Newcastle Beer Fest is a labour of love for good mates and hospitality hot shots Luke Tilse and Taiyo Namba.
A last-minute cancellation in 2020 - directed by the NSW government as the first wave of the COVID pandemic hit - left the pair out of pocket and short on motivation.
"It was pretty devastating, we were $20,000 or so out of pocket," Tilse, who owns The Happy Wombat, Tilse's Apple Truck Cider and The Young Street Hotel, said.
"We had all these shirts made so now we'll just try to flog them off at this year's event - with 2020 on them - just for a laugh."
This time around it was the 2023 Supercars event in Newcastle that threw a spanner in the works.
Tilse and Namba (of Nagisa Japanese Restaurant, Âpé Yakitori Bar and Susuru Ramen & Gyoza fame) were forced to find a new location and a new date for the festival: Saturday, February 18, at King Edward Park.
"We normally like to run the event in April but the council told us no events could be held in the Camp Shortland vicinity within two months of Supercars kicking off," Tilse explained.
"It was a bit of a bugger but, on the bright side, I've always had my eye on King Edward Park.
"I think it's a bit of an underutilised public asset. During the pandemic you would see lots of people there, having picnics and sharing bottles of wine as they couldn't go to bars. It was nice to see it so activated."
Each brewer will set up along the road that loops around the park in a semi-circle.
There will be picnic tables set up on the grass and the rotunda will be used as a stage for local bands. On Monday permission was granted for Newcastle Beer Fest to offer 400ml tastings.
"It's a bit of a walk from the road to the grass area, so rather than just doing 100ml or 200ml samples, we have been permitted to exchange four tokens for a full schooner," Tilse said.
"That means you can grab a schooner and sit down and enjoy it, plus it eases the crowding around the beer stalls."
Steel City Beer Company didn't make the cut this year, much to Tilse's dismay.
"Even though they are 80 per cent owned by Novocastrians, because they have that 20 per cent owned by Lion Nathan I had to say no to them. I hated to do it, and it was a hard conversation to have, but we are fiercely independent only. That's the purpose of the festival," he said.
"I'm not against big breweries or anything like that, but this is purely a trade fair for independent beer breweries of Australia only.
"They don't get much financially out of it and neither do we; the whole purpose is to lift the category and celebrate Newcastle as an independent brewery town, which it is."
So, which breweries are attending this year's Newcastle Beer Fest? Akasha Brewing Company; Apple Truck Cider; Bentspoke Brewing Co; Beer Farm; Better Beer; Big Shed; Brick Lane; Bridge Road Brewing; Capital Brewing; Cattle Yard Brewing Co; Coastal Brewing Company; Dainton; FogHorn Brewery/Mighty Craft; Grainfed Brewing Company; Good Folk Brewing; Hawks Brewing; Hawkers Brewing; Ironbark Hill Brewhouse; Lord Nelson Brewery; Method; Modus Operandi; Moon Dog; Moore Beer; Mountain Culture; New England Brewing Co; One Drop; Philter; Reckless Brewing Co; Rocks Brewing; Rogue Scholar; Sanctus Brewing; Shout Brewing; Styx Brewing; Sydney Brewery; Wayward Brewing Co; Willie The Boatman; Yard Kings; Young Henrys and Yullis.
Tickets to Newcastle Beer Fest at King Edward Park on Saturday, February 18, are on sale now at newcastlebeerfest.com.au.
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