Love Beer? Love BBQ? Love live music? Love a relaxing day (or weekend) in the vineyards? The Hunter Valley Beer & BBQ Festival has all that plus more. Still over two days, Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd April, the rolling lawns of Hope Estate’s amphitheatre will become a Beer & BBQ lover’s paradise. Now in its third year, the festival will have the classic favourites and some new twists thrown in.

Hope Estate will again be showcasing over 40 of their vast range of beers and ciders from easy drinking Ales and Lagers, German styles, thirst quenching Sours through to the crafty styles of Porters, Stouts and more. Imagine this amid the inviting smell of BBQ and sound of live music coming from their concert stage.

While the weather may be cooling down, the BBQs and Smokers will be heating up with rounds of the Steak Cookoff Competition (Saturday) and Australasian BBQ Alliance Cookoff (Sunday). Chat to the competitors and watch their technique while they meticulously prepare their entries for each category, then satisfy your craving with a visit to one of the BBQ food vendors.

Alternatively, you could indulge in the Ultimate Angus Lunch – this is a lunch for the meat enthusiast (no special dietaries catered for here!). Featuring Hope Estate’s own Black Angus beef, this three-course lunch will present a variety of cuts and cooking techniques in a delicious tasting plate format. Taking “paddock to plate” one step further, with “brewery to paddock to plate” Hope’s pasture raised cattle are finished on the spent grain from their brewery … talk about sustainability! You eat the beef that fed on the grain that made the beer.

Speaking of twists, there’s a new ticket structure. The grown-ups can have some “me time” with Saturday 22nd being over 18 only and Sunday 23rd is a family day complete with a Kids Zone. Rest assured the bucking bull will be there both days so everyone can have a turn!

Festival favourites, the Strong Beer Masterclass and Demonstration Stage featuring a range of experts sharing their knowledge are back. If you fancy yourself as a meat connoisseur, why not put your tastebuds to good use and purchase a judging ticket for one of the competitions? That’s as long as you can handle the “meat sweats”!

Taste, Eat, Learn or simply relax and soak up the atmosphere, there’s plenty on offer at the Hunter Valley Beer & BBQ Festival in the beautiful surrounds of Hope Estate.