Donning the flag of “A beer festival with great music, and a music festival with great beer”, Beer InCider Festival know who they are - and they nail it. From a line-up featuring some of the most exciting live bands on the scene at the moment, to an exciting menu of beers that you cannot get through in just one day (despite all efforts), Beer InCider is an exciting addition to the Melbourne (extended) summer festival scene.
A festival that has brewed up quite a solid fan base in Brisbane has expanded to Melbourne for the first time in 2019. Despite a sweltering 38 degree day covering Melbourne, a massive crowd of music lovers, foodies and beverage connoisseurs were not deterred from a gorgeous day of beers, beats and banter. With dozens of beer stalls scattered across the show grounds, and a line-up to cover all ages - today’s offerings were belters worth frothing about and froths worth belting about.
Alex The Astronaut skips on stage solo; the Sydney based songwriter delivered a heart warming set of honest and powerful acoustic storytelling. With a smile smacked across her dial, it wasn’t long before this intimate, yet warm crowd was captivated by Alex’s charm. A set that was riddled with Triple j adored tracks like ‘Already Home’, ‘Happy Song’ and ‘Not Worth Hiding’ as well as really quite hilarious anecdotes between songs - this down to earth gal’s charm combined with dance worthy tracks make her a fantastic addition to any festival.
Picking up the pace with some hard rock, WAAX and West Thebarton were our midway point of the music program. Two bands sporting incredibly talented musicians, fronted by incredible performers. WAAX’s Maz De Vita continues to serve some of the best facial expressions from any lead, that accentuates their angsty punk sound that WAAX have perfected.
An ensemble of youngsters - West Thebarton delivered a high powered, electric set of rock ’n’ roll that injected life into the crowd. A mosh pit at 4pm on a Saturday isn’t something that I thought I needed - but now it’s something my life could have more of. Frontman Ray Dalfsen delivered some serious impressive jump splits, that I’m still thinking about. Tight, electric and down right talented - these ARIA award winners are just at the start of an incredible career.
Let’s take a second to talk about the food for a bit. Whether it’s vegan pizzas, Filipino BBQ or pun infused beef à la Limp Brisket, the food offerings made meal time not just a moment of refuelling for energy - but part of the Festival experience itself. Combined with some delicious 9% Double IPA, my stomach was having as much of a festival as my ears were.
Taking a break from sweating in a mosh, it was time to go school. Tucked away, outside the beer hall, one could find the Brewers Stage, a wee tent, lined with pews, where beer class was in session. Featuring some industry royalty, three talks throughout the day educated this slightly pissed crowed on the insides and out of the industry - think a hipster QandA vibe.
Headlining the day was festival legends, DMA’s. A band who is no stranger to a main stage, but not often found headlining - but these Sydney siders delivered a memorable set to top the day off. Rolling through their catalogue of absolute tuners, this sweaty crowd of music lovers were belting out each song lyric for lyric. Whether it’s an out of control mosh pit to ‘Lay It Down’ or a gorgeous sing a long to ‘Delete’ - this trio know how to captivate a crowd.
Beer InCider Fest has cemented itself in the (extended) summer festival scene - bringing a vibe that won’t fail to satisfy. A festival that feels reminiscent of a family BBQ - it is, at it’s very essence, a solid day of good tunes, good food, good beers and honestly, nothing is more Australian than that.
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