By Luke Voogt
Beer lovers across Geelong will join their compatriots Australia-wide for a cheers to independent brewers tomorrow.
Blackman’s Brewery and Burger Bar in Ocean Grove will shout 20 punters a free pot of German-style lager to join the nationwide salute for Indie Beer Day.
The brewery created the Kolsch beer especially for the day last year, venue manager Leigh Dolley explained.
“Last year we had the most amazing day – we filled out our venues and everyone who came down, we shouted them a beer,“ he said.
“This year it’s going to be a little bit different, that’s for sure. But we still want to celebrate as best we can under the current circumstances.“
The patrons had to book ahead, with customer limits and social-distancing measures still in place, Leigh said.
“Obviously, we’d like to welcome more people if could.
“This year it’s about us breweries saying thank you to the community and getting behind those locals who have been there all along.”
The 35-year-old Ocean Grove father has been keeping a close eye on COVID-19 figures as cases increase in Melbourne.
“I was a bit worried initially with all the Melburnians that came down we might get [locked down],” he said.
“But it seems to have plateaued [in Geelong] so I’m not too worried about this weekend.
“During the COVID-19 lockdown we were doing take aways only.
“So even if we did get [locked down in Geelong], we would still encourage people to head to their bottle shop and support indie beer that way.”
He thanked locals for supporting the brewery and each other during the pandemic.
“The Ocean Grove community’s been great,” he said.
