Perth’s food and drink scene will welcome the first ever Fair City Craft Beer Fest this weekend.
Established to promote the variety of beers available both locally and nationally, the event will take place on Saturday (August 27) at The Ice Factory in the city from 1-9pm.
More than 200 of the 500 tickets have already been sold to the beer festival which has been organised by four craft beer enthusiasts.
They include William Bond, owner of Cullach Brewing, Danny O’Connor, owner of the Craft Beer Bottle Shop Perth, Sandy McKelvie, who is behind Two Towns Down Brewing, and beer blogger Greig Mason.
The quartet hope the event will help pave the way for a new beer scene in Perth.
A total of 12 Scottish breweries will be in attendance and festivalgoers will be able to sample the beer on offer, speak to stand holders about their products and learn about the production methods for each type of beer.
Tickets are priced at £15 per person and they can be purchased online in advance or on the door of the event.
Fair City Craft Beer Fest
When visitors arrive at the event they will be handed a complimentary branded festival glass to use for sampling the different drinks. At the end of the event these glasses can be taken away by attendees as a souvenir.
Each of the 12 breweries attending will have their own stand with dispensing equipment to offer their variety of brews on draft.
Tokens will be available to purchase for £1.50 each, which can then be used to trade at each stand for a third or half pint of beer.
For organiser William, the smaller serving amount allows the event to be more social and gives people the ability to talk to the brewers themselves and also try a variety of drinks instead of committing to just the one.
He said: “We aren’t doing bigger measures than that because we want people to experience the variety of beers on offer.
“It’s a social event where people can chat and find out about the processes that each brewery uses.”
Fair City Craft Beer Fest will also welcome local music artists. Sam Flood, Lyndsay Knox and DJ Roy McLaren will all perform.
Which breweries are attending?
Brewers attending the festival include Holy Goat Brewing from Dundee, Tempest Brewing from Galashiels, BrewToon Brewery from Peterhead, Law Brewing company from Dundee, Other World Brewing from Dalkeith, Loch Lomond Brewery from Dumbarton and Vault City Brewing from Edinburgh.
Also in attendance from Perth will be Two Towns Down Brewing, Cullach Brewing, Cairn O’Mohr Fruit Wines from Perth, Craft Beer Bottle Shop and The Abernyte Brewery from Perthshire.
“We have lots of beer styles including lagers, pale ales, gluten-free beer, sour beer and dark beer,” added William.
“There is a huge variety and people will be able to sample the beers, and from some stands be able to purchase beer and merchandise to take away with them.”
Food truck offering
The Bulldog Frog, who own a café in Perth, will be cooking up a storm on the day and will serve up a whole load of street food dishes including burgers, loaded fries, nachos, wraps and Biscoff waffle sandwiches.
Pittenweem-based street food vendor Ox and Anchor will also be on-site offering up a range of their options too.
They include everything from haggis loaded fries, burgers, prawn pakora and crispy sea bass on potatoes.
And for dessert – and those who have a sweet tooth – Starfish Cakes & Bakes from Perth will be serving their signature brownies with ice cream alongside cupcakes and traybakes for visitors to try.
Future plans
For William and the organising team, they are hopeful that the success form this event will allow them to organise more in the future.
“We are looking at making it an annual thing,” explains William.
“Next year we can hopefully grow the event, and make each one better as we go.”
Conversation