getting the word out there about craft beer that it would be a real shame if the event outgrew them.
Then again, maybe we should check with Fed Square to see whether they want it to grow bigger, or can accommodate it more often. We’ll have to check it out.
The option of more frequent events is one that I believe has been considered. The risk is that you create complacency and people think “it’s going to be busy – there’s another one coming up, I’ll leave it”. We also need to consider that many of the great small breweries are essentially family businesses and it is a big ask (for little financial return aside from marketing potential)to attend more than they already do.
I have an invitation out to Fed Square to chat about the Showcase. Stay tuned.